FILIPINO GAMES REVIVAL IN LOCAL BARANGAYS

Remember the line Apo Hiking Society's song... "Hayaan mong maglaro ang mga bata". Yes, let the children play.



 

There are many benefits that play offers in the live of children: it's healthy as they become physically active; it's also social, as they build strong camaraderie with their neighborhood friends.








In the advent of high tech gadgets and computer games, we are advocating the Pinoy Games to let the children play outdoors with their "kababata" and bring back the fun in the neighborhood.Magna Kultura Foundation is currently conducting an outreach program called LARONG PINOY.


Together with its corporate-citizen partner Lucky Me!, Magna Kultura Foundation has been launching Play Camps in urban cities teaching kids the games of our heritage --- Patintero, Tumbang Preso, Piko, Luksong Tinik and a host of street-games that our parents and elders use to play.


The Play Camps are conducted in a scientific sports clinic fashion with methodical drills in teaching the game mechanics of popular Pinoy games, dubbed "ESKWE-LARO". It's fascinating to see the kids to each drill exercise, giggling their way through each task. The 'scientific' methods for teaching Larong Pinoy is something never before done in the history of the games.


Enrollment in the Play Camps are free. Kids come together in the Play Camp along with their neighborhood playmates and personally sign-up at the registration table. The Play Camps are free. It is open to children with ages 3 to 12 years old.


Most of the children who line-up in our Play Camps hails from the underprivileged class of society --- children who don't have computers or high-tech game gadgets at home. Most of the kids spend their afternoons playing in the streets. (Like when you pass by in an urban depressed are you comment, "wow, factory ng bata" because they're all out in the streets and your car could barely pass by).


These are the children we reach out to. And we're giving them something to play on --- games that doesn't need expensive materials. What do you use when you play Patintero or Luksong Tinik? Children easily improvise materials for Piko (using a piece of stone as 'pamato') or a can for Tumbang Preso. And you have all the laughter in the neighborhood. and, much more, they build happy memories with their childhood "kababata".


One day they become parents, they too will be able to say, "yan ang laro namin nung bata pa kami".Still, more than teaching kids Pinoy Games, we are also instilling the love for things that are Filipino. In a "kiddy" manner, we make them realize that the games are played by their parents, their grandparents, and that these are truly Filipino games. We also make them proud to be playing a game that has been passed on from generation to generation.


Magna Kultura Foundation  realizes what this advocacy is doing to the new generation of children.

 

 

We see the joy in the eyes of parents and the lolas as they watch their children take part in the Eskwe-Laro activities. They are full of "thank you's", aside from receiving a free clinic for their siblings, they find that they have something to talk about with their children at home, especially during dinner time.




The activity transforms people, transform places. It revives a way of life and fun in communities. We are passing on something that children will remember forever in the lives. And we believe that long after the Play Camp have left their community the legacy will live on, in their barangays and among their children's children.







Like their lolo's and lolas' they will be able to say, "Yan ang laro namin noong bata pa kami..."This is our small contribution to to building Filipino National Culture. In a fun way, we are helping prepare the youth to be proud Filipinos.






One day, they will all grow up. So let the children play. Let them build happy memories with their neighborhood playmates. Let's play the games we all use to play when were kids... when we didn't have PC games. Mag-larong Pinoy tayo!"

Buhayin natin ang mga laro ng ating lahi.
Buhayin natin ang diwang maka-Filipino
sa mga kabataan sa panahong ito.

Corporate citizens interested in partnering with Magna Kultura Foundation in advocating the Games in the Philippines may contact our email: magnakultura@gmail.com, or call us at our mobile phone

FOR MORE DETAILS, CLICK THIS LINK: LARONG PINOY DIRECT MARKETING PROMOTIONS

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Dickie Aguado, Magna Kultura Foundation

Mobile Nos.: +63 917.899.0025 (Globe)

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Make Each Day Your Masterpiece

The key to self-creation is in your willingness to do very tiny things - but to do them TODAY.

Self-creation is not an all-or-nothing game. Rather, it's a work in progress.

A little touch here and a small stroke there is what makes your day (and therefore, your life) great.

Today is a microcosm of your entire life. It is your whole life in miniature. It's like... You were "born" when you woke up and you will "die" when you go to sleep. Think of it that way, so that you could live your whole life in a day.

