29 April – Twenty (20) Overseas Filipino Workers completed the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE) Basic Course – Batch 19 on April 27. The graduates, which also included participants of LSE Practicum Groups of Turin, Milan, Florence and Rome, received their certificates of completion from Dr. Mario Villaverde, Associate Dean of the Ateneo School of Government, Consul General Marichu Mauro of the Philippine Consulate General in Milan and Ms. Rosalie BajadeCuballes, President of Associazone Culturale Filippina del Piemonte (ACFIL).

The LSE Training Program is a collaboration of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, with Philippine Embassies and Consulates, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Ateneo University School of Government, and the Overseas Filipinos’ Society for the Promotion of Economic Security (OFSPES). The course participants undergo trainings on areas such as financial literacy, leadership, business planning, social entrepreneurship and networking, to encourage them to hone their capabilities and skills as future leaders and entrepreneurs.

Consul General Mauro, in her congratulatory remarks, urged the graduates “to be servant leaders to our kababayans” and “be their inspiration and promote the LSE program so they may benefit from the same learnings and experiences” that the graduates have gone through. She also expressed appreciation to the Ateneo School of Government and OFSPES for “conducting an excellent program to help Filipinos in Italy to develop their full potential thereby enhancing their contribution to the Philippine and Italian societies.” Consul General Mauro also assured the Philippine Consulate General in Milan’s continued support for the LSE program for the years to come. END