I recently found +63, a site showcasing creative trends in the Philippines. They aim to feature work from Filipino creatives around the work. If you're a designer or artist, you might want to pay them a visit: http://plus63.net

"+63 is a collective blog dedicated to providing an online venue for Philippine creatives. The idea behind +63 is to create a rallying point for the industry by adapting and updating the international country code for the Philippines into a recongizable trademark for Filipino culture, design, and art.

The site features articles and entries on industry trends and provides a base for interaction among Filipino artists by allowing user participation. The goal is to provide a source for updates on developments in the field and a venue for relevant discussion."

Sunny Vergara, in his American Pop blog, writes about how he doesn't like losing his Tagalog accent. The implication in his post was that losing your accent was like losing part of your identity. He disliked people pointing out his American accent, presumably because it made him feel less Filipino.

I've heard this opinion many times before but just don't buy into it. Why should improving your language skills suggest that you've turned your back on your background? Surely a big part of mastering any language is to try speaking it like a native?

We had to learn French and German at School. Aside from learning grammar and vocabulary, the top students tried to lose their English accent. None felt that this would somehow make them less English. For them, it wasn't even an issue. Why is accent such a big thing with us Filipinos?

A Chiswick based production company is currently filming a medical-based documentary in the Philippines and requires translators beginning the 22nd of August. They need 4-5 people to be able to translate from Tagalog and possibly Hiligaynon.

They will provide successful candidates with timecoded DVD's from the 22nd of August and will need to have translated word for word onto a formatted word document as soon as possible.

This job is paid and will be negotiated on query.

Please get in touch ASAP if you're interested and I'll send you contact information.

Ivar Berglin of VBS.TV covers Payatas, Metro Manila's only rubbish dump. Although this short documentary focuses on the dump, it does make you think about issues like poverty, entrepreneurship, ecology, over-population and the Church's stance against contraception.

Jimmy Soriano, a Manila Times columnist, writes about his view of the Filipino psyche.

While UK-born second-generation Filipinos share some of these traits, I notice that they're also the cause of conflicts between us and our 'first-gen' parents, friends and relatives. I'm specifically referring to his point about Filipinos being reactive and unwilling to openly settle problems.

What do you think?

It is safe to assume that Filipinos, as a people, are among the ‘easily pleased’, as compared to the other nationalities of the world. This notwithstanding, they also get hurt very easily, very onion-skinned in a manner of speaking. Little things make Filipinos in general happy but even the slightest incident could also trigger their disappointments.

Nina at ForwardPilipinas.org sent this message about the effects of pesticide spraying in the Southern Philippines. We can support the ban by signing the online petition at www.dirtybananas.org.

Communities (around 40,000 people) living within banana plantations in Davao, Mindanao, Southern Philippines have been subjected to regular aerial spraying of pesticides for years, suffering from acute effects such as skin rashes, nausea and stomach cramps. In February, after an imaginative well-coordinated campaign, the City Government of Davao passed an ordinance to ban aerial spraying of pesticides.

The Philippine Centre confirms the new date for Barrio Fiesta sa London 2008:

The meeting [of the Health and Safety Working group] agreed to offer Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September as an alternative date for the Philippine Centre to hold the 24th annual Barrio Fiesta sa London in Lampton park Hounslow, Middlesex.

Lots of people have asked if the rumours are true that this year's Barrio Fiesta has been cancelled. The Philippine Centre, organisers of the Barrio Fiesta released a statement giving their answer and background:

Barrio Fiesta not going ahead

Due to concerns regarding the health and safety of the Fiesta attendees, the London Borough of Hounslow (as represented by John Laing Integrated Services) has declined to issue a licence for the Barrio Fiesta...

1930s film footage of pre-war Manila. So this is how our grandparents lived...
It's fascinating.

Graeme, a reader and new member of Phil-UK Network, wants us to spread the word about the Philippines' entries in the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Philippine Generations has organised a lecture on Filipino cuisine.

Philippine Generations in partnership with Asia House is proud to present the first lecture on Filipino Cuisine in London. Discover the difference between Chow Mein and Pancit, Lumpia and Spring rolls, and how the food has changed over the years to the present day.

Philippine Generations, created by a small number of young volunteers to raise awareness of the Philippines, its people and culture has teamed up with Asia House, a charity for the promotion of Asia by bringing the owner of the no.1 Filipino Restaurant in America, Cendrillion, Amy Besa, the author of the award winning cook book, ‘Memories of a Philippine Kitchen’ to give a lecture on the History of Philippine Cuisine.

Celebrate the culture and food that raised the Pearl of the Orient on the 19th June, Asia House, New Cavendish Street.

A London-based TV production company wants two fluent Filipino speakers to transcribe footage filmed in the Philippines. The position is available immediately until mid June. This is an unpaid work experience placement but they'll cover travel expenses.

You'll see the editing process within a small production company and get the chance to explore other departments. This should be great for your CV if you'd like to break into the industry.

Get in touch ASAP if you're interested and I'll send you more information.

The BBC's 'Meet the Immigrants' episode featuring Filipino domestic workers seemed to generate lots if interest. I thought it would be a good time to follow it up buy uploading 'Between Two Cultures', a short video documentary filmed by two members of Phil-UK back in 2000.

It's a 12 minute video documentary about two Filipinas: a student who grew up in the UK, and a nanny working to support her family in the Philippines.

For more information, and to watch the video, head to the Between Two Cultures page.