The IGO Scholarship and Research Program

In July of 2001, during a regular meeting of the Council of Elders, the Council approved that an Igorot Scholarship Program be launched and sponsored by the IGO. The Program will be called the Igorot Scholarship & Research Fund, or simply the Igorot Scholarship Program. The initial objective of the Program is to provide financial assistance to five students in each of the six state colleges and universities in the Cordillera, for a total of thirty scholars annually. The students selected for scholarship assistance must be of Igorot descent who demonstrate academic capability and financial need. The long term objective is to expand towards assisting more Igorot students outside the Cordillera, as funding and more resources become available. The long term objective also includes addressing the individual needs of state colleges and universities in the Cordillera in updating their educational and instructional materials.

It also includes the funding of critically needed research projects in Igorot culture, history, economics, science, education, and government. Additionally, the Program will seek to establish links with other educational and funding institutions in the world to support the Program. The Program will be managed by three governing bodies, namely: (1) The IGO Council of Elders (or Board of Directors), which has the final authority and accountability for the Program; (2) A Scholarship Board of Trustees which has the responsibility for administering the Program; and (3) The Scholarship Fund Raising Council which has the responsibility of raising funds on an ongoing basis. Both the Scholarship Board and the Fundraising Council will be accountable to the IGO Council of Elders. The Scholarship Board of Trustees has finished writing an initial draft of a scholarship charter, which is now under review. Final edition of the charter will be posted in this website at a later time.