Baybayin, History, Future with Anakbayan Sydney

Anakbayan Sydney presents 'Baybayin, History, Future', an introductory primer and workshop on Baybayin, a pre-colonial language system of the Philippines. Led by Anakbayan Sydney members Josh Hernandez and Reese Claro (author of ‘From Baybayin to Abakada’), we will discuss the history of Baybayin, reading and writing in Baybayin, and the lessons Baybayin teaches us about national and cultural identity, especially for us migrant youth wanting to learn more about our home. All levels of proficiency in both Baybayin and Tagalog are welcome, including beginners or first-timers. Please RSVP as limited capacity is available. More and more Filipino youth abroad wish to learn about the home they’ve been growing and living away from. We see this in the growing interest in Baybayin and the rising awareness towards the ongoing corruption and plundering in the Philippines. In keeping Baybayin alive, we will discuss the importance of preserving Indigenous cultures and languages as resistance against the colonial and imperial tactics to subjugate the culture of the masses. We will also discuss how we can build on our drive to connect with our homeland by learning and participating in the active national-democratic struggle. Through learning about the history, language, and writing script of our pre-colonial past, may this be the match that strikes the flame of deeper interest in Filipino culture and revolutionary action that we can partake in to dismantle the very systems that seek to uphold these imperialist ideals.