Reflections by our ICBE Pioneers by Ric Cuyob and Alice Cuyob

12^th Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK-Europe (ICBE) Conference
Salle Dupréel, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Solbosch Campus
Avenue Jeanne 44, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium

May 29-June 1, 2025

REFLECTIONS by our ICBE PIONEERS

Passing Down of Our Cultural Values Entails Passion
Read by Alice Cuyob; Written by Ric Cuyob

       

   
Ric Cuyob 

We could not pass overnight

the culture that has brought us upright,

but by trying out together

passing it down may happen easier.

Unimaginable it may seem, but 23 years have gone too fast.

ICBE children have grown, and others have families of their own.

Life throughout those years has never been too good nor too harsh,

and pioneers are still around to continue inspiring each one of us.

Iyaman en Apo Kabunian’s omnipresence,

though we may not feel or directly experience it in our daily lives.

Although this 2025 conference marks our 12^th ICBE gatherings,

We still struggle to keep learning as well as appreciating the values of our forebears.

Apo Kabunian, may you guide us always to be passionate passing on to our children

the valuable elements of the culture that our ancestors held so dear

and may our children do the same to their future offsprings.

May those elements sink in our hearts and serve as our guiding lights

to whomever we cross on our paths.