ARMM to participate in Budayaw Festival

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will participate in various activities slated in the international Budayaw Festival from September 20 to 24 in General Santos City.

Dubbed “Budayaw: 2017 Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Festival of Culture and the Arts,” the event will showcase the diversity of creative expressions of cultural masters and artists from the BIMP-EAGA.

Maritess Maguindra, director of the Bureau on Cultural Heritage-ARMM, said the region will take part in different activities that will include a presentation on culture during the Colloquium, presentation of masterpieces of cultural artists, and an exhibit that will feature Muslim Filipino’s rich history and culture.

“Budayaw is a platform and mechanism to bring about cultural appreciation,” Maguindra said.

Budayaw is derived from two words, namely, “Budaya,” a Malay term that means culture, and “Dayaw,” a Filipino word that expresses bounty, beauty, and grace.

“Twenty years of economic cooperation in the BIMP-EAGA led to the realization that culture is an element in the sustainable development of the four countries,” Nestor Horfilla, head of the festival organizing committee,” Maguindara said.

The festival will bear the theme ‘Taking Pride in the Creative Diversity of the BIMP-EAGA Region.’

The events in the festival include Photo Exhibit and Colloquium, Visual Arts Exhibit and Workshops, Choral Special Concerts, Country Performance Showcase, Ikat Pavilion and Traditional Virtuosos, BIMP EAGA Tourism Pavilion, Mindanao History and Culture, Community Outreach Showcase, and Special Events and Outdoors Concert.