PH Embassy in Berlin’s Launched AklaTamBayan Living Library Project
Kay Abaño shares about her journey as a creative nomad seeking “utopia.” (Berlin PE photo)
BERLIN 19 September 2019 – To promote storytelling as a means of building bridges and bringing people together, the Philippine Embassy in Berlin launched a living library project dubbed “AklaTamBayan” at the Embassy’s Library on 30 August 2019.
“AklaTamBayan” is a play on the Tagalog words for ‘library’ (aklatan) and ‘hangout’ (tambayan), AklaTamBayan literally means a public library, but is envisaged by the Embassy as a means to reimagine the library as a place to share stories and build community, not simply to read and borrow books.
The inaugural session was entitled “Roots & Routes: Perspectives on Migration and Integration” and featured Berlin-based Filipino migrants Wilfred Dominic Josue, Janelle Dumalaon, and Kathryn “Kay” Abaño.
Mr. Josue talked about working many years to save up the €8,000 needed to apply for a student visa to Germany, where he subsequently obtained his Master of Arts degree in Politics and German Post War History and became a licensed integration teacher assisting migrants and refugees in learning the German language and the German society and culture in general.
A broadcast journalist who is a familiar face among those who watch Germany’s international news channel Deutsche Welle, Ms. Dumalaon shared some of her earlier struggles studying journalism while also being an au pair.
Ms. Abaño spoke about her journey as a creative nomad, which began as a production designer in Manila for such films as “Markova: Comfort Gay” and “Noon at Ngayon”, and later took her to Spain, where she trained at the Escuela TAI in Madrid and developed a passion for street photography, and now Berlin, where she continues to shoot photography and film documentaries.
In her opening remarks, Ambassador to Germany Ma. Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega acknowledged that each migrant has her or his own narrative. Some stories may be happier than others, and the government’s role is to provide safety nets when the plotline takes an unfortunate turn.
AklaTamBayan is also part of the Embassy’s Gender and Development (GAD) initiative, with an aim to provide a safe space and platform for more diverse voices, such as those of women and members of the LGBTQ community, to be heard. END
Wilfred Josue talks about his journey to Germany. (Berlin PE photo)
Ambassador to Germany Ma. Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega (right) thanks Janelle Dumalon for being one of AklaTamBayan’s first storytellers. (Berlin PE photo)
For more information, visit https://www.berlinpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.de or https://www.facebook.com/PHinGermany.