Most of us, however, don't want it to be this way. If we were asked whether today could be used as a model to judge our entire life by, we would probably shriek, "Oh, no! It wasn't one of my better days. Give me a year or two and I'll live a day, I'm certain of it, that you can use to represent my life."

We want our lives to accumulate. To add up to something. We think of life as being strung together like a long smoky train, so that we can add new freight cars when we're feeling that the time is right for it.

How Does Culture Build Community

Culture builds communities in different ways. It has a positive impact on many of the key challenges that face our nation today. As a cultural organization, it is important to make it clear to national and local government decision makers, that culture is vital to building community today and into the future.

Culture Builds Quality Of Life

Quality of life is not an easy area to define or measure, but somewhere in the evaluation is an indicator that measures an individual's social, physical and economic well-being.

Culture, by its very nature, inspires social well-being. One of the most distinguishing features of local culture is the crucial role ordinary citizens have in expressing it…local plays, variety concerts, festivals, craft fairs, fiestas and other events turn farmers and retail sales clerks into artisans and amateur performers. These expressions, experiences, interactions, along with direct community participation, contribute to increased self-worth and self-confidence for the individuals involved.

Most cities and municipalities have cultural performers, musicians and craftsmen. Getting involved, interacting with others, participating in activities of interest and generally improving the quality of their lives, are a few of the reasons why cultural volunteers stay with organizations, in some cases, from a young age well into their senior years.

Culture Builds Inspiration and Hope For Troubled Youth

Many young people struggle with issues of identity, independence, competency and social roles. Some youth lash out at the system through crime or violence. Cultural activity teaches the value of discipline, teamwork and positive self-expression. Youth are able to experience the tangible rewards and public affirmation that this type of activity can provide.

By participating in a variety of different cultural activities, youth are able to develop new perspectives on their lives. They learn to imagine, to express, to create, to build relationships - and ultimately develop solutions to deal with their own individual struggles.

Research shows that students who participate in a school band, orchestra, chorus or a school play, are significantly less likely than non-participants to drop out of school, be arrested, drink excessively or use drugs.

Culture Builds Healthier Lifestyles

Throughout the world, medical experts have long-realized the benefits of music, dance, art and poetry to help in the healing process. Before requiring institutional care, most individuals have years of opportunity to create a healthy lifestyle.

Attending festivals, galleries, museums, music or theatrical performances are a simple ways to see results through increased personal contentment and stress reduction. Taking advantage of cultural opportunities may be a stress-free solution.

People who often enjoyed cultural activities such as movies and plays, concerts, religious services and even sporting events lived longer than those who rarely attended. Researchers suggest that the benefit is due to increased social contact and the ability to express emotions in a supportive environment.

Culture Builds An Educated and Innovative Population

If society were to embrace and build upon the powerful role that culture plays in education, it would be amazed at the amount of brilliant minds that would be created.

Cultural activity engages the mind. It gives our youth a richer reservoir of information upon which to draw in pursing other subjects, such as reading, writing, mathematics and history. It involves analysis, reasoning, synthesis, evaluation and application. It hones non-verbal skills such as perception, imagination and creativity and it also develops vocabulary, metaphorical language, observation and critical thinking skills.

Dance, music, photography and other visual arts, transcend language, dissolving barriers among cultural, racial and ethnic groups.

Businesses today look for workers who can think and create. Cultural activity places a premium on discovery and innovation, originality and imagination. Arts, heritage and multiculturalism stimulate creative thought - an invaluable trait for the workplace and for life in general.

Culture Builds Interest

Peoples' growing interest in exploring new cultures and participating in many different forms of cultural activity has sparked a steady rise in cultural tourism in provincial cities and municipalities. Tourism centered around fiestas, arts events, cultural festivals, museums, art galleries and heritage attractions are at the heart of the province's greatest tourist attractions.

Culture Builds Community!

From murals, songs and dances to museums, stages and the land itself, in both urban and rural areas, culture benefits our communities. It is woven through our lives and the various segments of our society. Not only does culture provide us our identity and create spirit in our communities - it provides jobs and incentives for community improvement and helps attract new residents and visitors.

