28 December 2015 – Prominently displayed in front of Gare Cornavin, the main train station and busiest terminal of Geneva that connects it to other Swiss cantons and European countries, five-foot parol from San Fernando, Pampanga with its festive lights introduces a well-loved Filipino tradition to cosmopolitan Geneva.

The parol display is part of the cultural program of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva. It aims to offer to residents and visitors in the city a glimpse of Filipino culture and to provide members of the Filipino Community in Geneva, some of whom have not had recent opportunity to return to the Philippines, a familiar sense of home.

The Philippines donated the parol to the City Government for its annual Geneva Lights Festival, which features “Works of Light” created by artists from all over the world. The parol will now form part of future exhibits.

Ambassador Cecilia Rebong, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations, explained, “I have been continually feeling the support of the people of Geneva for the Philippines. We in the Philippine Mission want to show a meaningful gesture of friendship and camaraderie with Geneva and the international community that has called it home. So what better way than to bring here an important facet of our culture, a piece of our own home?”

Geneva City Counselor Guilliaume Barazzone thanked the Philippines during the opening of the Geneva Lights Festival on December 03, saying, “This glorious representation of the Star of Bethlehem… is a celebration of light and color, reflective of the vibrant warmth of Filipino culture and traditions.”

“It is also a beautiful symbol of openness to the world from our international city, Geneva,” he added.

The project was made possible with the help of San Fernando Mayor Edwin David Santiago and the City Tourism and Investment Promotion Office, led by Ms. Ching Pangilinan, which created the parol; the Office of Senate President Franklin Drilon, which facilitated its delivery; and the DFA Cultural Diplomacy Unit and the Regional Consular Office in Pampanga, which coordinated the project. END