Tag: Community
filmefilms update
filemefilms have an update video for 2008. Take a look at their latest videos and redesigned site at filmefilms.tv.
Annual PNA UK Short Story Writing Contest
The Philippine Nurses Association of the UK and Ireland is launching its Annual PNA UK Short Story Writing Contest beginning January 2008.
The annual contest is a part of the association’s cultural awareness and Filipino identity promotion program among the huge OFW community living abroad.
The primary objective of the contest is to help promote literature, cultural and creative thinking in the migrant worker in the context of UK environment and trends and to enable the individual to share this in writing. Aimed at highlighting the OFW as a truly world-class Filipino, the contest stands to be the first of its kind in the UK Filipino community. The ambition of the project campaign is to expand opportunities for the writers, readers and possible publisher of the stories.
It is further hoped that the contest will continue to serve as a reminder for the Filipino individual of the cultural roots and modern social adaptation in a literary environment. The award endeavours to focus on the life of the overseas national in the United Kingdom. The project is open to all overseas Filipino, British-Filipino and Mixed-Filipino national who have mainly come to the UK to work and/ or live permanently. All entries must be between 6,000 to 10,000 words. Deadline for submission of entries is on 30 April 2008.
The PNA UK Annual Short Story Writing Contest is fully endorsed and supported by the Philippine Embassy in London and by various Filipino business establishments. For more entry and sponsorship information, please visit the website at www.pnauk.org.uk where complete information can be found. Alternatively, please email [email protected].
[Sent by Michael Duque, president of the Philippine Nurses Association of the UK]
A message from filmefilms
A message to the Filipino community in the UK from filmefilms.
Barrio Fiesta In Hounslow 2007
Here’s filmefilms’ coverage of the Barrio Fiesta in Hounslow, July 2007. It’s a bit late but I’ve only just found the video 😛
30 Days, 30 Communities – Filipino Stories
"As part of a BBC Video Nation project, members of the Filipino community in Cambridge have made short films about their lives…"
Full article: 30 Days, 30 Communities – Filipino Stories in bbc.co.uk
Filipinos in Cambridge
"Technically speaking, Cambridge could be the most diverse place in Britain. It is a small city whose famous university attracts large numbers of people from around the world. And yet it remains very English, scarcely marked by its exotic but transient population – except at noon on Sundays. Then, in the suburb of Cherry Hinton, the St Philip Howard Catholic church throngs like downtown Manila."
Full article: Filipinos in Cambridge in The Guardian
Why we started Phil-UK
Filipinos began to emigrate from the Philippines around the early 70’s to fill a skills gap in the UK. Usually driven by the need to support family left behind, many of the first-generation often worked long and unsociable hours. Their labour was perhaps made bearable by plans to build enough wealth to return to their families.
Eventually, a second-generation of Filipinos began to appear – our generation. Some of us were born in the UK; others were brought over from the Philippines. However, as our parents focused on meeting economic needs, our social and cultural needs tended to be neglected.
The second-generation of Filipinos in the UK have no voice in Britain; our parents have been silent for too long. What is our contribution to British society? What do we know of our history and how do we pass on our heritage? Did our parents sacrifice too much when they left the Philippines? These are the questions we ask ourselves and why we created this website.
Phil-UK is where we explore our culture, identity and how we fit into British and Filipino society. It is also where a group of us tell people about our projects for change.
We believe that young Filipinos in the UK do not have a voice in society. This is causing us to lose our culture and our identity. It also means that we can’t play an active role in shaping our community.
Our aim is to enable Filipinos to be a positive and visible influence to Britain’s cultural diversity.
We will do this by promoting awareness and pride in our culture; by bringing together young Filipinos with projects for change; and by creating partnerships with people who share our views.
The Youth Need a Voice
By Monica Bains, June 2001
The Filipino Youth Forum met a mixed response from participants on Saturday the 9th June.
The forum took place at the Salvation Army Hall in Oxford Street, London. Mr Jay Ibot organised the event with the support and assistance of the Filipino Embassy and the Philippines Department of Tourism. The forum tried to address the concerns and interests of second and third generation Filipinos living abroad. A major theme was the preservation of national identity and culture. The event attracted Filipinos from as far a field as Canada, USA, Italy and France to make contributions about their experiences.
There was a one-hour delay and a low turnout, which resulted in one big group discussion after the break rather than the planned smaller group discussions.
Father Emile from Rome began the proceedings with a prayer marking the religious nature of Filipino culture. Ambassador Cesar Bautista then gave a talk on the importance of encouraging the community to preserve its culture. It was then followed by speeches made by the various group leaders representing Filipino youth from different countries.
