THE AL BARKA STORY AND THE AL QALAM INSTITUTE: A CONFERENCE REPORT
Jamil Matalam
Abstract
The paper is a conference report about the Al Barka Story and a reflection about what transpired in the said conference and the possible critical direction the Al Qalam Institute may take. The report itself is primarily based on the full transcript of the conference but restructured to provide a narrative about it. The paper is essentially divided into two parts, the first one deals with the conference, the one is a brief reflection about the content of the conference. In the reflection it basically points out an important lesson in the guest speaker’s talk, that is people should speak more about good things in Mindanao rather than those sad and deplorable events that Mindanao has notoriously been associated with; and that the Al Qalam could provide a critical role in the achievement of development and peace in Mindanao.
