10 October 2014 - As part of the Philippine Embassy’s public diplomacy initiatives, Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand Virginia H. Benavidez met on September 12 Ms. Tess McClure, a young journalist from The Press in Christchurch, who received an Asia New Zealand Foundation scholarship to undertake a journalism internship at The Philippine Star newspaper in Manila from September until November 2014.

Ms. McClure is a journalism graduate from the University of Canterbury and will be contributing to The Philippine Star to gain experience as a journalist in the Philippines and wider exposure to developments in the country and the Asian region.

Since 2007, the Asia New Zealand Foundation has been sending New Zealand journalists to The Philippine Star which provide opportunities for their career development and training on media reporting and for promoting greater understanding between the Philippines and New Zealand. As one of the eight media internships supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation every year, the New Zealand journalist’s stint at The Philippine Star is considered an excellent pathway for building reporting skills and news rooms’ linkages.

Ambassador Benavidez and Ms. McClure had an informative and insightful discussion on bilateral relations and areas of cooperation between the Philippines and New Zealand and the status and situation of Filipinos staying and working in New Zealand, including the close collaboration between relevant authorities of both countries for their welfare and well-being. Ambassador Benavidez extended her best wishes to Ms. McClure as she prepared for her trip to the Philippines. END