Pinoys Top Essay Writing Competition in Russia
Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos D. Sorreta (5th from left) together with Russian winners of the essay competition, ASEAN Centre Director Victor Sumsky (6th from left), H.E. Siviengphet Phetvorasack of Lao PDR (4th from right), H.E. Haini Hashim of Brunei, and H.E. Datuk Mat Dris Haji Yaacob of Malaysia. (Photo courtesy of J. Leong of Brunei)
05 March 2018 MOSCOW – Filipinos topped the ASEAN-Russia Essay Writing Competition co-organized by the ASEAN Centre in MGIMO University and ASEAN Moscow Committee in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN. The theme of the competition was “ASEAN@50: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities for Cooperation.”
Janine Baral and Norhani Lucman from the Philippines were declared the top two winners from the ASEAN side during the awarding held on 27 February 2018 at the MGIMO University. They bested 15 other contestants from other ASEAN countries. Their prize is a trip to Moscow this year sponsored by the ASEAN Center. Two other Filipinos – Alexander G. Cidro and Iñigo A. Gonzalez – qualified for “incentive prizes.”
Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos D. Sorreta conveys his warm congratulations to the winners noting that “they did our country proud with their excellent writing skills and good grasp of the topic. The Philippines’ strong showing tells us that youth awareness on the dialogue partnership is improving and this augurs well for ASEAN- and Philippine-Russia relations.” Amb. Sorreta added that the Philippine Embassy looks forward to welcoming them in Moscow this year.
The other winners from ASEAN are Ilham Arfakhsandz and A Zun Mo from Myanmar.
The essay competition, which was launched on 08 August 2017 during the ASEAN Day reception at the Philippine Embassy, ran up to 30 October 2017. According to Dr. Victor Sumsky, Director of the ASEAN Centre, 80 entries were received – 63 from Russia and 17 from ASEAN. Two sets of winners were chosen – six (6) each from ASEAN and Russia (i.e. three main winners and three incentive prize winners). The essays were assessed by the members of the Executive Board of the ASEAN Centre.
The main winners from the Russian side are Ekaterina Kuznetsova, Nina Prakapovich, and Nikolai Shiryaev and the incentive prize winners are Daria Borisova, Elena Kiseleva, and Nikita Kuklin. END
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