World Heritage volunteers start work in Ifugao town

CULTURAL TOURISM

Daniel Codamon

KIANGAN, Ifugao -- Forty local and foreign volunteers recently arrived in this tourist town, where Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita surrendered  Japanese Imperial forces to end World War 2, and started work or the World Heritage Volunteers  Initiative for 2015, launched in 2008 under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization   and implemented by the Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly (YSDA).

Municipal Tourism Officer Merlyn Tayaban, said the team stayed in the municipality for 12 days from July 14 until July 25 and started work for rehabilitation of the Nagacadan Rice Terraces, and beautification of Open Air Museum of the town situated also in Barangay Nagacadan.  Students from the University of Guam did archeological diggings at the “Old Kiyyangan Village” in Barangay Munggayang.

YSDA executive director Rior Santos said the WHVI sought to mobilize and involve young people and youth organizations in world heritage preservation and promotion. Since 2008, the accredited world heritage volunteers project mobilized 2,000 volunteers in 173 projects in 29 countries with local nongovernment organizations.

Last year, with the cooperation and support of the municipal government,  the YSDA successfully implemented the WHV-Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras project  at the Nagacadan Rice Terraces.  This year they intend to build on the achievement and the learning from the previous WHV project and will implement the WHV-Youth at the Terraces which is approved by UNESCO.

This project is a 1.5-year heritage conservation project that aims to show how youth volunteerism complements the management of the rice terraces and promote World Heritage site conservation and intercultural learning.

YSDA was founded in 1994 and is a national youth-led and youth-serving organization in the Philippines that support youth involvement in all aspects and levels of sustainable development with the main thrust of supporting young people in the development and implementation of community-based sustainable development demonstration projects and provide platforms for young people to voice out their concerns.  

It is also the first Philippine-based youth organization to become a member of the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service, the biggest network of international voluntary organizations in the world that harnesses youth leadership through volunteerism.

In 2012, the YSDA became the only Philippine member of the Network for Voluntary Development in Asia.  It has exchanged, hosted and sent almost 150 volunteers to Greece, Japan, Korea, Slovakia, Poland, Spain and Italy and also conducted volunteer projects in the Philippines mobilizing approximately 10,000 volunteers since 2000.