Filipino teachers are being challenged to turn the country’s living traditions into lessons that students can use in science, mathematics, language and other subjects—with selected educators set to receive US$1,000 grants to bring their ideas into actual classrooms.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has opened the Bringing Living Heritage into the Classroom (BLHC) in the Philippines: National Competition on Lesson Plan Development.
The nationwide initiative is open to Grade 7 to Grade 12 teachers, with lesson-plan submissions accepted until August 31, 2026.
From tradition to a real classroom lesson
The program aims to make living heritage—or intangible cultural heritage (ICH)—part of everyday education, rather than treating traditional practices solely as subjects for cultural events or history discussions.
Under the BLHC approach, teachers can use traditional knowledge, skills and practices as tools for teaching standard curriculum competencies.
For example, traditional plant-based textile dyeing could become a springboard for a chemistry lesson. The names and meanings associated with traditional textiles could support language instruction, while traditional patterns could be used to introduce or reinforce geometry concepts.
The approach also encourages teachers from different disciplines to work together, potentially creating lessons that connect culture with several areas of learning.
Communities are part of the lesson
A major feature of the competition is its emphasis on the people who actually carry and practice these traditions.
Applicants are expected to work with heritage bearers, cultural practitioners, community elders and other local partners throughout lesson development and classroom implementation.
That means the initiative is not simply about placing cultural traditions inside a textbook. The NCCA and UNESCO want teachers to ensure that the knowledge and perspectives of communities are represented respectfully and remain connected to the people who continue to practice them.
This community-centered approach reflects UNESCO’s broader BLHC program, which promotes the use of traditional knowledge and skills as a means of delivering regular school subjects while strengthening the transmission of living heritage to younger generations. UNESCO said the methodology was introduced to a selected group of Filipino educators during a workshop in Manila in November 2025.
Ten lesson plans to receive US$1,000 each
The competition will select 10 lesson plans, with each selected proposal receiving US$1,000 to support classroom implementation during Term 2 of School Year 2026–2027.
Selected teachers and their schools will also receive NCCA and UNESCO certificates of recognition, expert mentorship during the pilot period and an opportunity for their lesson plans to be included in a UNESCO open-access compilation, with attribution to the creators.
The competition allows individual Grade 7–12 teachers to participate or teachers to form teams of up to five members. A teacher may submit only one entry, although a school may have multiple submissions provided each comes from a different teacher or teaching team.
What teachers need to submit
Applicants must prepare a lesson plan in English applying the BLHC methodology to a standard subject.
For public schools, the lesson must align with DepEd curriculum standards, while private schools may use their school-approved curriculum standards.
Entries must also include a formal school endorsement and a brief explanation of collaboration with community members, cultural practitioners, elders or other local partners.
An independent jury composed of education and living-heritage experts will evaluate submissions based on several factors, including heritage safeguarding and community engagement, teaching quality and creativity, use of the BLHC methodology, as well as feasibility, sustainability and adaptability.
The deadline is fast approaching
Teachers and schools interested in joining the initiative have until August 31, 2026 to submit their lesson plans.
The NCCA said an online briefing session is scheduled for August 19, 2026, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., covering the competition and submission process. The 10 selected lesson plans are scheduled to be announced on September 10, 2026.
The selected teachers are expected to pilot their lessons from mid-September through mid-December 2026, followed by implementation reports due in January 2027.
Why the initiative matters
The bigger goal extends beyond winning a grant.
UNESCO has promoted living heritage education internationally as a way to make learning more meaningful while helping ensure that cultural knowledge, practices and skills continue to be transmitted to future generations. Its related work has highlighted how connecting classroom learning with living heritage can make education more engaging and relevant to students.
For the Philippines, the NCCA-UNESCO initiative creates an opportunity to connect what students learn in school with traditions that are still being practiced in their own communities.
Instead of seeing heritage as something confined to museums, festivals or history books, the BLHC model asks a more practical question: What if the traditions being passed down today could also become part of tomorrow’s classroom?
With the August 31 deadline approaching, Filipino teachers now have a chance to turn that idea into a lesson plan—and potentially help keep a piece of living Filipino heritage alive for the next generation.
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