CANVAS and partners push the development of reading culture to Filipino children

By Rizal Raoul Reyes (BusinessMirror)

Artists from different fields joined forces for “Batang Karapat-Dapat,” a mini festival on the rights of the child.

The multi-arts event was inspired by Karapat Dapat, which was written by May Tobias-Papa with artworks by Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, and published by the Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development (Canvas) and Ang INK in 2018. The book depicts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in a way that children can understand. It includes activities, such as coloring and drawing pages, mazes and puzzles. It is a must-have for all children 17 years old and below.

Gigo Alampay, founder and executive director of Canvas, told the media in a recent interview that they also want to promote the love for reading among children because it would be a valuable tool for them in life. “A child is empowered when a child learns that no matter his or her background, abilities, gender or religion, he or she is valuable, celebrated and protected,” explained Alampay.

“Batang Karapat-Dapat” opened on November 20, on the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Attendees of the inaugural day were treated to the presence of some members of the cast of popular children’s television show, Team Yey. The crowd squealed in delight as Yesha Camile, JM Canlas and Xia Vigor danced, accommodated selfies, signed books and shared words of wisdom on how to be “the best every day in your own way.”

For the duration of the four-day mini festival, various activities ran at different areas of the

Cultural Center of the Philippines. The CCP Arts Education’s Batang Sining, Sining Alamin and Ang INK conducted dance, art, theater and music workshops for children. The kids also learned about their rights as children—to play, to learn, to be healthy, to grow and be nurtured in a safe environment, and many more, from the “Karapat-Dapat” multi-arts workshops. Canvas gave away 250 books daily. Students from public elementary schools in Manila city and Camanava areas, and children orphaned by the “war on drugs” were among the beneficiaries.

The highlight of the mini festival was a storytelling collaboration performance, titled “Mga Kuwentong Karapat-Dapat,” which combined three Canvas-published books. The stories went from page to stage with the performance and direction of Abner Delina Jr., also known as Kuya Fidel in the Batibot revival.

Moreover, the audience viewed images of a happy home from Anino Shadowplay Collective’s interpretation of Tahan na, Tahanan. The message of Nadia and the Blue Stars, which depicted the role of society and the importance of hope, was communicated through dance by Daloy Dance Co. Anima Tierra told the environmental tale of Inang Kalikasan’s Bad Hair Day through its percussive beats and enchanting vocals inspired by traditional music all over the world.

“Along with CCP and Black Canvas, a multi-arts network of creative collaborators, we hope to build a community of children, teachers, parents and artists to promote a safer, peaceful and loving world not only for kids, but for everyone,” Alampay shared.

Aside from the artists, “Batang Karapat-Dapat” was made possible through the support of UBS and Direct Aid Program of the Australian Embassy of the Philippines, Save the Children Philippines and The Araneta Foundation. Canvas is a nonprofit organization which gives away children’s books inspired by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. So far, Canvas has distributed 250,000 books from Itbayat in Batanes  to Jolo in Mindanao.

Targets of the program are children from public schools and disadvantaged communities. The books are directly given to the children. “For majority of the children, it is their first book to own,” Alampay said.

In these times, Alampay said promoting the habit of reading is important to the country as only 50 percent of majority of the children enrolled in elementary go on to finish high school, with 10 percent being functionally illiterate.

“It is not enough to learn to read. But if they learn to love books, they will continue to learn whether they are in school or not. Reading becomes a lifelong skill,” Alampay pointed out.