Ambassador Bautista said he was very pleased with the seminar: "I think we had a good selection of participants here, not only from the UK but from the rest of the world."
The Ambassador said he believed the younger participants in the forum would make an active contribution and would bring up the most important issues.
He stressed that the Filipino youth must embrace its culture and values to succeed. He said: "I think that it is clear that they all share the need to improve their role in the society they live in. They need the values of Filipino culture and there is no need to be ashamed about it. They can aspire to be anything that they want if they are proud of their culture."
Mr Bautista said that it was the job of the community to help Filipino youth find their culture: "We have been trying to support them but this is not something we can initiate on our own. This must be initiated by the people themselves and we are here to support them."
A Canadian Filipino Youth Group member called Hose said: "It was interesting – we contributed a lot of things, especially about our culture."
However some said they were not pleased with the seminar. A source that did not want to be named said: "I was very disappointed. I don’t think that they addressed the right questions and basically as part organisers we were told that the structure would be different. What happened when we came here today it all changed. We prepared for this maybe two three months ago and soon as we came here it was out of our control there was a pretence that it was in our control but it wasn’t. The thing is that it’s a youth conference controlled by the older generations and who else is going to know things apart from us."
Retired nurse Mrs Lewes Bing Makado was one of many to make a speech. She discussed the experiences of Filipino youth in Germany.
Among the many solutions discussed she said youngsters needed to take more pride in being Filipino. She said: "The message of how to solve this problem of the youth in the world is that they themselves must know what it is to be a Filipino. They must learn to love being Filipino."
She said the erosion of national identity came about because the first generation Filipinos did not enforce traditional values on to their children. She said: "It happened because most Filipino’s who came abroad were workers. So most of them had no time for their children as they were too busy working."
Another speaker at the forum was Sales Manager Mark Villarosa. Mark said he was born in the Philippines, and came to the UK when he was 15 years of age.
He claimed that to succeed in Western society he had to compromise his Filipino identity: "I had to take on the persona of a British person I have had to act the mode of what a Londoner is like – aggressive, ambitious. I think right now the level of success I have achieved is down to the fact that I was able to absorb a lot of this culture and become a part of it".
"The problem now is that I have had to let go of quite a few things. In the Philippines there is a strong cohesion of family you meet with them a lot. There is a lot of physical touch in terms of being with them that’s lost in a way here because its not in their culture."
As a solution for the future Mark said that young Filipinos should look to new technology as a way forward: "We are not only young and mobile but we are educated. We also don’t fit into the standard mode of what is traditionally Filipino. So I think that a good way to draw young Filipinos back into a sense of who they are is attract them in a way they understand and that’s why I mentioned technology."
"Posting information about youth movements is what’s needed. I think that is a good way in which we could galvanise the Filipino youth in London."
Mark said he was impressed with the Forum but felt that there was not enough attention placed on the youth: "I think it was the first one, which tried to discuss important issues concerning youth. I think there could have been a bit more emphasis on the young and our own experiences. What we need is to bring our youth together."
[Note: Bold text added for easier readability on the web.]
Related articles:
Young Filipinos in Britain and Beyond
By Roann Tubalinal
It all started from when our parents decided to search for a better life. Escaping the market force of the Philippines, they looked for other means of living and found out that working abroad would be a better option. Most of them soon realised that living in a foreign country would guarantee the best opportunity for us. We ate, spoke, lived, and breathed like Filipinos though the air was cold, the sun ungenerous, and the society unfamiliar. Branded the so-called second generation Filipinos – some of us were flown across the seas; others were born in the UK, many by Western fathers. The environment may have been different but the Filipino culture remained incorporated in our daily doses of ‘PAYOS’ and ‘SERMONS’. Most would agree that we have the best of both worlds.
At present, young and talented Filipinos are emerging in fields such as entertainment and music, academia, business, and fashion. Alongside these, others chose different careers but are succeeding equally in their own areas of interest. It is evident that our generation has most certainly achieved something that our parents can only dream of. The ‘SERMONS’ and ‘PAYOS’ clearly worked for most of us. As we head to the future, our aims will vary but our directions should hopefully be the same. One thing is certain, the ‘FUTURE’ can only get better for young ‘PINOYS’ in Britain.
Finally, the population of Filipinos living in Britain is increasing rapidly; co-operation and support from each other can only be beneficial. Most would agree that the days of ‘CRAB MENTALITY’ have long been with us and should now come to its end. As our generation converge the two cultures (Filipino and British) it could only be an effective tool which will benefit the next generations to come. I am hopeful that the next century will be an era whereby issues such as prejudices, stereotyping, racism, and other forms of discriminations will be non-existent.