Cultural anthropologist Cherubim Quizon discusses the botanical practices related to indigenous textile production in Mindanao. Photo by Stacy Garcia

08 July 2019 LONDON—The Philippine Embassy proudly supported the annual Philippine Studies Conference at SOAS University of London from 05-06 July 2019. The conference gathered scholars, artists, policymakers, cultural workers, and researchers for a series of talks, exhibits, and performances on the theme, Mindanao: Cartographies of History, Identity, and Representation.

The annual two-day conference explored many of the region’s complex and dense issues, including the coexistence among its diverse ethnolinguistic communities, its complicated history, and the interactions among the different societies staking out claims on cultural capital, resources, territory, and opportunity.

“Mindanao is an important crossroads of Philippine and Southeast Asian culture,” said Ambassador Antonio M. Lagdameo. “The region is rife with opportunities but in order to seize these opportunities, there is a need to first understand the people, the history, and the culture that have shaped what has often been referred to as the ‘Land of Promise’.”

The conference concluded with a series of cultural performances featuring the traditional dances of Mindanao’s different indigenous and ethnolinguistic communities.

“We want to have a space where we can have dialogue, where we can be open to ideas, to critique, to discussion,” said Dr. Cristina Martinez-Juan, Executive Director of the Philippine Studies Programme at SOAS. “For the academics from the Philippines, we hope we were able to provide you with a space to share your knowledge and expertise on a global platform.”

According to Martinez-Juan, next year’s conference will focus on the Visayas. The conference theme and the call for abstracts will be announced at https://www.soas.ac.uk/philippine-studies/events. END

Daniel Ceeline Ramonal, a graduate student in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage, performs a Manobo ritual dance during the closing ceremony of the conference. Photo by Stacy Garcia