LA UNION JOINS 14th NAKEM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

By: Vice Mamaril       Photo By: GPC-PIO       Date: June 7, 2019

To further strengthen and promote the Iloko language, the Provincial Government of La Union headed by Gov. Francisco Emmanuel "Pacoy" R. Ortega III through the Culture and Arts Unit participated in the 14th Nakem International Conference with the theme “Democracy and Inclusion in Multilingual Education” at Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), San Juan, Manila held on June 7-9, 2019.

The conference aimed to provide a venue for the exchange and diffusion of ideas, researches, and practices that take into account the condition of cultural diversity and linguistic pluralism in Philippine society and in the Philippine classroom. Professionals, researchers, cultural workers and students from the Philippines and other countries participated in said conference.

Plenary and parallel sessions were held during the three-day conference. Among the topics discussed were Respect for Diversity and the Logic of Inclusion in the Philippine Diaspora: Lessons from the Ground; Correcting Tagalog Exclusivity in Philippines Education by Implementing Emancipatory and Pro-Diversity Multi-Language Curricula; Mother Tounge: Too much or not enough?; and Making Shoes that fit Philippine Languages.

Part of the conference is the launching of the “Sanut Ilokano App,” an application which will teach children how to count in Ilocano, sing Ilocano songs, and read stories in Ilocano.

The next Nakem Conference will be held in Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet on 2020.