By Gabriela Baron
A virtual Baybayin Learning Party was held in Berlin, Germany to celebrate the National Heritage Month.
(Photo courtesy of Tofu Creatives via Department of Foreign Affairs)
The online class, spearheaded by the Philippine Embassy, included lessons on the history of Baybayin and on reading and writing the script’s 17 characters.
Forty-six participants from Germany, other European countries, and the US were able to write a two-sentence paragraph at the end of the 90-minute class.
Baybayin was one of the indigenous scripts used in the Philippines, particularly in Luzon, prior to the introduction of the Latin alphabet during the Spanish colonial era.
The class was organized by Tofu Creatives, in collaboration with the Embassy and the University of the Philippines Alumni Association Germany.
As part of the month-long celebration, the Embassy also hosted a free screening of “I’m Drunk, I Love You,” a documentary on Baybayin, a news segment on the Filipino people’s Austronesian heritage, and Carlo Vergara’s musical “‘Kung Paano ako Naging Leading Lady.”