NATIONAL IP CONFERENCE ON MINING. March 12-14,2006,Baguio City

On coming 12-14,2006, PhilDHRRA will organise a three days National Indigenous People Conference on Mining, will be held at Baguio City. The theme of this conference are" Strengthening Ourselves, Protecting Our Lands, Sustaining Life."The objectives are; to discuss the prevailing situation of IPs in the global, national and local contexts; to assess the various threats and propose possible responses that the IP communities and their support groups can explore; and to commit towards a national unified plan of action in advancing IP rights. Expected 200 participants representing all the major IP organized groups and another 50 participants from support institutions. Mr.Jaybee Garganera, National Coordinator of PhilDHRRA, said " at the end of this 3-day activity, participants would be able to acquire a broader and deeper understanding of the issues and concerns behind national policies and current reality of IP communities, share and distribute tools and materials that can advance IP rights and assist local-level advocacy and other interventions, and adopt a national IP plan of action to protect the gains and pursue the advocacy of confronting the many threats that challenge IP communities." As part of my learning process at PhilDHRRA, I will participate and assist PhilDHRRA Secretariat in this 3 days conference and hope that I will gain more knowledge and experiences especially on how PhilDHRRA work with indigenous peoples and how its promote sustainable development thru people empowerment.