Berlin – About 60 community and student leaders from all over Germany attended the Philippine Embassy and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas´ (CFO) “Ugnayan sa Berlin: Engagement, Empowerment and Enterprise.”
The whole day event was packed with a full program which included lectures and discussions on CFO´s Programs and Services for Overseas Filipinos, Sending of Donations, Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas, Volunteer/Study Program for Second Generation Filipino Germans, Retiring in the Philippines, Social Security Agreement Between the Philippines and Germany, Financial Literacy, the Fight Against Human Trafficking, Overseas Voting, and the BaLinkBayan Program: a One-Stop Online Portal for Diaspora Engagement.
The Embassy also displayed the “Children of Tacloban: 100 cameras for 100 children” photo exhibit. This was a project of ARD TV’s Singapore correspondent Philipp Abresch. While covering the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, Mr. Abresch distributed 100 disposable cameras to 100 children in Tacloban with the aim to give a voice to young people through photography.
“Children of Tacloban: 100 cameras for 100 children” was a project of ARD correspondent Mr. Philipp Abresch. The exhibit was curated by the Hamburg Deichtorhallen and also supported by CEWE and North German Radio/TV (NDR).
In closing, Ambassador Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek emphasized the importance of engaging second generation Filipino-Germans to better appreciate their heritage by encouraging them to join CFO´s Lakbay Aral program. Attendees were also asked to echo their experiences and insights to other members of their respective organizations. Certificates of participation were presented to the participants at the end of the program. END
