IDFI brings Iloilo Dinagyang to a higher plane
Ben Jimena, IDFI executive director
IDFI recently received the Urban Leadership Award from the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI)
It has won the Best Tourism Event two years in a row, voted by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines.
It was the first festival that got the nod and support of the United Nations Development Program in promoting the localization of the Millennium Development Goals.
It was cited by the Asian Development Bank as the Best Practice in Public and Private Cooperation.
And these are just a few of the accolades bestowed on Iloilo's flagship festival, Dinagyang, after the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, Inc. (IDFI), started handling its operation.
A tribe member
It was in 2001 when the IDFI assumed the task of organizing the Dinagyang upon the issuance of an Executive Order and the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Iloilo City Government and the IDFI. It then developed a manual of operations as a guide in the procedures of the festival. Its Executive Committee drafted policies and implemented the Working Committees. It gave birth to Dagoy as the festival's mascot and face and tasked a composer to pen a Dinagyang song.
In 2002, the IDFI started bringing Dinagyang outside Iloilo. It was in its display in EDSA Shangrila that the Ilonggos were struck with a disappointing reality then. Practically, nobody in Manila has heard of Dinagyang. They thought that the black painted warriors and dancers represented Kalibo's Ati-Atihan, being aware only of Cebu's Sinulog and of the Ati-Atihan. It was one harsh reality that made the IDFI vow to take Dinagyang to a higher level of awareness.
The face of Dinagyang
From a mere procession of the Santo Niño devotees in 1968 to a well-applauded global spectacle that it is today, to say that Dinagyang has soared to greater heights is an understatement. With the IDFI working on the expansion of participation to involve communities outside Iloilo, enlarging its scope of operation, extending the range of events through revivals and other activities and intensifying promotions with more diverse lineup of sponsors, Dinagyang is sure to become larger than life.
IDFI recently received the Urban Leadership Award from the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI). This is the second holding of the Urban Leadership Awards. This honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the enhancement of the public realm and the quality of life in the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras area.
There are 10 awardees from Iloilo City. They are Edgar Sia, Henry Babiera, Sonia Cadornigara, Ma. Luisa "Marissa" Segovia, Edgar Sia for individual awardees and Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Incorporated, Iloilo Washington Commercial, Jaro Archdiocesan Social Action Center (JASAC), SM Waste Market Fair, Taytay sa Kauswagan and Callbox, for the organization awardees.