Declared as a UNESCO World Heritage City in 1999, the city of Vigan will serve as the host of the inaugural GLAM Wiki Conference Philippines. It is described by the United Nations specialized agency as “the most intact example in Asia of a planned Spanish colonial town, established in the 16th century.”
Vigan, located along the northwestern coastline of Luzon facing the West Philippine Sea, is 403.1 km away from Manila. It is a 4th class component city, capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people.
From the UNESCO website: “Vigan is unique for having preserved much of its Hispanic colonial character, particularly its grid street pattern and historic urban lay out. Its significance also lies on how the different architectural influences are blended to create a homogenous townscape.”
Happening from September 20-22, 2024, the national training conference with theme “Empowering Communities Toward an Accessible Knowledge of Cultural Heritage” will feature keynote lectures, lightning talks, workshops, museum hopping, photography walk, meetups and social events.
During the 3-day conference, different cultural heritage activists and professionals from Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums with the vibrant Wikimedia communities in the Philippines are expected to exchange and share their experiences, new ideas, and collaboration results about open digital resources and cultural preservation. Likewise, they will discuss the practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted.
The Philippine Wikimedia Community User Group is the organizer of the event in partnership with the National Museum of the Philippines – Ilocos.
In 2023, the Philippine Wikimedia affiliate launched its first-ever GLAM Philippines outreach activity and documented some of the important ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and visual arts collections displayed at the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila.
Its community members and volunteers have also captured some of the collections at more than a dozen GLAM institutions including the National Archives of the Philippines in Manila; Museo ni Jesse M. Robredo, Universidad de Santa Isabel Museum, Museo del Seminario Conciliar de Nueva Caceres, and the University of Nueva Caceres Museum in Naga City; National Museum of the Philippines – Daraga in Albay; Museo Sorsogon; and National Museum of the Philippines – Cebu, Port San Pedro, Museo de Parian, Yap-San Diego Ancestral House, and Casa Gorordo in Cebu City.
The opening program will be held on 20 September 2024 at the National Museum of the Philippines – Ilocos featuring renowned historian Dr. Danilo M. Gerona who will give a lecture on The Founding of the Villa Fernandina in Vigan.
Professor Gerona is the author of the book Ferdinand Magellan Armada de Maluco and the European Discovery of the Philippines. He spent years of serious research in various archives in Europe. Currently, he is the Director of Center for Partido Studies at Partido State University in Camarines Sur; a member of the faculty in the Graduate School of the Universidad de Santa Isabel in Naga City; and a Research Associate of the University of San Carlos Press in Cebu City.
Dr. Sakti Pramudya, Senior Partnerships Manager for East South East Asia and Pacific (ESEAP) from the Wikimedia Foundation will deliver the keynote address from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Fr. Edmundo C. Castañeda Jr., Ph.D. will give a lecture on Linguistic Hospitality: The Risk of Translating P. Payo’s 1867 Ibanag-Spanish Dictionary into English. He is Vicar General of the Diocese of Ilagan in Isabela; President of St. Ferdinand College, City of Ilagan; Dean of Studies of the Our Lady of the Visitation Seminary, Cauayan City; Vice Chair of the Board of the Ilagan Diocesan School System and the Our Lady of the Pillar College System of the Diocese of Ilagán.
The program is currently being built via a call for submission of paper presentations running until 15 August 2024. Scholarship application is open to all Philippine-based cultural heritage professionals and Wikimedians. The announcement of accepted participants is on 31 August 2024.
Irvin P. Sto. Tomas is a community organizer, cultural activist, poet, photography enthusiast and a Wikimedia volunteer since 2006 from the Philippines. Currently, he serves as board secretary of the Commons Photographers User Group and a member of the ESEAP Preparatory Council.
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