Since 2007 Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education) has been holding celebratory activities together with indigenous peoples’ formations and communities every October. These included the holding of common activities and dialogues with government agencies and officials at regional and national levels, holding ecumenical celebrations, sponsoring lectures or showing indigenous movies in academic institutions, as well as supporting decentralized celebrations at the community levels, among others. At the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), for example, through the Committee for Indigenous Peoples’ Concerns (CIPCI) of the Regional Development Council, Tebtebba joins the planning and implementation of the October celebrations.

In light of the COVID pandemic, the celebration for this year (2020) will be mostly virtual. It is with this backdrop that Tebtebba proposes again to hold a series of activities, including dialogues, during the Indigenous Peoples’ Month in October and beyond. Tebtebba facilitated a series of dialogues between representatives of indigenous peoples who are rights holders and the government which is the duty-bearer for human rights to elevate and highlight the concerns, issues, threats, and opportunities from the ground. This allowed an avenue where indigenous voices informed the government on how the implementation or non-implementation of state policies and programs impact indigenous peoples. The dialogue also highlighted that indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination, hence supporting and allowing them to be the main actors in their development can demonstrate that their IKSP can holistically address the issues of biodiversity loss, climate change and can contribute to different SDGs.