The National Commission for Culture and the Arts is now accepting project proposals for the 2021 Competitive Grants Program as it continues to provide assistance to the culture and arts sector to ensure the promotion of Filipino culture.
Edwin Antonio, national committee for Northern Luzon head, Christopher Lucindo, accreditation and grants section head, and Ferdinand Isleta, program division and policy formulation head, announced this during a press conference last week.
“Dahil tuloy ang daloy ng buhay kahit may Covid-19, ang NCCA po ay patuloy pa ding namimigay ng grants assistance para sa mga kapanalig at sa mga kabalikat sa pagsulong ng mayamang kultura at sining ng ating bayan. Gumawa po kami sa NCCA ng programs and projects na pwedeng maging akma naman para magpatuloy ang mga gawain para sa pagsulong ng mayamang kulutra and sining ng ating bansa,” Isleta said.
He encouraged Cordillerans, particularly cultural workers, artists, groups, and organizations in the culture and arts sector to submit their project proposals.
The NCCA Competitive Grants Program is anchored on the Commission’s vision of a Filipino people with a strong sense of nationhood and deep respect for cultural diversity and aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022: Chapter 7 on Culture (Promoting Philippine Culture and Values towards Bahamian).
The Grants Program has three elements namely: project-based where eligible proponents such as Filipino citizens based in the Philippines, local government units, state universities and colleges, public schools, indigenous peoples’ organizations, peoples’ organizations, government agencies, and civil society organizations can apply by submitting a well-planned project proposal; competitive in which approval of a project proposal passes through a rigorous and confidential evaluation process based on merit such as quality and relevance to Commission priorities; and fund transfer where approved projects are entitled to funding subject to applicable government accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
Antonio said that with the Covid-19 pandemic, they are expecting more project proposals that focus on the resiliency of the indigenous peoples and how they keep their traditions, culture and the arts alive in times of crisis. This includes documentation on traditional healing practices, trainings and seminars on cultural sensitivity, traditional justice system, and other indigenous practices.
Lucindo said that interested organizations or individuals must submit only one project proposal. Proponents must be accredited by the NCCA as a prerequisite to the approval of their project proposal. Thus, all proponents must settle and complete all pending projects from 2019 and previous years, including the liquidation of such to be able to avail of 2021 grants.
The proponent must fully accomplish the prescribed NCCA Project Proposal Form, indicate and identify the corresponding category where his/her project will fall, and submit the documentary requirements.
All project proposals should be addressed and submitted to the Policy/Plan Formulation and Programming Division of the NCCA. Deadline for the submission is on Sept. 30.
For more, interested parties may contact P/PFPD through at 8527-2192 (TL) loc. 509/8527-2198/8527-2209/8527-2194, through email address [email protected], or visit http://www.ncca.gov.ph/. – Redjie M. Cawis
April 27, 2024
