DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 18 August) — A local college has entered into a partnership with the Davao Historical Society to help promote the heritage and stories of Davao City, through a memorandum of agreement signed Thursday, August 17.
The ceremonial signing was done with representatives of the Holy Cross of Davao College and the DHS at the function hall of the HCDC along Sta. Ana Street.
Rhys Lacia, HCDC Institute of Davao Studies (IDS) Focal Person, told MindaNews in an interview that the agreement would open up opportunities between them and HDS in preserving local heritage through various activities.
According to the MOA, Holy Cross would assist the DHS in promoting local heritage through joint activities such as events, lectures, research conferences, curriculum assistance, and student engagement opportunities.
Lacia said the project would allow both entities to engage in more partnerships, with the preservation and promotion of Davao’s history as one of its primary goals.
The partnership would allow both entities not only to preserve historical knowledge and conduct research but also to engage with a younger audience.
The school was established in 1951, while Davao City was established in 1936. With Holy Cross approaching its 75th year, the administration said it wanted to push for the revival of an in-house museum to help keep historical knowledge alive.
Representatives from the Davao Historical Society (from left) Vice President Patricia Melizza Bello Ruivivar, President Amalia Bandiola Cabusao, former President Pilar Braga, Rhys Lloyd Lacia, Focal Person, Institute of Davao Studies, and Maricel Cayas, head, Center for Culture and the Arts in a ceremonial signing of the MOA. MindaNews photo taken 17 August 2023 by GREGORIO BUENO
Last year, representatives from the HCDC were sent to trainings in building and curating museums with the intent of running its own repository of knowledge once more.
“We want to revive what was lost before, and fill it with more stories,” Lacia said.
The museum is currently at the concept stage, he said.
The collaboration opens up academic and research partnerships not only between members of the two entities but also access to studies by students, researchers, scholars, and persons conducting historical research about Davao, the MOA reads.
The MOA also volunteers the school’s facilities as a repository of documents, publications, and other academic resources of the DHS.
The MOA also includes the commitment of HCDC-IDS and DHS to organize joint public events, exhibitions, and conferences pertaining to Davao’s History to raise awareness and promote historical knowledge among the broader community within and outside Davao City.
The signing was held at the end of Throwback Thursday: The Evolution of a Festival, which was held at the same venue.
The event, organized by the DHS and HCDC, featured speakers who have direct knowledge of the early days of the ongoing Kadayawan Festival, namely Charita Puentespina, Ed Fernandez, Susan Antepuesto, and National Commission for Culture and the Arts Chair Oscar Casaysay. (Yas D. Ocampo/MindaNews)