Culture is a valuable trading card for our province. If given room to grow and flourish, culture will be instrumental in attracting new business and new residents. Studies show that cultural amenities increase the leverage for companies trying to attract new skilled employees.

So, when the decision makers are looking for answers to community issues they need only look around at their province’s richly, vibrant culture to see that -- culture builds community.

Let’s develop culture, starting with the youth at school. Pass on the cultural heritage of your local province.

The Importance of Fine Arts: Visual Arts, Music, Drama/Theatre, Dance

Throughout time, the arts have been essential to the human experience. They are unique tools that allow all people to express feelings and emotions, connect with contemporary and other times and cultures, and develop new insights. The arts enrich the quality of life by linking hope to memory, inspiring courage, enriching celebrations, adding beauty to life, and making tragedies bearable. All students deserve access to the arts through creation, production and performance, and study.

Young children respond to gestures and movement before they react to the spoken word. They understand and explore sound before they learn to speak. They draw pictures before they form letters. They dance and act out stories before they learn to read.

The fine arts – visual arts, music, drama, and dance – are fundamental ways of knowing and thinking. They contribute to a child’s development and foster the skills of communication, creativity, and cognition. Education in the arts benefits the student because it cultivates the whole child, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication.

Dance, drama, music, and the visual arts cultivate the direct experience of the senses; they trust the un-mediated flash of insight as a legitimate source of knowledge. Their goal is to connect person and experience directly, to build the bridge between verbal and nonverbal, between the strictly logical and the emotional. Both approaches are powerful and both are necessary to allow the learner to better gain an understanding of the whole.

The arts connect people across time and cultures. Because the arts are both universal and culturally specific, they are a powerful means of increasing international and inter-cultural awareness. Through the study of the arts, students gain a greater understanding of their own culture as well as preparation for global citizenship. The arts enable students to frame the world from an aesthetic perspective, allowing them to see that there are many ways in which the world can be viewed.

Let us take art at the heart of communities. Through arts let us enrich the lives of our fellow-Filipinos.

Let art inspire and transform people, transform communities. Use it to build a better society.

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By the third quarter of 2008, Magna Kultura Foundation will embark on the task of setting up People's Art Councils in cities and municipalities in the Philippines. By design, the councils will be managed by the people in their locale and will develop and produce programs and activities for citizens in the their communities.

"I Am A Filipino" by Carlos P. Romulo

I am a Filipino – inheritor of a glorious past, hostage to the uncertain future. As such, I must prove equal to a two-fold task – the task of meeting my responsibility to the past, and the task of performing my obligation to the future.

I am sprung from a hardy race – child many generations removed of ancient Malayan pioneers. Across the centuries, the memory comes rushing back to me: of brown-skinned men putting out to sea in ships that were as frail as their hearts were stout. Over the sea I see them come, borne upon the billowing wave and the whistling wind, carried upon the mighty swell of hope – hope in the free abundance of the new land that was to be their home and their children’s forever.

This is the land they sought and found. Every inch of shore that their eyes first set upon, every hill and mountain that beckoned to them with a green and purple invitation, every mile of rolling plain that their view encompassed, every river and lake that promised a plentiful living and the fruitfulness of commerce, is a hollowed spot to me.

By the strength of their hearts and hands, by every right of law, human and divine, this land and all the appurtenances thereof – the black and fertile soil, the seas and lakes and rivers teeming with fish, the forests with their inexhaustible wealth in wild and timber, the mountains with their bowels swollen with minerals – the whole of this rich and happy land has been for centuries without number, the land of my fathers. This land I received in trust from them, and in trust will pass it to my children, and so on until the world is no more.

I am a Filipino. In my blood runs the immortal seed of heroes – seed that flowered down the centuries in deeds of courage and defiance. In my veins yet pulses the same hot blood that sent Lapulapu to battle against the alien foe, that drove Diego Silang and Dagohoy into rebellion against the foreign oppressor,

That seed is immortal. It is the self-same seed that flowered in the heart of Jose Rizal that morning in Bagumbayan when a volley of shots put an end to all that was mortal of him and made his spirit deathless forever; the same that flowered in the hearts of Bonifacio in Balintawak, of Gregorio del Pilar at Tirad Pass, of Antonio Luna at Calumpit, that bloomed in flowers of frustration in the sad heart of Emilio Aguinaldo at Palanan, and yet burst forth royally again in the proud heart of Manuel L. Quezon when he stood at last on the threshold of ancient Malacanang Palace, in the symbolic act of possession and racial vindication.

