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PH EMBASSY, FILCOM ORGS GATHER AT FOURTH UGNAYAN AND LAUNCH OF UP VINTA IN SINGAPORE

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PRESS RELEASE | PR-129-2024

28 October 2024, Singapore – The Philippine Embassy in Singapore successfully held the fourth and final installment of this year’s UGNAYAN: Bagong Pilipinas Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, 27 October 2024. With over 50 Filipino community leaders and stakeholders in attendance and a live stream of the meeting on the Embassy’s Facebook page, the event marked another milestone in Post’s efforts to involve Filipinos in Singapore in programs and initiatives that support their growth and empowerment. 

 

The program commenced with a welcome message by Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General, Dr. Emmanuel R. Fernandez, who reiterated the Embassy’s call for Filipinos in Singapore to seriously consider the prospect of striking out on their own as entrepreneurs. Taking off from the insights that could be gleaned from the Embassy’s recently-launched ebook (entitled Making a Mark on the Little Red Dot:  Trailblazing Filipino Entrepreneurs in Singapore), Consul General Fernandez laid out the personal benefits of becoming an entrepreneur, as well as the positive social and economic impact that entrepreneurs make on our country at large.  He said that, by becoming entrepreneurs, Filipino overseas workers in Singapore could help create jobs for their fellow Filipinos back home; generate income which could help the latter sustain their families; come up with innovative ideas, products and services that could help address our country’s complex problems, while attracting the influx of capital and investments.  In the end, by becoming entrepreneurs, Filipino overseas workers could contribute significantly to our country’s social and economic development.

 

Following this, the Embassy’s team of officers provided updates on consular, cultural, labor and welfare services. The Filipino community also had the chance to meet  newly-arrived  Labor Attaché Haney Lynn Siclot and Defense and Armed Forces Attaché Col. Egberto O. Dacoscos, PA (GSC), both of whom pledged their offices’ support to the Filipino community’s welfare and ongoing development.

Another  highlight of the Ugnayan was the launch of the University of the Philippines’ Ventures for International and Transformative Academia (VINTA). In his opening remarks, Ambassador Medardo G. Macaraig emphasized the powerful role that education plays in advancing personal potential and community resilience. He extended his gratitude to  UP and its Open University (OU), under the leadership of President Angelo Jimenez, for spearheading this transformative  initiative  that bridges educational gaps for overseas Filipinos, providing access to high-quality academic programs  that can be pursued from  anywhere in the world. 

UP President Atty. Jimenez took to the podium to expound on the vision behind UP Vinta and its four (4) pillars – Inclusivity, Quality Instruction, Innovation, and Public Service. He shared that his priorities as a UP President were significantly inspired by the years he served as a labor attaché in Philippine foreign service posts which cater to a large population of OFWs. UP VINTA, an expansion of the mandate and reach of UPOU, was borne out of his insight that education and the acquisition of higher-level skills can mobilize a significant number of the Filipino diaspora from low-income, high-risk jobs to high-income, low-risk professions. He then encouraged the Filipino community in Singapore to take part in the program and empower themselves with top-notch academic courses offered by UP VINTA. Recognizing as well the calibre and potential of Singapore-based Filipino professionals, UP President Jimenez invited them to collaborate with the country’s national university in the development of academic programs which best suit the needs of OFWs in the city-state.

To learn more about UP VINTA, visit upvinta.upou.edu.ph or email upvinta@upou.edu.ph.

The Ugnayan concluded  with a heartfelt greeting from Ambassador Macaraig, wishing the Filipino community and their families a joyous holiday season and a prosperous  new year. END.

 

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