Philippine Embassy in Brussels Holds Women’s Month Activities
BRUSSELS 03 April 2024 – In observance of National Women’s Month 2024, the Philippine Embassy in Brussels organized several activities to celebrate the strength, talent, and unique experience of overseas Filipino women.
The Embassy hosted the Halo-Halong Hibla-Hibla art exhibit, co-organized with BeLikha Art Collective and the Philippine Arts and Culture Exchange (PACE), on 08 March 2024, International Women's Day, at the Embassy Chancery. The exhibit celebrated National Arts Month (February 2024) and National Women's Month (March 2024).
Halo-Halong Hibla-Hibla was a fabric assemblage workshop held on 17 February 2024 at GC Elzenhof in Brussels, where participants came together to learn sewing techniques and make their own works of art. These works were put together to create a single collaborative artwork, which was revealed during the opening of the exhibit. Curator Sam Domingo described the artwork as a weaving together of the stories of Filipino women who leave the Philippines seeking personal emancipation, but who find that oppression takes a different form in a different country. Thus, “equality among women, achieved through communal liberation, demands that everyone beget respect for one another, from one woman to another and from one living being to another.”
The exhibit also featured artworks by Filipino women artists in Belgium — Aurea Calanog, Chiara Capony, Amy Dilao, Amihan de Sosa, Mylene Factora, Cybele Ku, Anna Beth Santilla, May Tabalon Cornelissen, and Suzette Villanueva.
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On 16 March 2024, the Embassy and Filipinos in STEM – BeNeLux co-organized a panel discussion and networking event with Filipino women working in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, manufacturing, and cybersecurity.
In opening remarks read by Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General Pablito A. Mendoza on behalf of Ambassador Jaime Victor B. Ledda, Mr. Mendoza said that the Embassy events that involve and are co-organized with the Filipino community aim to reach out to more Filipinos in Belgium to better understand their needs and challenges, celebrate their achievements, and open opportunities for the community to touch base with one another and expand their circle of friends.
Panelists Jenalyn Aerts, Maria Johna Iguiron, Lynn Martinez-Prins and Charmaine Pavloskova, along with hosts Kit Navarro and Hope Flaviano, talked about how they kickstarted their STEM careers in Belgium by seeking additional training and work experience to get into their current careers. They also candidly discussed navigating cultural differences as a Filipino in Belgium, balancing work and family life. They also gave practical advice on such topics as how to get into STEM as a non-STEM practitioner, how to get a job in Belgium after graduating from a Belgian university, and how to get employment guidance from mentors in Belgian institutions.
The spirited panel discussion contributed to the productive networking session over merienda that followed.
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Finally, the Embassy’s officers and staff underwent a course on Empowerment through Self-Defense, provided by the Resilience Training Institute. The course aimed to empower both the women and men of the Embassy to prevent and respond to transgressive behavior and interpersonal violence in a constructive way. It also aimed to build confidence, conflict resolution and relationship building skills within a supportive community. END
For more information, visit https://www.brusselspe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.facebook.com/PHinBelgium/ or https://www.instagram.com/phinbelgium/.