As part of the Philippines’ National Arts Month this February, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts will launch a new cultural service for the poor. KALAHI Cultural services for the Poor (KCSP) is a series of workshops and training sessions In various fields of the arts. Music, dance, theatre, creative writing, visual arts and martial arts will be featured, with the program culminating in performances and community planning that will help sustain cultural life in the Philippines. The program will be launched simultaneously in 28 of the most poverty-stricken provinces of the country. It will be targeted at a variety of marginalised groups, street kids, out-of-school youth, the disabled, the disadvantaged, the indigenous, children of migrant workers, abused children and delinquent youth. NCCA Executive Director, Cecile Guidote Alvarez says, “The arts can be an important tool in improving the life of the youth and open up for them new possibilities, especially those in the underprivileged provinces or those identified as the poorest municipalities.” The program will work in conjunction with a host bodies, including the National Anti-Poverty Commission, the Philippine Center of the UNESCO/International Theatre Institute (ITI) and the Department of Education. It has been formulated with the UN Millenium Development Goals in mind, and is another step towards achieving them. Many of the provinces targeted by the program have been victims of recent natural disasters, including the Boxing Day tsunami. These communities have limited opportunities in the arts, both as spectators and participants. The crushing economic conditions that people – especially the young – are forced to live with make it very difficult to participate in a viable local arts industry, especially when coupled with a lack of infrastructure. Part of the KALAHI Cultural services for the Poor will involve the development of creative modules to inform and involve community participation, to “Beat the Odds”. “Equity of opportunity in education, especially access to arts training, must be given to all vulnerable sectors of society. The right to culture must not be limited to the elite. This right must be democratized to build a caring and sharing society,” says Alvarez. The establishment of the program is another response from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to President Arroyo’s overarching call to “mobilize culture to improve moral standards in society, to provide a strong foundation for good governance… and in the process, win the fight against poverty and corruption.” For more information about the program, please Click Here