THE Cordillera Green Network Inc. (CGN) and the youth of the Cordillera proudly bring back the environmental community theater festival this January 22 to 23 in Mankayan, Benguet, and January 25 to 26 in Bangued, Abra.
Dubbed "Aanak di Kabiligan (Children of the Mountain) Theater Festival," the event will stage environmental theatre productions from various high schools of the region, as well as performances by Filipino and foreign guests.
The theatre festival is the highlight and culminating activity of the annual Cordillera Youth Eco Summit.
Performing this year are young thespians of Tiempo National High School (Tubo, Abra); Apayao National Industrial and Agricultural High School (Calanasan, Apayao); Lepanto National High School (Mankayan, Benguet); Aguinaldo National High School and Ubao National High School (Aguinaldo, Ifugao); St. Theresita's High School (Balbalan, Kalinga) and Banao National High School (Bauko Mt. Province).
Acting as mentors are professional stage director Mr. Toshihisa Yoshida and actors Rei Baquirin and Lynette Bibal.
The Eco Summit is CGN's way of advocating environmental education through theater and cultural media.
CGN believes that environmental messages are best expressed and remembered when placed close to the local's hearts -- dancing to the gong's beats; rituals associated with planting, harvests, births, deaths -- all of which interwoven in plays reflective of environmental realities that the groups conceptualized, wrote, and performed themselves.
Other activities include "Green Shadows", a photo exhibit by JP Alipio on the state of the Cordillera environment; environment education workshops; and environmental situation presentations and fora.
Gracing this year's Eco Summit are guests Consomme W Punch, a Japanese music education NGO; environmental performance artists Zohar (from Israel) and Takanori; contemporary Japanese dancer Jun Amanto and Filipino musicians Edgar Banasan, Kent Banasan, Ruel Bimuyag, Tapati (of Joey Ayala at ang Bagong Lumad), and Alex Tumapang.
The 3rd Cordillera Eco Youth Summit is funded by the Japan Fund for Global Environment and Japan Foundation.
It is organized by CGN and Keep (Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project), in cooperation with the Provincial Government of Abra; Tubo, Calanasan, Mankayan, Aguinaldo, Balbalan, and Bauko LGUs; DepEd School Divisions of CAR ; Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation, Divine Word College of Abra; Sinbayan Tako; and OISCA Abra Agro-Forestry Training Center. For inquiries, please contact the Cordillera Green Network, Inc. at 074-423-0839, 09198426486 (Carla), or 09172546613 (Shei). (Shei Datinguinoo)