Project Title: Timek ti Umili (Voice of the People): Advancing Peoples’ Welfare Through Social Media and Arts Applicant CordilleranYouth Center Inc.

This project intends to empower cultural workers, particularly the indigenous youth of the Cordillera region to amplify their voices on issues that affect them and become vigilant to participate on decision-making to matters affecting, including the upcoming 2022 election. It will maximize the power of arts as a weapon in projecting collective voices to influence wider members of the community to act against discrimination and injustices. Activities will include educational discussions on indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, and the role of arts and culture for social transformation. Awareness and appreciation of socio-political realities will lead to decisive actions. Training workshops on song composition, visual arts, theatre arts, and multi-media art production to enhance skills in producing effective works that can awaken the minds and hearts of viewers will follow. Target outputs include a human rights music album which will be produced in collaboration with various groups or individual musicians. A theater play that relates the struggle of artists, indigenous youth will also be performed. Murals and effigies will be mounted during theInternational HumanRights Day and People’s Cordillera Day. Finally, a brief documentary film to share highlights from this project and presented milestones as a cultural alliance for 30 years will be produced. Cultural workers, especially the indigenous youth who produced relevant and powerful artworks will multiply as their messages resonate and influence viewers. By showcasing these, the audience will later be motivated and supported to stand and act according to what is just and right. Further, consolidation activities will be organized to keep DKK and CYC firm amidst the impact of the pandemic and this worsening political repression. Collaboration with different organizations and other VOICE project recipients will surely expand networks for proactive actions among the different rights-holders and project implementers.

Harnessing Media and the Arts in Empowering Communities of Change 

Tuning our voices 

Following through with the previous empowerment program, the Cordilleran Youth Center, in partnership with Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera (DKK), sets forth on a journey working towards advancing the welfare of the indigenous youth and LGBT, this time through promoting arts and social media as a tool for change with Timek ti Umili (Voice of the People): Advancing peoples’ welfare through social media and arts. 

Over the course of the two-year program, CYC-DKK has successfully implemented a series of capacity building activities including educational discussions on indigenous peoples, human rights, and the arts, as well as workshops and trainings on visual arts, music, and theatre– all leading up to the application of lessons learned as we showcase our various advocacies through different forms of art.  

Kicking off the project in such a crucial period in our history, the 2022 national elections served as a gateway for us to tap into the wide network of artists, practitioners and individuals with like advocacies in Baguio, reaching more than 20 artist groups, and 150 individual artists and practitioners, which served as the primary movers and implementers of the program, and giving life to one mural production, one music album production, and two theatre productions.  

The two year project of CYC-DKK with Voice empowered Baguio City artists to establish their presence and assert their space as progressive artists in the city’s creative scene amidst rampant commercialization of art and culture. 

Harmonizing efforts 

After more than a decade of not being able to produce an album, DKK breakthroughs with seven songs produced for the album Tugtugan para Karbengan (Jam for Our Rights). Seven musical groups and individuals that were involved in the music album shared that while the pre-production phase was  initially daunting – as there is a huge pressure to produce songs that has to be “marketable”, “patok”, and “palatable” – the songs came naturally because they had faith in the necessity of bringing the narratives to a broader audience. Novice artists were able to experience the process of producing a song from conceptualization to eventual distribution, while the more experienced musicians were able to go through the process with a new generation that could carry on the practice of producing progressive music and the distinct musicality of the region. 

The theatrical production Macli-ing on the other hand, was a breakthrough in the city’s theatrical scene, as for many it is considered a “dying art form” from the lack of productions mounted locally. The RHGs involved were a diverse mix of artists, IP groups, migrant and transient youth, elderly, and LGBTI – attesting to how art forms can really bring people together. The revival of Macli-ing not only opened doors of opportunity for the cast (many of which debuted in this production) and improved the production management systems of the groups involved, but those who have been in the theatrical scene for a long time found a new found appreciation and revived faith in theatre. 

The production of Macli-ing, as the culmination of all the project activities done so far, was fortunately met with an overwhelmingly positive response. The production was lauded for its “brilliant efforts” to bring back community theatre in Baguio City – and with a historically crucial narrative helming the endeavor. A Martial Law veteran and renowned writer says about the production, “characters who gave life to the martyred Macli-ing and those who passed through the dark corridors of Martial Law ignited that flame that reminded us of how it is to be brave again… and that we can cheer and sing of our indomitable militance”.  

Echoing narratives 

Because there was a great focus on capacity building and attuning everyone to the importance of the endeavor, the challenges of implementing two major productions simultaneously was made less overwhelming because of the collective conviction to see things to the end. The team has found allies and support from individuals and formations that believe in the same goal and have faith in the importance of bringing these narratives to the public. It was a necessary reminder for the team that while it is fundamental to have unwavering determination and belief in our advocacies, there are untapped and unrealized networks of support that will bolster efforts to make our objectives more attainable – if we know where to look and have the courage to reach out. 

The use of arts in forwarding an advocacy was initially viewed in a superficial sense but the process was a testament to how effective yet understated utilizing the arts in advocacy work is, not only towards amplifying voices and reaching its desired audience, but more so with the RHGs involved. It was apparent in the theatrical production, as initially those involved viewed it just as an opportunity to perform, but through the process, the production team, everyone from the cast and crew, eventually became advocates of the socio-political issues from the story’s subject matter that is unfortunately still persisting today. The project was a reminder that art forms are not just an avenue for expression, but are effective and impactful tools to amplify voices, forward advocacies, and empower communities.