Month: December 2023

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35th Anniversary ICOMOS Philippines Thanksgiving

On Saturday 16 October 2023, ICOMOS Philippines celebrated their annual Thanksgiving get-together to end the year and to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

ICOMOS Philippines Celebrates Its 35th Year Anniversary at ICOMOS Headquarters in Intramuros

One highlight of the celebration was the granting of the Philippine National Committee’s lifetime honorary membership to Regalado “Ricky” Trota José who had started ICOMOS Philippines in the late 1980s. Sir Ricky, as he’s also affectionately known, reminded ICOMOS that rewards or accolades are not what heritage is about; in fact, the practice of heritage is a reward in itself and is a privilege. 

The lifetime honorary membership was given to by virtue of ICOMOS Philippines Board Resolution No. 5 approved on March 31, 2023 wherein the organization recognizes his accomplishments and contributions which included: being the founding president of ICOMOS Philippines; his contributions leading to the inscription of the Baroque Churches of the Philippines on the UNESCO World Heritage List; his works in elevating local church cultural heritage protection and conservation towards international standards in harmony with the local context, and for being an inspiration and mentor among members of the organization.

José recalled the initial membership of ICOMOS Philippines. He said it was a very small number, an amount you could count on one’s fingers. But it was this powerhouse of heritage pioneers who advocated for awareness and sensitivity for our cultural heritage resources. Within the first two decades along with Rachy Cuna, Ramon Faustmann,  Milagros Covarrubias Jamir, and Rene Javellana, S.J., ICOMOS Philippines was pivotal in the inscription of the Baroque Churches of the Philippines, the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, and the Historic City of Vigan.

Awarding of Recognition: Former (and Current) Board of Trustees Members

Also a report was presented for the last six months of work at ICOMOS Philippines which included, among others, the funding of Vigan with the Heritage Emergency Fund, the award of Gawad Maestro for being an exemplary NGO as a learning and development institution, the participation with the Creative Industries Group of DTI, a seminar on Built Heritage and FIRE, and reports from the the General Assembly in Sydney this year. 

Cheek Fadriquela, president of ICOMOS graciously stated:  “A million thanks to all who attended our Thanksgiving party last Saturday. It was an event 35 years in the making! Our heartfelt gratitude to former trustees for gracing the occasion with your presence. Special thanks to Lila Shahani and Tracey Santiago for the books they donated to our library. And to our gracious host, Mylene Lising, we are immensely grateful with your kindness and generosity for not only allowing your Consulate to be the venue but also for making your staff assist and stay throughout the event. Kudos to all who made this event a memorable one! May you all have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!”

Invitation and Graphic of Surveying the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras for Nomination

For more information about ICOMOS Philippines and membership, please contact: info@iicomosphilippines.com

To donate to ICOMOS Philippines so we can continue our advocacy for Philippine heritage, please contact: info@icomosphilippines.com 

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UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund project activities have started in the City of Vigan, Philippines

23 – 24 October and 1 – 4 November 2023, City of Vigan, Philippines – Thanks to the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF), the project “Post-Earthquake Damage Assessment of Vernacular Buildings in the World Heritage City of Vigan” was launched by UNESCO Jakarta in partnership with ICOMOS Philippines. Several activities have started in the Historic City of Vigan. The Materials Conservation Team led by Dr. Cheek S. Fadriquela, and the laser scanning documentation team headed by Mr. Conrad Alampay from Digiscript are documented the two ancestral houses, Syquia Mansion and the Cabildo Old House.

The Materials Conservation Expert Team led by ICOMOS Philippines’ President Dr. Cheek Fadriquela collected samples for testing the material composition, and did an onsite XRF test on masonry materials, paint, metals and glass structural materials at Syquia Mansion.

The Material Conservation team members gathered samples and tested the material composition of the original masonry materials; bricks, mortar and plaster in aid of finding compatible materials for restoration and addressing the gap in historic brick masonry materials research in the Philippines.

Mr. Conrad Alampay, President of Digiscript, is leading the training information sessions with some of the local stakeholders of Vigan

Digiscript, on the other hand, worked on the structures’ digital documentation via 3D laser scanning to generate an accurate set of as-built drawings for analysis. Digiscript also provided training session to 11 local stakeholders from UNP, LGU Vigan and UAP-ICF to maximize the visit and for capacity building. Both are important heritage conservation practices for future building restorations.

