Some 700 Filipino-American college students from different parts of the United States Northeast Region participated in the Annual Spring Conference hosted by the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue (FIND)-District 1 (New England) at Harvard University on April 6.
This year’s conference was among the largest gatherings of campus-based Filipino-American associations and individuals, a report of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
FIND was founded in 1992 as a network of Filipino-American students in the US East Coast, mainly in the Northeast Region.
The theme of this year's conference is “Filipino Life – I am (….),” with the following sub-themes:
“Balikbayan: Giving Back”;
“Bayani: Changing the Impossible”;
“Sining: Telling Our Story”; and
“Tagumpay: Breaking Barriers”.
The sessions featured Filipino-American achievers in various fields such as events organizer and women’s rights advocate Analisa Balares of Womensphere, rap artists Deep Foundation, Jason Tengco of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, comedian and designer Rich Kiamco, actor and stuntman Sonny Sison, and Will Simbol of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, among others.
The other speakers included two delegates to the first ever Filipino AmericanYouth Leadership Program or FYLPro (formerly FAYLP), Angela Lagdameo and Michael Vea, who spoke about giving back to the Philippines through the Teach for the Philippines Program.
In his closing remarks, Philippine Consul General to New York Mario de Leon, Jr. congratulated the organizers of the event led by conference tri-chairs Riana Balahadia, Carmen Wong and Erlinda dela Cruz and FIND National Chair Jericho Cruzado.
De Leon likewise emphasized the need for young Filipino-Americans to find their passion and advocacies and pursue these with commitment, creativity, and diligence.
He noted that in the 2010 US Census, Filipino-Americans have become the second largest Asian-American group. However, the presence of Filipino-Americans in mainstream US consciousness has yet to match the population figures.
He called on the second and third generation Filipino-American students to contribute to making Filipino-Americans more visible, especially as they have many technological tools at their disposal.
FYLPro
Meanwhile, Consul General de Leon also invited the young Filipino-Americans to apply for the 2013 Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro) as applications are only open until April 30 this year.
The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles
said the search for outstanding young Filipino Americans (aged 18 to 40
years old), hopes to tap future leaders of their Filipino-American
communities and advocacies.
Among the qualifications for the outstanding Filipino-American achievers and leaders are the applicants’ scholastic achievements and other accolades, leadership skills, accomplishments, active involvement in school, civic, political, business and other organizations as well as their vision, innovativeness and commitment to making a difference in the Philippines and within the Filipino-American community.
The chosen delegates will take part in an immersive program in the Philippines from July 7 to 9, 2013 and will likewise participate in the 8th Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour (ACGTDT) from July 9 to 11, 2013.
The special FYLPro program will give them the opportunity to meet and dialogue with the highest officials and policymakers in the Philippines, leaders of industry, legislators, media, artists and cultural experts, entrepreneurs (both traditional and social), as well as innovators in different fields.
Applicants should be between the ages of 18 and 40 years old by July 1, 2013. They should be ready to travel by this date (i.e. have a valid passport for international travel), and are expected to commit time, skills and resources to engage with the Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the US in ways which would advance the causes and interest of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans.
The application form for the search may be accessed at the following link, http://www.philippineembassy-usa.org/uploads/pdfs/embassy/2013/2013-0315-FYLPro.docx.
The deadline for submission of applicants is on April 30, 2013.
The names of the chosen delegates will be announced on the website of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC (www.philippineembassyusa.org) on May 15, 2013. - VVP, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
