Visayan artists and CSOs

Last November 22-24, artists from various parts of the Visayas plus some guest artists from Manila, other areas displayed their beautiful work at the Visayas Art Fair in Oakridge, Mandaue City.

UP Cebu artist Raymund Fernandez and his former students, Dennis Montera and Pierre Famador also participated. Artists from other universities also joined.

Kidlat Tahimik with his son also displayed their creations – including a sculpted ‘kidlat’ to celebrate their departed family member named Kidlat.

Kidlat Tahimik also had a brief presentation where he shared with the audience his wooden Jose Rizal figure who had a European coat at his back. When the figure was turned, Jose Rizal wore a bahag with his western coat, which Kidlat emphasized was a reminder that Jose Rizal’s achievements were “Indi-genius,” that Rizal was a genius totally, indigenously Filipino.

To our pleasant surprise, we discovered “Around and Surround Bohol” which displayed the creative “gems in different styles, mediums, and perspectives” of four young Bol-anon artists- Jjawzip Ingking, Jumjum Ouano, Sherwin Sapong, Sherwin Tutor- sent by the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council (BACH)!

Happy to see them join the world of our well-known artists/awardees from Bohol – painters Estela Ocampo Fernandez, Hermogena "Nene" Borja Lungay and sculptor Napoleón Isabelo (Billy) Veloso-Abueva, among others!

May more young, old, female, male artists not only in Bohol but throughout the country receive much-needed support and have more open doors for them to share their beautiful art work locally and globally.

Congratulations to all the artists who participated in the just-concluded Visayan Art Fair.

Thank you too and to the organizers as well for allowing us to widen and deepen our perspective of the world through the eyes and creations of artists!

Moving on from our artists to our CSOs.

Starting yesterday, November 27, until Friday, November 29, hundreds of CSOs are expected to gather in GMall of Cebu at North Reclamation Area, Cebu City for KUKABILDO SA KALAMBOAN, CEBU CSO WEEK that will focus on COP29 and What It Means for Climate Action in Urban Transformation.

The Kukabildo sa Kalamboan: Kaabag sa Sugbo Dialogues on Development (DiaD) series serves as a platform for meaningful discussions on pressing development issues that impact Cebu and the wider region.

This forum, “a key event in the 1st Cebu CSO Week underscores Kaabag sa Sugbo’s role as a convener of multi-sectoral initiatives that contributes to addressing complex development challenges, reaffirming the network’s commitment to fostering community-led growth and sustainable solutions.”

The event, co-organized with the Central Visayas Network of NGOs and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, aims to “unpack the agreements made in the recently-concluded COP29 and what this means for a strong national climate plan and local climate actions.”

Kaabag sa Sugbo's Kukabildo sa Kalamboan will focus conversation on reflections of Pagtambayayong’s Engr. Paula Fernandez who participated in the 29th Conference of Parties (COP 29) and the implications of the agreements made in Baku, Azerbaijan on local actions in urban transformation. With cities and urban areas contributing significantly to global emissions, urban transformation becomes a vital climate action.

“COP 29” is the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11 to 22 November 2024.

UN Climate Change Conferences (or COPs) take place every year, and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change that brings together almost every country on Earth.

Or “to put it simply, the COP is where the world comes together to agree on the actions to address the climate crisis, such as limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.”

The COP29 UN Climate Conference recently-concluded with an agreement to triple climate finance to protect developing countries against climate disasters, increase investment in clean energy, and promote transparency climate reporting.