Labor Attaché Atty Delmer Cruz (center) moderates the lively discussion
on the integration of Filipino nurses in Germany.

Fresh from celebrating its first anniversary, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Berlin hosted a webinar entitled “Work and Life in Germany: Practical Tips” to give Filipino nurses newly arrived in Germany or intending to come to Germany the opportunity to learn from Filipino nurses who have been living and working in Germany for several years.

The webinar moderated by Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz featured as resource persons Mr Jimmy Carpon, who teaches at the Ecumenical institute for Nursing Professions in Ortenau (OEKI) and was among the first Filipino nurses deployed to Germany under the Triple Win Project (TWP) and a Bagong Bayani award recipient; and Ms Regille Tayamen a surgical nurse at Sankt Gertrauden Krankenhaus (SGK) Berlin. Mr Carpon’s presentation focused more on the work setting, while Ms Tayamen’s focused on life outside of work. A third resource person was Mr. Matthias Gerloff, a trainer for international nurses at the Uniklinikum Tübingen, who, in conversation with Consul Cathy Torres, offered a German perspective on the topic of Filipino nurses’ integration in Germany.

Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega in her welcome message read by Consul Torres congratulated POLO-Berlin for the initiative and thanked all the speakers and participants for joining what is envisioned to be an ongoing series of focused engagement with Filipino healthcare professionals in Germany.

The webinar was livestreamed on the Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy in Germany and may be viewed there by those interested. END

Rhineland Palatinate Minister President Malu Dreyer (1st row center) with Ambassadors from the Asia-Pacific Region including Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega (2nd row, 1st from left)

Twelve Ambassadors from the Asia-Pacific region, including nine Ambassadors from ASEAN took part in an Economic Mission to the Germany state of Rhineland Palatinate from 17-19 September 2020.

The Mission coordinated by the German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV), one of the oldest business groups in Germany with the Asia-Pacific Ambassadors Group was designed to provide opportunities for closer engagement among countries in the Asia-Pacific region and leading companies in Germany.

The activity dubbed “Ambassadors-in-Dialogue” hopes to contribute to efforts to encourage more economic exchanges between Germany and the Asia-Pacific Region as well as foster an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation as the world rebuilds the global economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the companies visited by the Mission in Rhineland Palatinate, a major manufacturing and viniculture hub in Germany, included leading pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, organic wine cultivator Weingut Dreissigacker, Strassburger Filter GmbH + Co. KG, and one of the largest and older glass manufacturers in the world, Schott AG.

The delegation likewise met with scientists from the Max Plank Institute for Chemistry, one of the leading scientific research centers of the world which has produced several Nobel Prize winners and is now undertaking pioneering work on face mask and particle filtration studies.

Delegates learn more about the advance filtration systems produced by Strassburger Filter GmbH + Co KG which now has operations in some parts of Asia (all photos by Berlin PE)

Amb. Dizon-De Vega delivers remarks at the online forum and discussions (photos by Berlin PE)

Philippine Ambassador to Germany Theresa Dizon-De Vega was one of the Keynote Speakers at a virtual session on “Europe, Asia and the World – Global Politics and Business 2020 – Following the Course of the Sun” organized by the German Global Trade Forum Berlin on 25 August 2020.

Over forty persons attended the online session and aside from Ambassador Dizon-De Vega, resource persons from Thailand, China, Russia, Hong Kong, Italy, and the McArthur Foundation also shared their views on the way forward for Europe and Asia in a post-pandemic scenario.

Ambassador Dizon-De Vega gave an overview of how the Philippines is coping with the pandemic and balancing public health concerns with efforts to re-build the economy. She outlined the macroeconomic picture emphasizing the sound economic and monetary fundamentals of the Philippines as well as efforts to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable sectors and industries.

She likewise mentioned the efforts of government to rapidly resume work on infrastructure projects under the flagship Build Build Build program and the bright spots which are emerging ranging from growth in the agricultural sector, the end of a months-long remittances drop, the upgrading and maintenance of the Philippines’ credit ratings, and improvements starting in June in the manufacturing, export, and import sectors.

The Philippines also assured the session of its continued efforts to promote an atmosphere of openness and cooperation with the global economic community at this challenging time, citing its active engagement in ASEAN, the WTO, and APEC, among others.

On the bilateral side, Ambassador Dizon-De Vega enumerated efforts to remain engaged with the Philippines’ German partners both in the public and private spheres. She noted that the Philippines and Germany are set to convene the inaugural meeting of the Joint Economic Committee this year to further economic activities between our two countries. She also outlines areas of possible cooperation in innovation, digitization, COVID-19 cooperation, construction and infrastructure, power and energy, aviation, technical-vocation education and training, and human resources.

The Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Berlin (PTIC) was likewise represented at the virtual session. END