Filipino educational practitioners represented the country in the recent inaugural Tokyo International Deaf Arts Festival (TIDAF) at the Za-Koenji Public Theater in Suginami City, Japan.

 TIDAF, organized by the Deaf Arts Society of Japan, aims to promote dead arts in Japan and across the global community.

In addition to the Philippines, this year’s participants included Australia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,Thailand, United Kingdom and the US.

 The Philippine delegation from De La Salle College of Saint Benilde was composed of the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies full-time faculty Michael Vea and SDEAS-Center for Partnership and Development associates Shaquille de Guzman and Francis Ethelbert Pagaduan.

 The three educators, the first and only representatives of the Philippines in TIDAF, joined the festival’s Fringe Program, which showcased independent and unique artworks in exhibitions.

 They, likewise, shared stories in Filipino Sign Language and delivered a lecture on the development of FSL literature in the country, a field which Benilde has actively championed through the years.

 Pagaduan became the first deaf Filipino to compete in the festival’s Sign Slam, a milestone which affirmed the Philippines’ place on the global stage of sign language literature.

 Sign Slam, originally referred to as ASL Slam, is a thrilling international sign language battle where deaf artists face offagainst each other by showcasing their visual poetry and storytelling skills.

 “I realized how exciting it was and how much it allowed me to express my skills in FSL. It made me even more interested, and now I wish to bring something like this back home. I’m truly grateful for the chance to compete on a world stage,” Pagaduan noted. “I hope this experience will inspire more deaf Filipinos to join and someday, to win.”

 The Philippine delegation also had the opportunity to meet with some members of Japan’s Imperial Family: Crown Princess Kiko of Akishino and Princess Kako of Akishino.

 After the event, the Benilde representatives also visited partner school National Tsukuba University of Technology. They were welcomed by NTUT President Yasushi Ishihara and Deaf educator Dr. Yoko Kobayashi and interacted with the faculty and students to share insights from their TIDAF experiences.