The Cultural Mapping of Antique Province is expected to kick into high gear in January 2021. This project follows the Department of Education Antique, University of the Philippines Visayas, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Provincial Government of Antique’s, meticulous preparations for the last quarter of 2020.
Through the initiative of Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, the General appropriation Act for Fiscal Year 2019 tasked the Department of Education to conduct cultural mapping training in Antique. The training is meant to establish baseline documentation and interconnectivity of cultural resources in localities and develop primary and secondary teachers' learning materials. Cultural Mapping is a fitting response to revitalize the core of Antique’s culture through a comprehensive inventory of its tangible and intangible heritage.
Social Studies and MAPEH teachers from the 22 school districts of the province of Antique will be trained. They will be joined by 18 Tourism Officers of Antique Province and will undergo training, which is to be conducted through Zoom.
The project is a one-year collaborative endeavor between the four agencies. The focus of the project is the mapping of Antique, following the NCCA format and taking note of the TKS themes: Water Bodies and Coastal Environments, Arable and Habitable Terrains, Sustainable Arts and Crafts, Forest and Biodiversity, Environmental Rituals and Traditions, and Personages and the tangible heritage of Antique through the NCCA toolkit. This project will be a pioneering project for Western Visayas. Antique will serve as the TKS Cultural Mapping model province and inspire other provinces of Western Visayas to do the same in the future.
Despite the initial preparations made in 2019, the Memorandum of Agreement for the Project was signed on different dates and places with schedules altered due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Former Chancellor Ricardo Babaran signed on behalf of UPV, Dr. Felisa Beriong signed for Antique, Chairman Nicanor Lisazo signed for NCCA, and Governor Rhodora Cadiao signed for the Province of Antique.
DepEd Antique will spearhead the project through School’s Division Superintendent, Dr. Felisa Beriong, Dr. Eleanor Dagala (Supervisor for Social Studies) and Dr. Rodrigo Sarapanan (Supervisor for MAPEH). Antique cultural experts that are part of the project are the following: Board Member Errol Santillan, Jay Tondares, Richard Magbanua, Dante Beriong, Fr. Cornelius Ysulat, Jonathan Degracia, and Sammy Rabido.
Anna Razel L.Ramirez, the newly appointed UPV Project Development Assistant for Antique, will be the overall Project Manager. The UPV team of experts will be headed by Dr. Alicia P. Magos, anthropologist and Professor Emeritus. She will be supported by Prof. Jose Taton, Sashah Dioso, and Ramon Ramirez (photography).
The UPV and DepEd team is expected to come up with a cultural mapping compendium/ collection, which may be in the form of a book/s; and/or any tangible pieces of evidence (e.g., photographs, videos of TKS, a mini-museum, or display area).
The project is part of UPVs extension program in Antique and is fully supported by Chancellor Clement Camposano, who is himself an ethnographer and cultural researcher.
More photos here: https://www.facebook.com/U.P.Visayas.Official/
