Baguio City officials recently congratulated and commended Vicky S. Macay for being the first Filipino and one of the six global recipients of the Indigenous Women Educators Award from the Indigenous-Led Education Network (ILED Network) last September 5, 2024.
In a resolution, local legislators stated that Macay, whose recent achievement of being honored and celebrated for her contributions in advocating for education and preserving indigenous knowledge, has once again proved her valuable role to the Ibaloi community, as well as to the city.
ILED Network, which was established and created in 2020, is a growing collaborative network organization in support of education led by indigenous peoples, to harness the power of indigenous-led education and to make indigenous communities, especially indigenous children and youth, more resilient for the future.
Further, the ILED Network is being managed by the ILED Support Team consisting of three northern-based organizations, Both Ends from the Netherlands, Forest Peoples Program from England and Rutu Foundation from the Netherlands. The role of this team is to facilitate, coordinate and support the work of the ILED Network and grassroots initiatives.
On September 5, 2024 in celebration of International Day of Indigenous Women, the ILED Network launched the Ingenious Women Educators campaign to celebrate the exceptional stewards of life and highlight their contributions to education.
The selection process was based on nominations made by several network partners, reviewed by the network’s regional facilitators, secretariat, and a small group of indigenous women members who were not involved in any nominations which ultimately led to the selection of six women from all over the world, one of which is Macay from the Philippines.
Macay is a 70-year old Ibaloi leader from Loakan. She is a respected community leader, educator, indigenous peoples rights advocate, volunteer worker and an award winning author.
Macay is one of the key leaders of the Onjon ni Ivadoy, author and co-author of several books, a member of the Council of Elders of Baguio and Chairperson of the Baguio-based nongovernment organization Partners for Indigenous Knowledge Philippines (PIKP).
She has been teaching Ibaloi traditional knowledge, values and practices to schools, communities, government and non-government organizations, as well as advocating for ancestral land rights.
The council claimed that Macay’s commitment to preserving Ibaloi traditions as well as the recognition of ancestral land claimants has made her one of the pillars of the Baguio Ibaloi community
Copies of the proved resolution will be transmitted to the offices of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples–Baguio City Desk and the NCIP central office and to Macay for information, guidance, ready reference and further needed action.(Baguio- PIO)
