Reflections by our ICBE Pioneers by Yvonne Kay-an Belen
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12th 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
Yvonne Kay-an Belen
A beginning is treading into the unknown. And I would say this was how I felt when we held the first gathering of Igorot Cordillerans in Europe in Gent, Belgium in April 2002. I still recall my question then, “Shall we continue with these gatherings?” The answer of the participants was a resounding Yes. And as it is said, “The rest is history.”
What made me be involved in the now network called Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK-Europe or ICBE? I believe the first reason was due to the Igorot Cordillera value of Ipeyas tako nga gawis. (We share what is good). After I coordinated the first Philippine Women’s Conference in Europe held in Barcelona, Spain in September 1992 and we published the Proceedings in print, I told myself, If I could do the above for Filipino women, why can’t I do it for my fellow Igorot Cordillerans.
And so with the value of Ipeyas tako nan gawis and another Igorot Cordillera value of og-ogbo (Bayanihan), we organized every odd year, an ICBE consultation as we named them then and call them now, as ICBE conference. The host country was primary and we helped with the program and other details when requested.
Learning from the Barcelona conference, I made it a point to come up with the Proceedings since the materials are original, they will be for posterity and they could be used as a reference. The Proceedings began as printed material until it evolved into digital materials that could be posted on the ICBE website. The ICBE conference Proceedings on the ICBE website is also a product of og-ogbo since there are several details involved – from collating the conference’s written documents to sourcing the website domain payment to website administration.
ICBE has also published a magazine, Cordillera Rituals as a Way of Life; an ICBE Souvenir Book; and two volumes of the book, Travels, Travails & Triumphs of Igorot Cordillerans in Europe.
In closing, the Igorot Cordillera values of Ipeyas tako nan gawis and Og-ogbo have guided us in our ICBE endeavors – our conferences and its Proceedings, our ICBE website and our publications. Through the years, what was unknown in the beginning is slowly becoming known.