11th KUTITAP FOR INDIGENOUS CHILDREN GOES ONLINE

In celebration of the 2020 National Children’s Month and National Indigenous Peoples’ Month, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) through its Cultural Exchange Department (CED) in partnership with the Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG) and Sinukwan Kapampangan Training Center for the Arts will hold the 11th Kutitap: Isang Piging ng Kabataang Makasining online from November 23-28, 2020. 

One hundred twenty children and their adult guides representing various cultural communities all over the country will be gathered for a six-day celebration of arts, culture and traditions.  Now on its 11th year, Kutitap aims to instill among the Filipino children and youth a deep sense of understanding, appreciation and pride for Philippine arts, indigenous culture, as well as to promote creativity and positive social values.  Kutitap will conduct interactive activities to include mini-workshops and showcases (in dance, drama, music, rituals, visual arts, etc.), storytelling, crafting, traditional games, film viewing, group discussions, creative collaboration, educational-exposure tours, among others.

Since the first gathering in 2009, Kutitap has already reached over 2,904 children from 125 local communities nationwide.  In 2011, the project was redesigned for the benefit of the children in Northern Luzon who were badly affected by typhoons Pedring and Quiel.  For the first time in 2015, Kutitap was brought out of the CCP and was hosted by the City of Batangas.  For the first time too, the program was filmed and presented as part of the Children of Asia research project under the Asian Culture Institute (ACI) in Gwangju, South Korea.  The film made by Kevin K. Park was shown during the opening of the Asia Culture Center (ACC) in Korea.  In 2016, Kutitap was brought to the Visayas under the hosting of the Province of Capiz, in 2017 in Tagum City, in 2018 in Los Baños-Laguna and in 2019 in Koronadal City.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the project will be migrated online and will have for its theme “Mga Batang Makasining Para sa Isang Malusog at Malayang Kinabukasan” (Creative Children for a Healthy, Independent and Progressive Future).  In line with this theme, the program was specially designed to include sessions on indigenous food, games, folktales, music, dance, herbal medicine, film and crafts.

This year’s participants will be children ages 7-12 years old from the following 12 cultural communities:  Mindanao – Maguindanao, Tawi Tawi and Davao Oriental; Visayas – Ati of Iloilo, Antique & Aklan; Luzon – Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga, Laguna & National Capital Region - Quezon City, Manila and Marikina. 

For more information, check the CCP Cultural Exchange Department FB account and/or email at ccp.ced2014@gmail.com