PH Embassy in Brussels Kicks Off International Women’s Day, National Women’s Month Celebrations
Female clients at the Consular Section of the Philippine Embassy in Brussels receive roses from Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo José A. de Vega on 09 March 2020 in celebration of the International Women’s Day. (Brussels PE photo)
BRUSSELS 17 March 2020 — At the start of the work week on 09 March 2020, female clients at the Consular Section of the Philippine Embassy in Brussels got a pleasant surprise from Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo José A. de Vega when he welcomed them and gave them roses in celebration of the International Women’s Day.
Consul Charles Andrei Macaspac and Cultural Officer Liza Jane Estalilla joined Ambassador de Vega in giving away some Belgian chocolates to top the treat.
On 07 March 2020, the Embassy organized an Empowerment Self-Defense Tutorial, a wholistic approach to personal safety, providing women with tools to combat the whole spectrum of violence from verbal harassment to physical violence. The whole-day tutorial was conducted by Ms. Nina Wennick, a Dutch high school teacher and instructor of Krav Maga, a self-defense technique that originated in the Israeli army. The trainee group was composed of Filipino women who were victims of violence, volunteers of the Embassy’s Gender and Development (GAD) initiative Women Helping Women (WHW) Network, and Embassy personnel.
The Krav Maga method of self defense taught the participants how to respond to threats or other acts of violence by listening to their intuition, assessing their options, asserting boundaries, using de-escalation strategies, and providing tools for a range of mental, verbal and physical responses. During the tutorial, the participants learned to use their personal experiences to employ the various techniques in properly handling such crisis situations. At the end of the training, the participants said they felt empowered after learning how to be in command of the mind, body and spirit in order to live boldly and freely without fear.
On 06 March 2020, the Embassy also gathered Filipino community leaders in Belgium for their first meeting for the year with Ambassador de Vega. During the meeting, the leaders were briefed on the various activities slated for the first half of the year and developments affecting them such as the Overseas Voting Registration, the Covid-19 spread, activities in celebration of International Women’s Day and National Women’s Month, the One-Year Countdown to the 500th Anniversary of the Battle of Mactan, National Volunteerism Day and Philippine Food Month celebration in April, as well as the preparations for the Filipino community’s celebration of Philippine Independence Day 2020.
Filipino community leaders were also encouraged to volunteer in the WHW Network to further strengthen its capacity to provide timely intervention and assistance for Filipinos in distress, particularly the women. They were also informed of the Seminar on Counseling and Crisis Intervention that will be held at the Embassy on 20 March 2020 as part of the series of capacity-building trainings slated for WHW Network volunteers. END
Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo José A. de Vega (center), Consul Charles Andrei Macaspac (rightmost) and Cultural Officer Liza Jane Estalilla (leftmost) offer the clients with Belgian chocolates to top up the treat. (Brussels PE photo)
Ms. Nina Wennick (in gray shirt and black pants) explains Krav Maga self-defense strategies to the trainees during the Empowerment Self-Defense Tutorial held on 07 March 2020 at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels Bulwagan ng Mga Pangulo, as Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo José A. de Vega looks on (rearmost). (Brussels PE photo)
For more information, visit https://www.brusselspe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinBelgium/.