'Kabataan, Kultura, Kabilin' to launch through museum visits

CEBU, Philippines - To raise the awareness on heritage and culture among the youth, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) will launch the “Kabataan, Kultura ug Kabilin” tomorrow through a visit to museums in Cebu.

Around 400 college students from University of San Carlos will visit museums as a venue of cultural understanding, to connect their theoretical lectures on history, society, culture and heritage.

“One way of trying to train the next generation of people who will preserve arts and tradition is to be acquainted with heritage and culture,” said Dr. Joy Gerra of RAFI.

The exposure to heritage conservation efforts done by different groups in Cebu is to raise the level of awareness among the young people.

The concept of Kabataan, Kultura ug Kabilin is patterned after the “Gabii sa Kabilin,” wherein with one ticket, visitors are able to visit multiple museums in one night.

Kabataan, Kultura ug Kabilin also encourages other colleges and universities in Cebu to do the same to their students regardless of what courses they are enrolled in.

Aldwin Empaces, USC professor from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology said it is a jumpstart to make a semester program so that every student of the university and other schools will be inspired by the said program.

“This is primarily preservation of heritage and understanding heritage and understanding oneself,” he stressed.

The Carolinian Sociological-Anthropological Society (CARSAS) of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the USC is RAFI’s youth organization partner for this program, which will serve as their practical experience in the heritage advocacy programs and “youth convincing other youth” to raise awareness and conservation of cultural heritage.

Each student will pay P100 for the ticket and P25 for the tartanilla ride. Tickets will be validated at the entrance of each stop of the participating museums and churches.

Participants will be visiting the Casa Gorordo Museum, the Cathedral Museum, the Santo Niño Museum, Fort San Pedro and Museo Sugbo. — Johanna T. Natavio/WAB (THE FREEMAN)