30 January 2015 - The Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu, in partnership with the Filipino Junior Chamber of Commerce (FJC) of Hawaii, held a Filipino American Youth Reception and Dialogue on January 28 at the Philippine Consulate General. Over 60 attendees comprised of Filipino-American (Fil-Am) youth from the FJC, university students, young entrepreneurs and government leaders, as well as leaders from the Filipino community attended the gathering.
Special guests include Dr. Belinda Aquino, professor emeritus of the University of Hawaii, Ms. Maria Etrata, President of the United Filipino Council of Hawaii, Atty. Franz Juan, Executive Director of the Filipino Community Center, Ms. Teresita Bernales, President of the University of Sto. Tomas Alumni Association of Hawaii, and Ms. Helen Grace Go and Ms. Bernadette Fajardo of the Candonians of Hawaii.
In welcome remarks, Philippines Consul General Gina A. Jamoralin expressed her hope for a “continued dialogue and engagement with the youth, the future of the Filipino community in Hawaii, who will carry the friendship between the Philippines and Hawaii.” She encouraged the youth to be active in Hawaii’s civic, community and political affairs to train them as future leaders and to be the pride of the Filipino community in the state. She also called on the youth to play an active part in shaping the future of the Philippines while in Hawaii, and not merely be a passive observer or an armchair idealist or activist.
The Consul General Jamoralin also took the opportunity to promote its programs and activities which are geared towards the Fil-Am youth, which include the registration for overseas voting, the Ilocano Language Immersion Program, which will afford young Filipino Americans the rare opportunity to learn basic Ilocano language for a period of three months and to embark on a ten-day immersion program to Ilocos in June 2015, and the current search for delegates to the 4th Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro) in July 2015.
To help promote the FYLPro to the Fil-Am youth in Hawaii, the three former FYLPro delegates from Hawaii, Ms. Kit Zulueta (2012), Mr. Randy Cortez (2013) and Mr. Mike Dahilig (2014) attended the gathering and share their memorable experiences and insights on the FYLPro and encouraged the youth to apply for the program.
A hearty and engaging dialogue, through an open forum, followed wherein the youth openly shared their personal stories and struggles as Filipino Americans, the challenges and opportunities they face, and their perspectives on how to be more involved in the political, civic and socio-economic affairs of both the Philippines and the United States. Issues such as discrimination, political duties and responsibilities such as voting, and embracing one’s Filipino identity and rootswere also discussed.
A group of Fil-Am eskrimadors from the Bandalan Doce Pares Association, also gave an exhibition on eskrima or arnis, to promote Filipino culture through Filipino martial arts.
The attendees then partook of simple salu-salo from Jollibee, a leading Filipino fast food chain. END