Human Rights Watch Film Festival: The Apology

The Apology is a film aiming to start discussion about Filipino women who were sexually exploited during WWII. It is showing at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival between 6th-17th March at the Barbican and Picturehouse Central.

“We are travelling all over to create a peaceful world. Not just for Korea and Japan, but for the world.” – Grandma Gil in film THE APOLOGY. History calls to them ‘comfort women’ but to many they are ‘the grandmothers’, a courageous group of women who refuse to let the Japanese government get away with the horrific crimes they committed against women in World War II. Their stories will inspire you, and challenge us all to ensure that history does not repeat itself. See THE APOLOGY @HumanRightsWatch Film Festival. 15/3 at the @BarbicanCentre & 16/3 at @PicturehouseCentral | #HRWFFLDN | bit.ly/2kth7MN

For more information about the event, please visit https://ff.hrw.org/film/apology-0

Kanlungan Filipino Consortium events for 2016

Lalaine Magnaye, Project Officer at the Kanlungan Filipino Consortium would like to promote their events for 2016.

I work for a charity called, Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, which consists of four community organisations including Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines, Filipino Domestic Workers Association, Bahay Kubo Housing Association and Philippine Theatre UK. We help Filipino migrants have a better life in the UK. More recently, we are moving towards helping second generation and other young Filipinos embrace and participate in the community. We have a number of events that members of Phil-UK might be interested in, please do check them out.

Our first event is a free leadership programme which aims to develop participation in the Filipino community by bringing people together and empowering people to address issues that affect us – more info at http://bit.ly/1NjWRHk.

Our second event is a free workshop series from August to December that aims to celebrate Filipino culture and heritage – more info at http://bit.ly/1OdJYPz. The workshops will include a walking tour of London with Philippine Generations, a cooking class with Mae of Pepe’s Kitchen, a language class with the teacher of Philippine Generation’s current run of language classes, an arts class exploring indigenous fabrics and traditional tattoos, and music and drama classes run by 2 young professionals.

Finally, Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines are holding a fundraising event for the benefit of Lumad children in the Philippines. All proceeds will go towards building 2 new school building and school supplies – more info at http://www.chrp.org.uk/.

Note: This is a guest post from Kanlungan Filipino Consortium and Phil-UK has no affiliation with the organisation or events.

Survey to understand the banking needs of Filipinos in the UK

Chance to win a free round trip ticket to Manila!

On behalf of a client, Elixirr are running a survey to understand the banking needs of Filipinos in the UK. Please see link here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/bankingneeds.

This will help us to understand what products and services would best help people to manage their money better, send money home and save more.

There will be questions about the person, their current banking activities and what they would like from their bank. Completion of this questionnaire should take no longer than 15 minutes. All responses are anonymous and will be confidential. We will not share details of responses with any 3rd parties. Upon filling in the survey, there will be a chance to win a round trip ticket to Manila!

Survey open until Saturday 18 June. For any questions, please email: [email protected]

Note: This is a guest post from Elixirr and Phil-UK has no affiliation with the company or promotion.

My Food Beginnings: firing up an appetite for Filipino Cuisine around the world

Nadine Barcelona with LUZON Chef Patron Rex de Guzman
Nadine Barcelona with LUZON Chef Patron Rex de Guzman (Photo courtesy of LUZON)

Jacqueline Lauri, founder of My Food Beginnings, wrote in the share her blog. My Food Beginnings is a project aimed at firing up an appetite for Filipino Cuisine around the world. She recently featured two Filipinos from London who are bringing a test of Filipino food to London.

UK premiere screenings from Filipino filmmaker and performance artist Kidlat Tahimik

“From 18 to 24 March 2016 the ICA will take part in the second edition of Birkbeck’s Essay Film Festival. UK premiere screenings from Filipino filmmaker and performance artist, Kidlat Tahimik, and the late Portuguese film director, Manoel de Oliviera, will headline this festival which celebrates some of the most outstanding contemporary essay filmmakers from the UK. The programme will also feature new work by acclaimed video essayist Mark Rappaport.”

