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Guests gather outside the Philippine Embassy for the Lighting Ceremony (photos by Berlin PE)
The cold winter night of December 4 in central Berlin was enlivened with uniquely Filipino cheer with the lighting of traditional Filipino Christmas lanterns from Pampanga on the new Philippine Embassy building’s façade, complemented by additional lighting effects.
Philippine Ambassador to Germany Theresa Dizon-de Vega and Deputy Chief of Mission Lillibeth Pono led the lighting ceremony for the event.
The Embassy, which is located in the same area as Berlin’s landmarks, such as the Reichstag (home of the German Parliament) and the Brandenburg Gate, became an instant attraction for the city’s residents after the ceremony.
Amb. Dizon-de Vega (second from left) with Cambodian Ambassdor Touch Sopharath (extreme left) and former German Ambassador to the Philippines Thomas Ossowski (second from right), and Mrs. Angellica Ossowski (extreme right) with their children.
In her remarks during the event, Ambassador Dizon-de Vega said that the event is the Embassy’s way of sharing our homeland’s traditions with our German and other international friends, as the Embassy celebrates its first Christmas in the new Chancery in the heart of the German capital.
Close to 200 guests from the German Government, the diplomatic corps, media, the Embassy’s neighbors, and the city’s Filipino community were serenaded by Filipino singer and Europop Song Competition veteran Marielle Mamaclay and Starlight Express Germany lead actor Dolan José with their renditions of Christmas classics Himig ng Pasko and Stille Nacht (Silent Night), respectively.
The Embassy’s interior also had its share of Christmas decorations. The centerpiece was a Christmas tree with barong-clad Santa Clauses and angels made of Manila hemp (abaca).
Delighted guests enjoyed Christmas favorites like bibingka and lechon accompanied by Benguet Arabica coffee and traditional German gluhwein as festive Filipino Christmas orchestra music and scenes of Christmas in the Philippines filled the halls of the Embassy. END
Some of the German guests, including two of the Embassy’s neighbors in Berlin-Mitte.
PH Ambassador Meets with UN Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn
Amb. Dizon-De Vega with Mr. Martin Frick, Head of Policy and Programme Coordination, Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Philippine Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega met with Mr. Martin Frick, Head of Policy and Programme Coordination, Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Climate Change (UNFCCC UN Campus, Bonn, 07 November 2019.
During the meeting, they discussed matters related to the holding of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of State Parties 25 (COP25) in Madrid, Spain from 2 to 13 December 2019.
Amb. Dizon-De Vega and Mr. Frick likewise discussed more active engagement of the Philippines in the efforts of the UNFCCC Secretariat to promote awareness of the Convention. END
Ambassador Dizon-De Vega Meeting with UN Secretariat on Conservation of Migratory Species
Amb. Theresa Dizon-De Vega with Acting Executive Director Amy Fraenkel of the Secretariat for the UN Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany (photo by Berlin PE)
Philippine Ambassador to Germany Theresa Dizon-De Vega met with Ms. Amy Fraenkel, Acting Executive Director of the Secretariat for the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) at the United Nations Campus in Bonn on 7 November 2019.
The meeting was held to discuss the transition of the Presidency of the Conference of State Parties to the CMS Convention from the Philippines, which successfully hosted the Conference in Manila in 2017 under the leadership of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to India which assumes the CMS COP Presidency next year. The COP13 will be held in Gandhinagar, India from 15-22 February 2020.
Active engagement in the CMS is a commitment of the Philippines as part of its efforts to contribute to the protection and conservation of migratory species. END