Lorenzo Ignacio
Kard Ng Cultura (Culture cards)
What can be done to help established first-generation Filipino immigrants in Canada connect back to their Filipino heritage in order to instill bicultural identity?
As more people around the world are immigrating to other countries with the hopes of a better future, the generations following tend to disconnect with the cultural identity of their parents. As an immigrant myself, I wanted to explore ways of helping Filipino-Canadian youth connect with their cultural roots, giving them a sense of bicultural identity.
Kard ng Kultura (Culture Cards) is a card game that challenges players to order historical events in both Filipino and Canadian history chronologically. This game not only teaches players about significant events in Filipino history and popular culture, but also contextualizes these events in conjunction with Canadian history, which gives players a holistic bicultural understanding of the world, and their own identity.
Insight
What is difficult about establishing bicultural identity in first-generation immigrants is that these people experience pressures from society to conform to the new social norms, which in turn disconnects these immigrants from their cultural roots. Since living away from the Philippines makes it hard to experience cultural authenticity, it can be daunting for Filipino youth to incorporate Filipino culture into their lives in an authentic way. The challenge of this project was to find a way to reintroduce Filipino culture into people’s lives, while acknowledging the obstacles that separated them from their cultural heritage in the first place.
Idea
A key focus of this project was to make the learning outcomes as accessible as possible. Since bicultural identity is a complex and dense subject, it was important to present the subject matter in a digestible way. In addition, I needed to acknowledge the fast-paced world that youth live in, and design a solution that was engaging and interactive enough to sustain the interest of youth who are used to instant gratification. By delivering the cultural teachings through a game, the project presents the learning outcomes in an engaging, digestible manner, utilizing play as tool for education.
Impact
Kard ng Kultura aims to educate players on Filipino popular culture and historical events. Learning about Filipino culture offers players a sense of belonging to their community, and provides them tools to engage and connect with people sharing the same cultural background. Since Kard ng Kultura is targeted at Filipino youth living in Canada, the game also acknowledges the nuanced complexities of being Filipino-Canadian by contextualizing Filipino culture within Canadian life.
Biography
Lorenzo is an industrial and graphic designer from Vancouver, BC. Exploring the intersection between art, design, and emotionality, his work aims to acknowledge the complexities of the human experience through a deep understanding of identity, culture, and social behaviour. Lorenzo’s focus surrounding design and art direction draws him towards projects that look to emotionality as a viable solution to material challenges within the human experience.