Kinderhilfe Philippinen e.V. stages Benefit Concert

November 7, 2015

Saarbruecken – Through the leadership of its First Chair Mrs. Anita Nowack, Kinderhilfe Philippinen e.V. held the 14^th Deutsch-Philippinischer Kulturabend for the benefit of the Educational Research and Development Foundation (ERDA), an NGO based in the Philippines. The benefit concert was produced in cooperation with the Regionalverband Saarbrücken through its president and one of the foundation´s patrons, Mr. Peter Gillo. The event was held at the Schloss Saarbruecken before 100 guests.

The benefit concert featured performers from Saarbruecken and Berlin: The Pilipinas Cultural Dance Group, Tenor Jose Mari Rubio and Soprano Mylah Rubio, and The Yellow Submarine Project with their conductor Charles Robin Broad. Photos courtesy of Dr. Carolyn Vargas.

Tenor Jose Mari Rubio and Soprano Mylah Rubio

For more than 20 years, Kinderhilfe Philippinen has raised funds for ERDA which was founded in 1974 by Fr. Pierre Tritz, a Lorrain-born Jesuit. ERDA´s projects are aimed at providing out-of-school youth and street children access to education. These children are provided with financial and material assistance to enable them to continue their schooling.

The evening´s guest of honor, Ambassador Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek, expressed her heartfelt appreciation to the foundation and her gratitude for the generosity of its patrons: “I would like to express my appreciation for Kinderhilfe Philippinen´s outstanding achievement — you promote not only Filipino cultural opportunities but also improve the lives of many Filipinos. To help children in need is a very noble undertaking. To help ERDA of Father Pierre Tritz is one way of doing it.” She capped her remarks by highlighting the renewed vigor in Philippine-German relations with the two countries celebrating the 61st Anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations this year. Ambassador Sta. Maria-Thomeczek gave the audience a brief overview of the Philippines and its people and invited them to visit the Philippines.

Fr. Tritz´s remarks were delivered by Claude Villeroy de Galhau, second Chair of the Kinderhilfe Philippinen e.V.

Prof. Dr. Sandro Keller gave an overview of the developments regarding ERDA-Kinderhilfe projects in Manila. The foundation´s First Chair Anita Nowack capped the event by thanking participants and guests for their valuable contributions.

With the foundation´s First Chair, Mrs. Anita Nowack (third from left) and Second Chair, Mr. Claude Villeroy de Galhau (third from right). Photos courtesy of Dr. Carolyn Vargas.

This year´s Kulturabend featured the choral artistry of the Schülerinne und Schüler der Musik-AG des Otto-Hahn-Gymnasiums and the Yellow Submarine Project from Saarbruecken. Powerful renditions of solos and duets were presented by Tenor Charles Robin Broad and Filipino talents Mylah Rubio (cultural attaché) and Jose Mari Rubio. The Pilipinas Cultural Dance Troupe regaled the audience with colorful Philippine dances.

The event has grown into a major charity affair in the Saarland cultural calendar since its inception in 1993. END

FOOD PHILIPPINES GENERATES STRONG SALES IN 33RD ANUGA IN COLOGNE

October 20, 2015

The Philippines mounted its biggest participation yet in Anuga, the “World Food Market,” from 10-14 October 2015 in Cologne (Koeln), Germany, with 35 homegrown companies jointly flying the FoodPhilippines banner and generating US$66 million worth of sales according to preliminary figures from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Two other Filipino companies participated in the fair with booths of their own.

Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture and author of various legislation on food safety, security, and sustainability, attended the exhibition together with officials of the DTI, the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Philippine Embassy in Berlin.

Traditional exports such as frozen and canned tuna, dried mangoes, banana chips, virgin coconut oil, and other fruit and fish products dominated the Philippine showcase, while Malagos chocolate from Davao, organic muscovado sugar from Negros, and heirloom rice from the Cordilleras were some of the artisanal specialties represented from the different regions.

Conceptualized by the DTI’s Center for International Trade, Expositions and. Missions (CITEM), the Philippine pavilion occupied a prime location in the center of Hall 1 of the Koelnmesse, which featured fine food products from Asia. It included a cooking demonstration area, where two chefs from the Vikings Buffet Restaurant chain in Manila prepared various dishes using ingredients from the exhibiting companies.

On 11 October, the DTI organized a Philippine Business Forum on the EU-GSP+ scheme, where Senator Villar, DTI Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo, DA Undersecretary Emerson Palad, and DTI Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) Director Senen Perlada delivered speeches and presentations highlighting the opportunities offered by the Philippines EU-GSP+ status to expand Philippines-EU trade, including in the food sector.

With more than 7,000 exhibitors from 108 countries, the 33rd Anuga was reportedly the biggest installment of the world’s leading food fair for the retail trade and the food service and catering market, which is held every two years. It included ten specialized trade fairs, such as the Anuga Fine Food, Anuga Frozen Food, and Anuga Organic.

Germany’s Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt opened the event, and welcomed Minister of Agricultural Development Evangelos Apostolou from Greece, which was Anuga’s partner country for 2015. END.

PHL Delegation Observes Germany’s Dual Education System to integrate with K-12

October 20, 2015

The delegation visited the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training in Bonn. Ambassador Melita Thomeczek with the Institute’s Deputy President Reinhold Weiß, (front, 4th from right) joined the group.