The seed I bear within me is an immortal seed. It is the mark of my manhood, the symbol of my dignity as a human being. Like the seeds that were once buried in the tomb of Tutankhamen many thousands of years ago, it shall grow and flower and bear fruit again. It is the insigne of my race, and my generation is but a stage in the unending search of my people for freedom and happiness.

I am a Filipino, child of the marriage of the East and the West. The East, with its languor and mysticism, its passivity and endurance, was my mother, and my sire was the West that came thundering across the seas with the Cross and Sword and the Machine. I am of the East, an eager participant in its struggles for liberation from the imperialist yoke. But I know also that the East must awake from its centuried sleep, shake off the lethargy that has bound its limbs, and start moving where destiny awaits.

For I, too, am of the West, and the vigorous peoples of the West have destroyed forever the peace and quiet that once were ours. I can no longer live, a being apart from those whose world now trembles to the roar of bomb and cannon shot. For no man and no nation is an island, but a part of the main, and there is no longer any East and West – only individuals and nations making those momentous choices that are the hinges upon which history revolves.

At the vanguard of progress in this part of the world I stand – a forlorn figure in the eyes of some, but not one defeated and lost. For through the thick, interlacing branches of habit and custom above me I have seen the light of the sun, and I know that it is good. I have seen the light of justice and equality and freedom, my heart has been lifted by the vision of democracy, and I shall not rest until my land and my people shall have been blessed by these, beyond the power of any man or nation to subvert or destroy.

I am a Filipino, and this is my inheritance. What pledge shall I give that I may prove worthy of my inheritance? I shall give the pledge that has come ringing down the corridors of the centuries, and its hall be compounded of the joyous cries of my Malayan forebears when they first saw the contours of this land loom before their eyes, of the battle cries that have resounded in every field of combat from Mactan to Tirad Pass, of the voices of my people when they sing:

Land of the morning.

Child of the sun returning . . .

Ne’er shall invaders

Trample thy sacred shore.

Out of the lush green of these seven thousand isles, out of the heart-strings of sixteen million people all vibrating to one song, I shall weave the mighty fabric of my pledge. Out of the songs of the farmers at sunrise when they go to labor in the fields; out the sweat of the hard-bitten pioneers in Mal-ig and Koronadal; out of the silent endurance of stevedores at the piers and the ominous grumbling of peasants in Pampanga; out of the first cries of babies newly born and the lullabies that mothers sing; out of crashing of gears and the whine of turbines in the factories; out of the crunch of ploughs upturning the earth; out of the limitless patience of teachers in the classrooms and doctors in the clinics; out of the tramp of soldiers marching, I shall make the pattern of my pledge:

I am a Filipino born of freedom, and I shall not rest until freedom shall have been added unto my inheritance – for myself and my children’s – forever.

____________________________________________________________________________

Carlos Peña Romulo (b. 14 January 1899, Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines - d. 15 December 1985, Manila, Philippines) was a Filipino diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32. He is the co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

He was the signatory for the Philippines to the United Nations Charter when it was founded in 1946. He was a candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary-General in 1953.

He died, at 86, in Manila on 15th of December 1985 and was buried the Heroes’ Cemetery (Libingan ng mga Bayani). He was honoured as the Philippines’ greatest diplomat in the 20th Century.[citation needed] In 1980, he was extolled by United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim as "Mr. United Nations" for his valuable services to the United Nations and his dedication to freedom and world peace.

Imparting Filipino Culture Among the New Generation of Children

Remember the line Apo Hiking Society's song... "Hayaan mong maglaro ang mga bata". Yes, let the children play. There are many benefits that play offers in the live of children: it's healthy as they become physically active; it's also social, as they build strong camaraderie with their neighborhood friends.

In the advent of high tech gadgets and computer games, we are advocating the Pinoy Games to let the children play outdoors with their "kababata" and bring back the fun in the neighborhood.