A surveyor of Digiscript using LEICA RTC360 scanning for the 3D documentation of the ancestral houses around the pilot site of Syquia Mansion.
Digiscript team did a laser scanning of the ceiling of Syquia Mansion.
Digiscript snapped a group photo with the successful participants of the laser scanning training information sessions. The following stakeholders are from the Local Government Unit of Vigan City, faculty of the University of Northern Philippines and local architects from United Architects of the Philippines – Ilocos Ciudad Fernandina (ICD) chapter.

This activity is supported by the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund. We wish to thank its donors: the Qatar Fund for Development, the Government of Canada, the Kingdom of Norway, the French Republic, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Estonia, ANA Holdings INC, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Principality of Andorra, the Republic of Serbia.

Concerned stakeholders who are interested in providing in-kind contribution, you may contact Ar. Kenneth Javier Tua, Country project Director, through kenneth.javier.tua@icomosphilippines.com and cc.: info@icomosphilippines.com. Let’s protect and promote our diverse cultural heritage together.

For more information on ICOMOS Philippines ➡️ https://philippines.icomos.org/

Photo Credits: Ms. Jennie Villanueva Amian of Syquia Mansion, and Mr. Conrad Alampay of Digiscript

#UNESCO #unescoJAKARTA #ICOMOS #icomosPHILIPPINES #HeritageEmergencyFund #firstHEF #WorldHeritageSite #HistoricCityofVigan #PhilippineHeritage #SustainableHeritageManagement, #ProtectHeritage

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COP 28: United Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates – 30 November to 12 December 2023

UN Climate Change conferences (or COPs) take place every year, and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change with almost complete membership of every country in the world. Officially, COP 28 stands for the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC.

The Republic of the Philippines is a member state and is attending the COP 28; the Philippines will present in a side event under the topic Culture Heritage, Art and Creative Industries, “Ancestral Wisdom Driving Low Carbon Climate Resilient Futures: Asia-Pacific and Global Lessons” on Saturday, December 9, 2023, 16:45 to 18:15. This side event is supported by the Climate Heritage Network, American Anthropological Association, ICOMOS, Petra National Trust, Julie’s Bicycle, Union of Concerned Scientists, and SEACHA. The speakers include Marlon Martin of ICOMOS Philippines, COO of Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement, Inc. and Preserving Legacies. 

One of the supporters of the side event, the Climate Heritage Network is committed to tackling climate change and achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. The Climate Heritage Network acknowledges that “culture is at the heart of climate action” and that  “cultural heritage, including traditional knowledge, strengthens resilience, helps communities to adapt to climate impacts, protects places, and offers green, circular and regenerative solutions. The arts speak to hearts and minds, inspiring action and helping us to understand climate change through storytelling and shared experiences. The creative industries – design, music, fashion and film – shape our lifestyles, tastes and consumption patterns.”

Artists and cultural voices from across the world are uniting to call for climate negotiators at COP UN Climate Conference to put cultural heritage, arts and creative industries at the heart of climate action.

Approximately 70,000 delegates are attending COP28, including the member states (or Parties) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, and various other experts and stakeholders are also among the participants.

The major focus of the conference includes the conclusion of the first-ever global stocktake at the end of this year which takes place every five years. The global stocktake is a process for countries and stakeholders to see where they’re collectively making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement – and where they’re not. It’s like taking inventory. It means looking at everything related to where the world stands on climate action and support, identifying the gaps, and working together to agree on solutions pathways (to 2030 and beyond).

The overarching goal of the Paris Agreement is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

The science from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, the IPCC warns.

The globe is not on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The window for meaningful change is closing, and the time to act is now. Governments will take a decision on the global stocktake at COP28, which can be leveraged to accelerate ambition in their next round of climate action plans due in 2025. By evaluating where the world stands when it comes to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and using its inputs, the stocktake can help policymakers and stakeholders strengthen their climate policies and commitments in their next round of NDCs, paving the way for accelerated action.

In this sense, it’s not the stocktake itself that is the gamechanger – it’s the global response, the response by countries as Parties to the Paris Agreement, that will make the difference in the form of higher ambition and accelerated action.

More information about COP 28 ➡️https://unfccc.int/cop28#news-and-media
To support Climate Heritage Network’s campaign, 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻” ➡️ https://bitly.ws/349ah