The Mindanao Histories and Studies (MHS) Project aims to connect relevant local as well as national actors to advocate for the inclusive integration of Mindanawon narratives in the Philippine Education System. This integration is detailed in the MHS Roadmap that was developed by the Technical Working Group on MHS in cooperation with Pro Peace and is based on conflict-sensitive, inclusive, and participatory values. The Technical Working Group on MHS is composed of historians, educational experts, civil society leaders, and peace workers with various ethnic backgrounds from both Mindanao and Manila.
History education matters because it serves as the dominant source of what future generations perceive as their personal and collective past. The inclusion of Mindanawon narratives in the Philippine Education System is a crucial step towards reconciliation and the promotion of peace since their past presentations were rarely of an inclusive nature. Therefore, it is crucial that Mindanawons are not merely described from the outside but actively engaged in the writing of their own narratives in order to truly represent their perceptions of their own histories.
The cooperation between the Technical Working Group on MHS and Pro Peace started with the conference “Conversation on Mindanaoan History and its Integration in the Philippine Education System” organized by Pro Peace together with Al Qalam Institute at Ateneo de Davao University in August 2018. Since then, the “2nd Conversation on Mindanao Histories and Studies” has taken place at the same venue in 2019 in order to present and critically discuss the MHS Roadmap developed over the course of one year.
Now, the MHS Project is at the crucial phase to support the inclusion of the MHS Roadmap as well as its values and mission/vision in the Philippine Education System. For this, an Advocacy Group will strategize and facilitate a targeted advocacy towards educational government institutions and the public for the implementation of all proposed changes in the MHS Roadmap.