Magna Kultura Foundation is currently conducting an outreach program called LARONG PINOY. Together with our corporate-citizen partner Lucky Me!, Play Camps are being held in urban cities teaching kids the games of our heritage --- Patintero, Tumbang Preso, Piko, Luksong Tinik and a host of street-games that our parents and elders use to play. The Play Camps are conducted in a sports clinic fashion teaching detailed mechanics on how to play each game --- and we call it ESKWE-LARO.


It's so heartwarming to see kids line-up and enroll during our Play Camps. They come together with their neighborhood playmates and personally sign-up. The Play Camps are free. It is open to children with ages 3 to 12 years old.


Most of the children who line-up in our Play Camps hails from the underprivileged class of society --- children who don't have computers or high-tech game gadgets at home. Most of the kids spend their afternoons playing in the streets. (Like when you pass by in an urban depressed are you comment, "wow, factory ng bata" because their all out in the streets and your car could barely pass by).


These are the children we are reaching out to. And we're giving them something to play on --- games that doesn't need expensive materials. What do you use when you play Patintero or Luksong Tinik? Children easily improvise materials for Piko (using a piece of stone as 'pamato') or a can for Tumbang Preso. And you have all the laughter in the neighborhood. and, much more, they build happy memories with their childhood "kababata". One day they become parents, they too will be able to say, "yan ang laro namin nung bata pa kami".

Still, more than teaching kids Pinoy Games, we are also instilling the love for things that are Filipino. In a "kiddy" manner, we make them realize that the games are played by their parents, their grandparents, and that these are truly Filipino games. We also make them proud to be playing a game that has been passed on from generation to generation.

Magna Kultura Foundation and the young marketing professionals at Monde-Nissin Corporation (makers of the Lucky Me! brand) fully realizes what this advocacy is doing to the new generation of children. We can see the joy in the eyes of parents and the lolas as they watch their children take part in the Eskwe-Laro activities. They are full of thanks, aside from receiving a free clinic for their siblings, they find that they have something to talk about with their children at home, especially during dinner time.

The activity transforms people, as it transform places. It revives a way of life and fun in communities. We are passing on something that children will remember forever in the lives. And we believe that long after the Play Camp have left their community the legacy will live on, in their barangays and among their children's children.

This is our small contribution to to building Filipino National Culture. In a fun way, we are helping prepare the youth to be proud Filipinos.

One day, they will all grow up. So let the children play. Let them build happy memories with their neighborhood playmates. Let them play the games we all use to play when were kids when we didn't have PC games.

Together with the kids, let's say... "Tayo na at maglaro!"

Transforming People. Transforming Places

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES

With the belief that strong understanding of our national culture is the key towards building a strong civil society, Magna Kultura Foundation launches educational and cultural programs designed to make Filipino citizens understand and appreciate the importance of the Filipino national culture. Having learned our national culture, citizens are helped not only to nurture and develop but also to draw from them a set of Filipino values that may serve as a strong foundation of a way of life.


The foundation implements projects in art, culture and history. Most of our programs caters to the under-privileged class. Our activities are educational and culturally enriching, with workshops and activities that provide meaningful experience to youths and adults. Our activities are geared to motivate people to become active citizens in building better communities to live in.

Magna Kultura Foundation takes its projects direct to the people, reaching out in communities. We make our activities accessible to citizens.


To ensure continuity of programs implemented in areas visited by the foundation, local chapters are established with home-grown talents trained to run and cascade the same activities among citizens in district-cities. Since 2005, Magna Kultura has been establishing community-based cultural clubs and community action teams in the Greater Manila Area and in key provincial cities. Local based secretariat teams are trained with organization management skills, as well as artistic and production craft to enable them to implement educational and cultural activities in the locale.


Magna Kultura Foundation equip individuals and/or associations with the professional and technical skills necessary, as well as materials and resources needed to properly implement and sustain its programs.


The foundation works in alliance with local civic organizations, academe-based groups and youth leaders, such as the Sangguniang Kabataan, in the development and implementation of the programmes.


Magna Kultura is committed our fellow-Filipino understand, appreciate, nurture and develop our national culture and having done so, draw from it learning’s about our good and time-honored Filipino values. Our quest is to help citizens to become responsible and enlightened citizens, proud of the rich heritage of a truly Filipino culture, yet always cognizant and appreciative of the need to understand the cultures of other peoples as well.


We dedicate our service to arts and culture for it steers the soul towards the principle we advocate.

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