PATIKUL, Sulu — The Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (BCPCH) organized a Conference on History on July 29-30 at SSC Hostel, Sulu State College in Patikul bringing together municipal tourism officers, educators, and representatives from partner schools and colleges.
Dubbed: “Unveiling the History of Sulu: A Conference on Historical Research Methodology”, the activity sought to unite historians, researchers, and scholars to share knowledge on the history of Sulu. It also aimed to preserve history, promote collaboration, enhance historical research methodology, and foster scholarly debate.
University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Professor Darwin J. Absari delivered his topics on the “Pre-Islamic history of Sulu” and “Islamization of Sulu and Its Contributions” to provide insights on the early history of Sulu before the arrival of Islam and to highlight the impact of Islamization on the region’s culture and development.
To explore the historical events and dynamics during the colonial era that shaped Sulu’s identity and society, UP Diliman Professor Abraham P. Sakili discussed the “Colonial Period of Sulu”.
Moreover, Mindanao State University-Sulu Professor Hannbal H. Bara focused on the “Contemporary History of Sulu” and “Historiography and historical research methodology” aimed at enhancing participants’ understanding of historical research and documentation techniques.
BCPCH Community Affairs Officer Aaron-Jeff D. Usman stressed that the activity was part of mainstreaming culture, history, and identity into educational frameworks. He mentioned that the commission is looking into integrating the outputs into the curriculum of elementary and secondary levels.
“These particular activities that we are doing are actually part of mainstreaming culture, heritage and identity, which is actually part of the pillars of Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim’s 12-Enhanced Priority Agenda,” said Usman in an interview.
“We actually look into the closer perspective of integrating these particular forms of conferences, ideas, at the same time generation of publications through the writing of Bangsamoro history, which will be actually channeled to curriculum development for the utilization of our educators, most especially at the grassroots level, including the elementary and secondary levels of education,” he added. (Alline Jamar M. Undikan/BIO)
