James Infante, a fourth-year political science student at the University of British Columbia, recently organized a rally at the celebration of Philippine Independence Day at Slocan Park to campaign towards having the Tagalog language integrated into the school system.
“The most important part is to have passion and devotion towards the change you want to see in your community,” says Infante, who is also the leader of the group, Pandayin.
Pandayin
“We thought that in order for us to get in touch with our heritage and culture, language would be the first step,” says Infante.
He has been working on the language campaign with other youth of Filipino descent, particularly those who identify as second generation Filipino Canadians.
“We decided to call ourselves pandayin, the Tagalog word for ‘to forge’ or ‘to create’,” says Infante.
The members of Pandayin chose this word for its complexity and dynamism – characteristics of their group.
“One of the beautiful things about the Filipino language is that some words have many different meanings and layers to them,” explains Infante.
Pandayin is based in the Lower Mainland with about 15 active members. Its membership ranges from high school and university students to young professionals working in neighbourhood houses and in areas of sustainability and international development. The members of Pandayin meet biweekly.
“We meet and talk about lots of social and political issues, and what it means to be a second generation Canadian, Filipino Canadian, or a young person of colour in Canada,” he says.
The language initiative
Since April of this year, the members of Pandayin have had numerous discussions around the desire to connect with their culture and heritage. Many of them do not know how to speak the Filipino language.
“It’s very hard for parents to pass on their language. In the Filipino community, you see a lot of us working middle class jobs, sometimes working two to three jobs; it’s tough to have that time spent,” explains Infante.
Having initiated the language campaign, the Pandayin group plans to meet with various mayors and school board members from different cities.
“Just two days ago, we sat with the Mayor of Burnaby, Derek Corrigan. He was very excited and interested in having this put forward in the Burnaby School Board,” he says.
The members of Pandayin are working on putting together a website for the Filipino language campaign and launching it to the community that they want to mobilize towards their goals.
Ferdaliza Lontok (left), James Infante (centre) and Jaime Tagle (right) at the Pista Ng Bayan celebration of Philippine Independence day on June 6 at Slocan Park.
Community discussions and outreach
For the members of Pandayin, developing the campaign has been exciting and fast-paced.
“We’re picking up speed on getting to know our culture. Just a few weeks ago, we had a Philippine history discussion,” says Infante.
He explains that while some of the members may not know certain facts from Filipino history, their lived experience of what it means to be Filipino, and ancestral knowledge from parents and grandparents, make the conversations interesting and meaningful.
Mable Elmore, the first and only MLA of Filipino descent in BC’s legislative assembly, has been a major supporter and inspiration for the Pandayin group.
“We sometimes have meetings in her office, a free space that she offers to us. It’s great to have someone who looks like you in leadership and politics,” says Infante.
While growing up, Infante never saw members of the Filipino community in leadership positions. He and fellow Pandayin members look forward to continuing their group discussions and opening them up to the public.
“As for next steps, we’re working on organizing city-based community groups and forums across the Lower Mainland to talk about how we can best have a course like this put into schools – raising awareness about the value of the Tagalog language,” says Infante.
