The Third District of Negros Occidental takes the lead in the celebration of the National Heritage Month this May as it hosts the Youth Forum on Heritage 2023 at Magikland in Barangay Guinhalaran, Silay City, May 16 to 18.

Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) together with the local governments of Victorias, Silay, Talisay, E.B. Magalona and Murcia, with the special participation of Bacolod City, welcome the partnership with the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

The National Heritage Month has been observed annually since 2003, by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 439 and this year’s celebration carries the theme “Heritage: Change and Continuity”.

The three-day forum with 60 participants, mostly between 17 to 23 years old, will include lectures, fieldwork and a workshop that will heighten awareness, understanding and strengthen efforts towards preservation and protection of local cultural heritage.

Benitez lauded the youth forum project of FHFI and NCCA as “a great endeavor towards fostering intergenerational connections and preserving cultural legacies, and I wholeheartedly support it”.

“In the hands of the youth lies the power to breathe new life into our cultural legacy, to infuse it with their own unique perspectives and to pass it on to the future generations, richer and more vibrant than ever before. Through the youth forum on herniate, FHJFI and NCCA will cultivate the value of cultural appreciation and preservation and the vital role all of us play in [protecting and promoting our cultural heritage. I am honored to be part of these efforts, “ Benitez said.

FHFI has been conducting the Youth Forum on Heritage since 2016 through strong public and private partnerships. Experts in the field of safeguarding cultural heritage through cultural mapping are invited as lecturers and workshop facilitators.*