Month: June 2020

Posted on

IN MEMORIAM: Maria Joycelyn Bolhayon-Mananghaya

In Memoriam

The ICOMOS Annual Report for 2019 was recently published and its shows the work of the international organisation of ICOMOS and its various National Committees and International Scientific Committees. ICOMOS also remembers the dedicated work of members and colleagues who have passed away during the previous year. A small tribute to Ms Jocelyn Mananghaya, former Trustee of ICOMOS Philippines can be found on page 37 of the annual report. ICOMOS Philippines further recognizes Ms Mananghaya’s contribution to the organization and the advancement of the heritage practice in the Philippines in this tribute.

Maria Joycelyn Bolhayon-Mananghaya

January 1, 1965 – September 17, 2019

ICOMOS Philippines remembers the passing of Architect Maria Joycelyn Bolhayon-Mananghaya who was a former Board of Trustee of the Philippine Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). Her heritage advocacy was focused on the conservation of the World Heritage Sites in the Philippines and for several years, she served as the National Commission on Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) consultant for world heritage concerns. Arch. Mananghaya also served as Secretary to the NCCA National Committee on Monuments and Sites from 2011 to 2013 and was part of UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines.

Joy, as she is fondly called by family and friends, had a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of nature, culture and people. She was a member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes and was part of the global discourse on world heritage issues. She wrote extensively about the living cultural landscape of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and her contributions to the book, “World Heritage: Benefits Beyond Borders” was well recognized by her peers. She undertook expert missions and provided reviews for cultural/natural heritage nominated properties and was designated as the focal point for periodic reporting of world heritage properties in the Philippines.

A graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Architecture, Joy pursued higher education at the Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía Manuel del Castillo Negrete in Mexico with a Masters in Architecture Degree. Throughout her life, she generously mentored and nurtured countless students and emerging professionals, many of whom have become respected practitioners of heritage conservation in the Philippines.  Architect Mananghaya’s passion and service continue to inspire us, and we will miss her very much. 

Posted on

ICOMOS Webinar Series Episode 1: Place-Making and Food Security – Thinking of Heritage Conservation and Food Production

ICOMOS Philippines recognises that the heritage practice in the country has been affected by the global pandemic. Now, more than ever, practitioners need to see the work of conserving heritage in a different light.

ICOMOS Philippines believes that heritage needs to connect to national priorities and be part of a shifting focus on food security, health, well-being, and peace and order, while a viable vaccine is being created. 

As part of the project, “Heritage Practice amidst the Pandemic“, ICOMOS Philippines is launching a series of online discussions that will delve with opportunities to explore new ideas for the Philippine heritage practice.

The first webinar is entitled, “Place-Making and Food Security – Thinking of Heritage Conservation and Food Production”, which will explore mechanisms that shape rural and urban spaces, private and public, that facilitate food production and place-making grounded in community-based participation. It will also provide various perspectives that link food and the understanding of historic significance of particular places. 

ICOMOS Webinar Series Episode 1: Place-Making and Food Security – Thinking of Heritage Conservation and Food Production
20 June 2020 (Saturday) | 6PM Philippine Standard Time

The webinar will focus on providing answers to two main questions: 

  • How can the heritage practitioners improve a community’s cultural, economic, social circumstances while preserving the environment?  
  • How do you facilitate food production and place making grounded in community-based participation?

SPEAKERS

A dynamic group of heritage professionals, all of whom are members of ICOMOS Philippines, will be sharing their points of view on the integration of food production and heritage conservation:  

Dr. Fernando Nakpil-Zialcita is Professor Emeritus, teaching at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the  Ateneo de Manila University. He has done field research among farming communities in the Ilocos, Northern Luzon, and has done studies on urban heritage and regeneration of Manila. He writes about the interface between the Southeast Asian and the Hispanic worlds in domains of Filipino culture such as traditional architecture, cookery, and popular Christianity.     

