Benjamin Abadiano
Description
2004 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Emergent Leadership from the Philippines. Benjamin Abadiano’s work among the indigenous peoples started as volunteer work among the Manobos of Bukidnon and the Mangyans of Mindoro. Abadiano established the Tugdaan Mangyan Center for Learning and Development and trained Mangyan tribes in literacy, livelihood and leadership skills, while upholding Mangyan values and traditions. Moving on to restore communities destroyed by the war in Mindanao, Abadiano joined hands with other sectors to develop a culture–based education program for the Lumads, the island’s indigenous group. He established the Ilawan Center for Peace and Development, and the Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples, with his flagship project being the first Indigenous Peoples College in the Philippines. As President of Assisi Development Foundation, he focuses on various socio-economic and cultural programs for marginalized communities in the Philippines.
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Development on the Margins: How Indigenous People Chart their Own Progress
Citation of Benjamin Abadiano as Magsaysay Awardee for Emergent Leadership
In electing BENJAMIN ABADIANO to receive the 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership, the board of trustees recognizes his steadfast commitment to indigenous Filipinos and their hopes for peace and better lives consonant with their…
Biography of Benjamin Abadiano
Abadiano says that he is happy where he is now, doing what he is doing [...] Retirement is certainly a long way off, but when it comes, Benjamin Abadiano would like to spend it training young people to be volunteers and leaders -- to be, like his…
Benjamin Abadiano: a Man for Others
It was more than a recognition of the work that he had been doing.... it was a confirmation of his conviction that only a life dedicated to others is a life truly worth living. (Abadiano, 2007)