PH Embassy in Manama Awards Winners of 1st Online Poetry Slam to Culminate National Women’s Month Celebration
Philippine Chargé d’ Affaires Maria Paz G. Cortes (middle 1st row), Ms. Melinda Nomananap (leftmost- 1st row), Ms. Catherine Torres (leftmost- 2nd row), Mr. Scott Saboy (2nd from left- 4th row) together with the Philippine Embassy personnel and participants of the Online Poetry Slam, Junior and Senior Categories. (Manama PE photo)
MANAMA 31 March 2022 — The Philippine Embassy in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain successfully culminated its month-long celebration of the 2022 National Women’s Month through the awarding ceremony of the 1st Online Poetry Slam entitled “Kababaihan – Ipagbunyi at Parangalan, Pantay na Karapatan, Ating Pahalagahan!” on 31 March 2022 via Facebook Live.
The Spoken Poetry competition was a flagship activity of the Philippine Embassy that aims to reach out to the younger generation of Filipinos in Bahrain and encourage them to give tribute to women and their contributions to their communities, as well as to generate increased awareness among the youth about the issues faced by women.
The Embassy launched this event on 08 March 2022 in line with International Women’s Day inviting all Filipino youths in Bahrain to the online poetry slam for two categories: Junior Category for ages 10-14 years old and Senior Category for ages 15 to 18 years old. A total of 11 entries were received, five of which are for the Junior Category and six are for the Senior Category.
The Embassy invited three distinguished judges, namely: Ms. Catherine Torres - a former Foreign Service Officer and a writer who received a Philippine National Book Award for her short story anthology “Mariposa Gang and Other Stories”. Her novel “Sula’s Voyage” was a Scholastic Asia Book Award finalist. Ms. Torres is also a three-time Palanca Awardee; Ms. Melinda Nomananap – a theater moderator, a Junior and Senior High School Teacher, and Filipino Student Coordinator. She also created audio and video learning materials in Filipino perfect for students at any level. She is also a certified voice artist; and Mr. Scott Saboy – a writer, an Igorot scholar and an English teacher under the Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Bahrain. He has an MA in Language and Literature. His poetry has been published in the Philippine literary anthologies.
At the end of the program, the winners per category were announced. For Junior Category: Daniel Franco Bayani was hailed Champion, Isabella Alan as 1st Runner-up and Nicole Angela Cruz as 2nd Runner-up. For Senior Category: the Champion was Jelaine Trisha Camila, 1st Runner-up was Jerome Jocel Camil, and 2nd Runner-up was Althe Anne Jamon.
All the participants will receive a Certificate of Participation, NWM Shirts, and gift packs from Ms. Whendy Crisostomo and Ego Company. In addition, winners will also receive a specially designed trophy.
Furthermore, the Embassy received a commendation from the judges for launching this event highlighting the importance of reaching out to the younger generation and building their critical thinking through the poetry contest. END
For more information, visit https://www.manamape.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.facebook.com/PHLinBahrain or https://www.instagram.com/phlinbahrain/.