By Bryan R. Realgo, StratCom Correspondent

The rich and diverse culture and arts of the Philippines and Canada and their role in the development of these countries were tackled by the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) in their third international webinar held on September 21. 

Part of the Indigenous Knowledge System and Cultural Management (IKSCM) program of the Philippine-Canada Education Consortium for International Collaborative Partnerships, the webinar bared the symbolic representations of cultural and indigenous artifacts toward socio-cultural, techno-economic, political-ecological community development. 

Topics in the webinar included textile learning, theater design, cultural artifacts, mathematical structures, cultural heritage and traditions, visual and performing arts, and digitizing indigenous knowledge. These were delivered by professors from USask and University of Regina in Canada, MMSU College of Arts and Sciences, Benguet State University, Bataan Peninsula State University, Central Mindanao University, Don Mariano Memorial State University, Mountain Province State Polytechnic University, and University of Southeastern Philippines; and a historian from the local government unit of Piddig, Ilocos Norte. The webinar was participated in by students and faculty members from Canada and Philippine universities. 

“In the development of our countries, learning and understanding our culture is a must, that is why higher education institutions play a significant role in the documentation, dissemination, preservation, and sustainability of the important elements of our culture,” said Dr. Marivic Alimbuyuguen, MMSU-CAS dean and leader of the IKSCM’s culture and arts project. 

Dr. Marlowe Aquino, MMSU director for planning and IKSCM program head, hopes “the knowledge gained in this endeavor will help us enhance our engagements in instruction, research and extension toward cultural development.”

The international webinar series tackled health and medicine in May and cultural education in April. The final webinar on agriculture, environment and food will be delivered in October this year. (HLY/DPTJ, StratCom)