July 8, 2011
Contact: Karen Hanna, Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan, 347-298-7964, contact@ugnayanyouth.org
Filipino Youth to Decolonize and (Re)Educate Themselves through Philippines 101 Workshops
New York, NY -- Starting July 28th, Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan will be offering a 4-part workshop series entitled, Philippines 101: Rooting in our Filipino/a History of Resistance and Resilience. The workshop series will be held every Thursday from 7pm-9:30pm in midtown Manhattan near Times Square. The workshop series is geared towards youth, students and young professionals who want to learn more about the history and current situation of Filipinos in the Philippines and the US.
"We're very excited to offer the Philippines 101 workshop series," says Karen Hanna, Ugnayan organizer and workshop co-facilitator. "It is a labor of love that we are happy to provide as a service to Filipino youth who seek truth and inspiration from our people's history."
The Philippines 101 workshop series was conceptualized more than seven years ago. It is a product of years of painstaking research, community investigation, and organizing. A key component in Ugnayan's Education for Action program, it was first initiated by eight Filipino women in their early 20's who were in search of their roots. In the summer of 2004, a 9-member collective traveled to the Philippines for an exposure trip to immerse with marginalized sectors of the Philippine society – the youth, workers, peasants, and women. The collective experience enabled the group to visualize the strategic importance of a grassroots Filipino youth organization in the US, which led to the founding of Ugnayan in November 2004.
"We wanted to learn more than just the typical cultural dances, food and language," says Ana Liza Caballes, Ugnayan founder and workshop co-facilitator. "We were thirsty for something more meaningful."
Ugnayan founding members imagined their task to be a daunting one: how to engage, motivate and organize young Filipinos in the US to go beyond an identity politics and popular Filipino culture. Looking at their own personal experiences, Ugnayan members realized they had to create opportunities for youth to unlearn and re-educate themselves about the real history and situation of the Filipino people, a process the group refers to as decolonizing.
"Decolonizing means that we are able to look at how Spanish, Japanese and US colonization has impacted and continues to impact us," explains Ms. Caballes. "Why do we not learn about our history? Why are spam and Jeepneys such iconic mainstays in Filipino society? Why is light skin adored in our culture? Why are Filipino women considered exotic and prized wives? To grasp these phenomenon, we have to critically reflect on our past, confront our present conditions and collectively find solutions. This is how Philippines 101 developed."
Ms. Hanna describes, "Philippines 101 is unique because it offers a comprehensive, progressive, pro-people perspective that is not widely available, especially to Filipino youth in the US. We share our history of migration and trace it back to the Philippines. We tackle history and current events and why millions of our sisters and brothers continue to live in poverty, don't have adequate job opportunities and are migrating abroad only to become low wage service workers. We also incorporate a strong working class, women and LGBTQ analysis."
Since 2004, there have been more than 300 graduates of the Philippines 101 workshop series. While the workshop series has transformed over the years, the one consistent factor is drawn from the wealth of experiences of the facilitators and participants. Facilitators have at least 5-20 years experience organizing youth, students, women, workers, professionals, LGBTQ, im/migrants, undocumented, second generation, children adopted by non-Filipino parents, and hapa (of more than one ethnic background) individuals of Philippine ancestry. Additionally, both facilitators and participants are driven by the common interest of mutual understanding and cooperation towards improving the situation of the Filipino people.
"In our process of learning about our history and the current situation, we also learn about ourselves, our family and our community," says Ms. Caballes. "We are able to connect our experiences, see ourselves as part of the fabric of our people's struggle and, ultimately, fulfill our role in advancing social change."
The Philippines 101 workshops will be held July 28, August 4th, 11th and 18th. The workshop series will commence with a cultural show and graduation that will be organized by participants. Registration is required with a sliding scale of $20-35. Resource packets will be available. Participants who register by Friday, July 15th will receive a $5 discount towards the resource packet. For more information and to register online: ugnayan.blogspot.com/p/phils101.html.