Berlin. A twenty-person delegation from the Philippines recently crisscrossed Germany to get an in depth look at Germany’s dual education system and to learn which elements of the German model could be successfully incorporated into the Philippine setting. The group visited Frankfurt, Berlin, Bonn and Stuttgart from 12 to 16 October 2015.

Tobias Bolle, Project Director of Dual Training at the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI), helped organize the Philippine delegation with representatives from the Department of Education, TESDA, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and its local chapters as well as private PHL companies such as TÜV Rheinland Philippines, BAG Electronics and CS Garments Inc.

The study tour was part of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funded K-12 Plus Project, which is creating pilot models for the vocational education and training track at PHL senior high school levels.

Tobias emphasized that “strong cooperation among private companies, schools and chambers is essential in the dual training system in Germany; this is precisely what we want to recreate in the Philippines – through the K-12 Project. The site visits enabled the delegates to learn more and to get a deeper understanding of how this system works and how it can be translated and implemented in their country through their respective institutions.”

The study tour included visits to the Chamber of Commerce Headquarters (DIHK) and Chambers of Crafts (ZDH, HWK), Don Bosco Mondo and the Federal Institute for Vocational Training and Education (BIBB) and Porsche.

Ambassador Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek, who welcomed and joined the delegation in Bonn, was glad that the major PHL stakeholders of the program: the PCCI, DepEd, and TESDA were represented in the study tour. She emphasized that it was important for all three, especially the business sector, to make the system work and to take advantage of the support of Germany on the matter. “It will be an all-win situation for all and a major goal will be met : we would have a skilled and marketable workforce and we can find the right job-fit for our youth.”

She noted that German companies operating in the Philippines have been role models of the dual-tech training system. She hoped that these companies “will continue to strongly demonstrate the system on local industry in the Philippines. German companies like Continental Temic, BAG Electronics, and CS Garments are proving that significantly investing in on-the-job-training and apprenticeships for highschool students will benefit companies. You will have students who will develop an aptitude for a work sector and thereafter be more productive, ambitious, and loyal to companies.”

In particular, Philippine delegates gained insights on the partnership between Don Bosco, Porsche AG, and PGA Cars which are jointly running the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia (PTRCA) in Manila. The PTRCA trains mechatronics specialists for deployment to Porsche Service Centers in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. An expanded PTRCA program is expected to be launched later this year.

As part of the study tour, an iMOVE Roundtable on the Philippines was also held in Bonn on 14 October 2015 to explore how the German training sector could forge partnerships with their Philippine counterparts. The dual-tech system consist of both classroom study and hands-on practical experience at the workplace. The delegation agreed that Philippine partners needed to find solutions that will allow trainees greater time in the work place as well as access to relevant technology in their fields of expertise. IMOVE is part of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and is an initiative financed by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) to promote German training providers to international partners.

Hans-Gerhard Reh from iMOVE, who had just returned from a visit to the Philippines earlier in the month, observed that “during the Philippines visit of Secretary of State Brigitte Zypries we met representatives of various German-Philippine companies. All participants and hosts agreed that training young people according to industry demands was necessary for the dynamic and sustainable economic development of the Philippines. The iMOVE Round-Table Philippines was a great opportunity to discuss recent developments in the field of Vocational Education Training.” END

PH book industry comes together for world’s biggest book fair in Frankfurt

October 19, 2015

Drawing on the bayanihan spirit, the Philippine book industry made a collective pitch for the Philippines as ‘The Best Source of Content in Asia’ at the 67th Frankfurt Book Fair held on 14-18 October 2015 at the Messe Frankfurt on Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

With previous editions of the trade fair seeing only a handful of Philippine publishers participating, the Philippine collective booth this year was seen as a significant achievement, and one that is hoped to lead to a stronger Philippine presence in the world’s biggest book fair in the coming years.

The Philippine booth showcased diverse content from key players in the local publishing industry, namely, Abiva Publishing House, Inc., Adarna House, Anvil Publishing, Inc., Diwa Learning Systems, Inc., Lampara Publishing House, Inc. Precious Pages Corporation, Rex Group of Companies, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.

The Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), Philippine Educational Printers Association (PEPA), and the National Book Development Board (NBDB), were instrumental in bringing them together for this collaboration.

In a simple reception at the booth on 14 October, NBDB Chairperson Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz described the Philippine book industry as Asia’s “best-kept secret.” She invited the guests to browse through the books on display while at the same time sampling Philippine delicacies such as dried mangoes and lumpiang Shanghai.

Consul Catherine Torres, representing the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, acknowledged the importance of books as bridges across borders. “I am inclined to think that if we are able to encourage people to read more, from a young age, about other countries and other cultures, there might be fewer wars and conflicts for us diplomats to worry about,” she said. (end)

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The Philippine Embassy in Berlin

Kinderhilfe Philippinen e.V. stages Benefit Concert

FOOD PHILIPPINES GENERATES STRONG SALES IN 33RD ANUGA IN COLOGNE

PHL Delegation Observes Germany’s Dual Education System to integrate with K-12

PH book industry comes together for world’s biggest book fair in Frankfurt

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