22 January 2015 – In conjunction with its cultural diplomacy thrust, the Philippine Embassy in Doha, in coordination with the Philippine School Doha (PSD) and the Philippine International School in Qatar (PISQ), organized a lecture on Philippine Cultural Heritage for Filipino students in Doha featuring Mr. Ivan Anthony S. Henares on January 19.

Mr. Henares is the President of the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS), as well as the Executive Council Secretary of the National Committee on Monuments and Sites under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). HCS is a non-stock, non-profit organization advocating the protection and preservation of Philippine-built heritage.

 “The opportunity to talk to young Filipinos who grew up outside the country, and share with them information about Philippine heritage, is always fulfilling,” Henares wrote in his Facebook page after the lectures.

The audience from PSD composed of graduating high school students found the lecture timely and useful as they prepare to go back to the Philippines to start their college education. This was a way to further familiarize themselves with a culture that they rarely get to experience firsthand. PISQ, meanwhile, had a more diverse group of students from various grade levels to widen the reach of Mr. Henares’ lecture.

Qatar was the first stop in the Middle East for Mr. Henares as he is scheduled to hold the same lecture in the UAE. This program was initially organized in Hong Kong and Macau for the Filipino communities in those areas.  END