30 September 2016— The Philippine Embassy in Nairobi joined the Indonesian, Thai and Malaysian Embassies/High Commission in holding the 1st ASEAN Festival held at The Hub, Karen Nairobi, Kenya on September 25.
The event drew more than a thousand attendees, mostly from people spending their Sunday at The hub, the newest shopping mall in Nairobi.
“This 1st ASEAN Festival will surely raise the awareness of Kenyans about ASEAN,” said Guest of Honor Ambassador Christopher Chika, Director of the Asia and Australasia Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, as he congratulated the ASEAN Nairobi Committee (ANC) currently chaired by the Royal Thai Embassy for organizing the festival.
The four-member nations of the ANC showcased the rich tapestry of ASEAN culture through songs, musical instruments, dance and food. The Philippine Embassy’s booth boasted of traditional food, handicrafts and accessories. The tourism promotion activities included Virtual Reality goggles featuring tourist destinations, brochures, and accentuated by a huge tarpaulin echoing the pictures in the brochures.
Traditional Filipino dances such as cariñosa, bulaklakan, subli and tinikling were expertly executed by the Embassy staff in vibrant traditional attire reminiscent of the gaiety of Filipino Fiestas. A tableau on the harana, the Filipino serenade, showed the romantic side of Filipinos through the song “O, ilaw”. END
