Cecile Alvarez presents platform of action to Amb. Lagdameo Sr

ON the sidelines of her trip to New York in the first two weeks of November as one of the seven honorees at La MaMa Experimental Theater’s Remake-A-World Gala, Philippine theater pioneer and climate justice advocate Cecile GuidoteAlvarez met with Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Antonio Lagdameo Sr.

At their meeting, she was able to present to the ambassador the Manila platform of action agreed upon at the SDGs Resiliart Earthsaving Event under Unesco patronage that was funded by the Senate of the Philippines, endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and hosted by the City of Manila in liaison with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, Holy See ambassador to the United Nations, also presented a report.

“The result of historic global encounter was also presented in Paris to Unesco Assistant Secretary-General for Culture Ernesto Ottone and ADG for Africa and Exterior Relations Eduard Matoko, which manifested the tenacity of artists to launch the global techno-arts SDGs movement not by force of arms but by the power of the arts amid the pandemic restriction,” said GuidoteAlvarez, the concept-project director. Guidote-Alvarez is also the president of the Social Change Network of the International Theater Institute and director of Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble honored as Unesco Artists for Peace.

“Effective cultural communications utilizing an inclusive, inter-disciplinary techno-arts methodology will help governments fulfill their commitment to the UN 2030 SDGs agenda,” she said.

Mia Yoo, artistic director of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, described her as “a force of nature” as the widow of Sen. Heherson Alvarez was honored together with six other awardees from around the world.

“She is someone I look to as a guiding light. I’ve said time and time again, she paved the way for us in La MaMa. In our work to a more just world, that art can be a powerful tool to help us grapple with the issues of our time,” Yoo said.

Besides Guidote-Alvarez, the other six honorees are Belarus Free Theater, Richard Lanier of the Asian Cultural Council in New York, Alvaro Restrepo of Colombia and Beka Vuco of The Balkans, Serhiy Zhadan of Ukraine and Duk Hyung Yoo of South Korea.