Read the press release.

For details of our festival, please visit http://www.essayfilmfestival.com/programme-2016/.

Tribal tattoos as a connection to our heritage

“Filipinos in the Philippines don’t need to define themselves, but for the Filipino diaspora many are looking for a connection back to their heritage,” says Elle Festin, co-founder of the Tatak Ng Apat na Alon community, which translates as “Mark of the Four Waves Tribe”.

“It’s more important for them to define themselves as Filipino in a foreign country.”

Read the full article: Reviving the art of Filipino tribal tattoos

Find out more about Tatak Ng Apat na Alon .

New iPhone app for improving Philippine emergency preparedness

London, UK: Another Cup of Coffee Limited, a London-based web development company, aims to improve emergency preparedness in the Philippines with the launch of Emergency Plan for iPhone. The app is a simple tool designed to store an emergency plan for an earthquake, flood, typhoon or similar event. Valuable for families who want to ensure their households are prepared to handle a crisis, it can also be used by employers to issue staff with company emergency procedures.

Existing apps tend to offer alert services geared for crisis management professionals or provide standard guidelines easily found online. In contrast, Emergency Plan for iPhone allows ordinary users to save a plan that’s appropriate for their own family or work environment. Its straightforward interface delivers only the important information without unwanted distractions.

Despite the Philippines being highlighted as among the most disaster-prone countries, many Filipinos are still caught off guard by extreme weather events. Founder Anthony Lopez-Vito, who is a British-born Filipino, said, “When Typhoon Yolanda struck, my friends and colleagues with family in the area didn’t know how to find their loved ones. I thought it would be great to have an app people can use for planning before another crisis.” After an unsuccessful search for something suitable, Mr Lopez-Vito decided to build an app to meet the need. He continued: “These days, mobile phones–especially iPhones–are quite common but most apps are for preppers. Since your phone is a constant companion, it makes sense to use an app to keep the important elements of your plan with you at all times.”

Emergency Plan is an iPhone app version of a paper-based emergency plan card. Although electronics may not be useable in a prolonged calamity, it is intended for the immediate unfolding of a crisis. Emergency Plan for iPhone is free for a limited time to gather feedback and make improvements.

  • Download from the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/app/emergency-plan/id820246228
  • App web page: http://anothercoffee.net/emergencyplan/
  • Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EmergencyPlanApp

About Another Cup of Coffee Limited:

Another Cup of Coffee Limited is a web development company based in London, England. Founded in 2006, it creates and manages websites for small businesses, media agencies and not-for-profit groups around the world. Although incorporated in the United Kingdom, its talent is made up of independent professionals, many of whom are based in the Philippines.

Download Emergency Plan for iPhone on the App Store

Too white to be Filipino, and too Filipino to be white

Ryan Songalia, a Filipino-American with mixed-roots, moved from New Jersey to Bonifacio Global City where he faces questions about his cultural identify.

“Still, it underlines my quagmire: I’m too white to be Filipino, and too Filipino to be white.

So, if I’m “not a Filipino,” then what is a Filipino? Is it only someone who is a native born to the Philippines?

…The issue of cultural identity was one that I often examined as a child growing up with family members who were of European, Chinese and African-American descent. My father, who was born in Leyte but hadn’t been back until I was already grown up, never spoke much about the Philippines, except when discussing Rolando Navarette, Andy Ganigan and other Filipino boxers he appreciated in his younger years. My mother is fond of saying that I’m not one thing, but a mixture of the many influences I was surrounded by in my melting pot of a family and community.”

Read more: ‘Not a real Filipino’, By Ryan Songalia, Philippine Daily Inquirer

Take part in a TV Documentary

Knickerbockerglory TV are developing a documentary about people in long distance or international relationships and would love someone from the Filipino community to take part. The programme would explore how people in these types of relationships manage and make them successful.

The programme is in the early stages at the moment, if you are interested please email [email protected], with no obligation to appear in the programme at this stage.

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