Webinar on Austronesian Connection on Language and Culture and Its Significance to Indigenous Peoples

October 21, 2020 | 1:00PM – 4:00PM

After many years of deactivation, the Taiwan-led Austronesian Forum was reactivated on the 1st day of August 2018. Through the leadership of the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) of the ROC Taiwan, the forum was re-established with twelve (12) members including the Republic of Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Philippines, New Zealand, Malaysia, Republic of Indonesia, Guam and Hawaii. The forum is now a platform for Austronesian Peoples to share histories, cultures, and issues faced by each member.

For its part, the Philippines through the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) expressed its full support to succeeding activities namely the 2019 Cultivation Program of Young Talent for International Affairs held in ROC Taiwan on July of last year, the 2019 International Austronesian Language Revitalization Forum, and the 2019 Executive Council Meeting of Austronesian Forum, both held at the forum’s headquarters in Palau. One of the major highlights was the agenda for the Indigenous Peoples—their origins, identity, connections, and their plight as a people. Thus, maintaining the Austronesian connection is seen as an important part of the NCIP’s vision and mission.

As we celebrate this year’s Indigenous Peoples Month and the 23rd Commemoration of the Passage of the Philippine Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), we send a strong message to the whole world that the Commission and the Philippine Government take it to heart and put into action concrete steps in correcting historical injustices suffered by our Indigenous Peoples since colonial times. This international forum seeks to gather our Austronesian neighbors and learn from their experiences in fulfilling this sacred task. As we look forward to further strengthen our ties with our Austronesian family, we aim to further advance the Indigenous Peoples agenda by building a foundational structure, holding additional fora, and developing both resources and people through linguistic and cultural exchanges.