23 September 2016 — National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairman Felipe M. de Leon, Jr. led the inauguration ceremony for the establishment of the Sentro Rizal in Qatar last September 20. This was followed by the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the NCCA and the Philippine Embassy in Doha and the presentation of the Certificate of Establishment.
The Sentro Rizal in Qatar is the second center to be established in the Middle East region after Oman, and the 19th center worldwide. The first Sentro Rizal was established in 2011 by virtue of Section 42 of Republic Act 10066 otherwise known as the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 which provides for a center “whose main purpose is the promotion of Philippine arts, culture and language throughout the world.”
In line with its cultural diplomacy thrust, the Philippine Embassy also received the Virtual Sentro Rizal, an electronic collection of essential materials on Philippine cultures and the arts, a valuable tool in promoting Philippine culture even more widely with this new media platform. Through the support given by NCCA, the Philippine Embassy in Doha will continue its aggressive cultural diplomacy which plays a very important role in shaping international interactions and bridging foreign policy differences by providing a neutral platform for people-to-people exchanges.
"We want Filipinos not to forget their own native tongue especially the children and to teach them the iconic symbols of being Filipino," said Chairman De Leon during a press briefing after the inauguration.
With a community of approximately 222,000 Filipinos in Qatar and two Philippine schools overseas duly recognized by the host government, the Philippine Embassy hopes to be able to provide the Filipinos in Qatar, especially the children, the means to be able to reconnect with their Filipino heritage through the promotion of Filipino language and culture through this initiative. END