Ms. Patricia Maria Santiago is a cultural manager with 25 years of experience who sits on the Board of Nayong Pilipino Foundation. She is part of  “Sustainable Sagada,” an online support market for local produce of farmers from Sagada which aims to help bring local produce to reach consumers in Manila, to support their sustainability not only during times of economic crisis but even beyond.  

Ms. Estela Duque is an architect, historian, social entrepreneur, certified chocolate taster, and chocolate competition judge in Europe. A practitioner based in the United Kingdom, she founded Moulinet Chocolat Limited (UK) in 2015 in order to introduce Philippine specialty cocoa to the world, and since 2017 she has been an adviser to the only craft chocolate event of the Philippines now called Intramuros Chocolate Festival.

Mr. Gabriel Caballero is the Communications Officer of ICOMOS Philippines. He is a Singapore-based landscape architect and independent world heritage specialist whose expertise ranges from sensitive landscape design interventions, cultural landscape research, and world heritage evaluations particularly in rapidly urbanizing areas in Asia. He will serve as the moderator for this webinar. 

DETAILS

The webinar, “Place-Making and Food Security: Thinking of Heritage Conservation and Food Production”,  is scheduled this Saturday, June 20, 2020 – 6pm (Philippine Standard Time).

This forms part of the project, “Heritage Practice amidst the Pandemic“, which is a series of online discussions that delves with opportunities to explore new ideas for the Philippine heritage practice.

ICOMOS Philippines would like to thank the Intramuros Administration for co-organizing the event with us. 

For those who would like to be part of the conversation, please watch the webinar via our Facebook Live where the speakers will be able to get your questions and respond: www.facebook.com/icomosph

Posted on

ICOMOS Philippines: New Members 2020

ICOMOS Philippines is very pleased to welcome its new members for the year 2020! Get to know them as we share with you a brief of their profile and expertise.

Kinna Mae G. Kwan

Kinna is a researcher and heritage practitioner. She received her Master of Arts in Cultural Heritage Studies from the University of Santo Tomas and is currently studying Urban and Regional Planning at the University of the Philippines. Her thesis, which earned a meritissimus (highest merit) recognition, focused on social value of historic sites hinged on community memories and attachment to places.

She works as a project-based researcher at the UST Graduate School–Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics. Her present work at the center involves cultural mapping, drafting of conservation management plans, and providing technical assistance to local government units and heritage managers across the country. As an advocate of heritage and culture in the public sector, she has worked with government institutions such as the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (PCEP), Department of Tourism, Philippine Postal Corp., and served as a consultant in her hometown, Guiuan. She previously worked for the Lopez Museum and Library and the President Elpidio Quirino Foundation.

She is also active in refugee research and has been collaborating with UNHCR in studying the Philippines’ history of refugee assistance. Her focus is on the 5th Wave when the Philippines became a transit country for White Russian refugees in 1949. Her research led her to major archives in Australia, USA and France, and was published in The Journal of History.

Posted on

ICOMOS Lighter Side Talks: The Basics of Baybayin

Last 24 May 2020, ICOMOS Philippines members and friends met up over zoom to have a “Lighter Side Talk” entitled, “The Basics of Baybayin”. The talk was conducted by prominent broadcaster, Howie Severino and his wife and environmental lawyer Ipat Luna.

After a short presentation on the history and typologies of ancient Philippine text, participants brought their pens out to do impromptu writing in baybayin, which everyone enjoyed.

Howie Severino believes that, “Baybayin is a window to understanding nature, culture, history, heritage, identity, at iba pa, which is why it’s so compelling.”

Fan-art by Fung Yu

ICOMOS Philippine member, Fung Yu created a fan-art of the ICOMOS Philippines logo, which brings a Filipino brand to the international prominence of ICOMOS. What do you think about his interpretation?

Veggie packs or cake that were awarded during the talk and members decided to donate these prizes to Covid-19 frontliners, homeless and workers in Baclaran.

ICOMOS Lighter Side Talks was conceptualized by the ICOMOS Philippines Board of Trustees to explore unexplored conversations and lighter topics of heritage and culture for the benefit of ICOMOS Philippine members.