ATBP is the acronym for “at iba pa” — the Filipino idiomatic expression for “and everything else” and “etcetera.” We feature national and international meetings that promote the inclusive gathering of Filipinos and their friends/colleagues worldwide.
We invite you to check out the updates here from time to time. We will keep adding to these announcements of large-scale special events. The event’s information will be deleted in this section after the event takes place.
Please send your event announcements to Gemma Nemenzo at G.Nemenzo@FilipinasMag.com or Maricar Liberato at M.Liberato@FilipinasMag.com.
APRIL 17-18, 2010 – SONOMA, CA
Filipino Babaylan Conference at Sonoma State in April 2010
From: Leny Strobel, Director
Phone: (707) 494-4967 * Email: leny@babaylan.net; contact@babaylan.net
Website: http://www.babaylan.net
Sonoma, CA – January 21, 2010. Filipinos have a very rich spiritual and cultural heritage carried forward by babaylans, culture-bearers, and artists. To honor those who continue the rich legacy of Filipino indigenous knowledge systems and practices, the Center for Babaylan Studies (CfBS) will host the First International Babaylan Conference on April 17th and 18th at Sonoma State University in Northern California. Key speakers Grace Nono, Katrin de Guia, and Virgil Apostol will present aspects of the Filipino indigenous culture seldom taught outside the Philippines.
The Babaylan in Filipino culture represents the figure of the indigenous healer. This sacred gathering of healers, artists, scholars, activists, performers, and other culture-bearers will share Babaylan-inspired work through ritual, ceremony, dance, poetry, film, academic panels, conversations, and workshops.
Artist/scholar Grace Nono spent many years with primary babaylans learning sacred chants and oral narratives. Her research from the last fifteen years on Filipino oral traditions is documented in her book The Shared Voice: Chanted and Spoken Narratives from the Philippines. Katrin de Guia, founder of Heritage and Arts Academies of the Philippines and author of Kapwa: The Self in the Other, will speak about the Filipino indigenous psychology concepts of Kapwa and the Babaylan. Virgil Apostol, a recognized healer in the Ilocano Ablon tradition, will discuss his healing practice in the context of Western medicine. Other artists, scholars, community workers, and healing arts practitioners will share how their work is inspired by the Babaylan practice.
Leny Strobel, CfBS Director and an Associate Professor of American Multicultural Studies at Sonoma State University, believes the Babaylan conference is timely and relevant. “There is a growing realization in mainstream society,” Strobel explains, “that indigenous knowledge and practices carry the ancient wisdom that enabled people to survive the genocide and holocausts brought by modern civilizations.”
Stories of physical, spiritual, and emotional healing by a babaylan run strong in Filipino and Filipino American families and communities. Also known as an arbularyo, hilot, mombaki, bailan/beliyan/babaylan, catalonan, dawac, or ma-aram, these women and men received knowledge passed down by ancestors about healing herbs and massage techniques, while others were respected for their ability to speak with spirits and ask for the release of the soul of a loved one.
These women and men provide advice and healing for the community. Their practices are part of the Filipino Babaylan Tradition and incorporate Filipino indigenous knowledge systems that continue to be followed today both in the Philippines and in the diaspora. Conference information and registration can be found online at http://www.babaylan.net/register/.
The Center for Babaylan Studies was created to continue the exploration and illumination of Babaylan indigenous wisdom and spirit as it facilitates our ongoing process of decolonization and indigenization – towards our Pagbabalikloob (Turning Towards Home) and PagkaPilipino (Being Filipino). This year’s conference is the Center’s first project. After many years of research and conversation, we offer the global community a glimpse of the sweet nectar of the Babaylan spirit that this growing community has experienced in our connection with each other over the years. More can be found at http://www.babaylan.net .
JUNE 20, 2010 – NEW YORK
Call for Volunteers for Second Bayanihan Cultural Festival!
WOODSIDE, NY, Feb. 17, 2010 — Philippine Forum and the Bayanihan Filipino Community Center is now extending a call for volunteers to help in the different committees of the Second Bayanihan Cultural Festival to be held on June 20, 2010, 10 am to 6 pm at the Hart Playground in Woodside, Queens.
Last year, the First Bayanihan Cultural Festival was held in celebration of the Philippine Independence Day in the heart of the Filipino community in Queens. The festival also seeks to showcase the best of Philippine culture and to serve as a venue for the entire migrant community of New York to celebrate diversity. It was a resounding success with more than 5,000 people joining the event, drawing large crowds from all over the area and even from adjacent states.
Philippine Forum is a not-for-profit community-based organization with chapters in both New York and New Jersey providing advocacy, training, workshop and education and direct services, such as computer classes, immigration and legal services and Philippine Studies Program, to Filipinos and people of Filipino heritage in the United States.
For more information on the festival and on how to become a volunteer, please contact (718)5658862 or email at bayanihan.festival@gmail.com. Festival meetings are held every Tuesday, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm at the Bayanihan Filipino Community Center, 40-21 69th Street, Woodside, NY 11377. Take 7 train to 69th St.-Fisk Ave. or G/R/V trains to 65th St. Tokens of appreciation, food and freebies will be given to festival volunteers on the day of the festival.
JULY 21-24, 2010 – SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
FANHS 13th National Conference, Seattle University
901 12th Avenue
Seattle, WA
* Seattle, a Filipino American historical city as early as the 19th century, is the birthplace of the Filipino American National Historical Society, founded in November 16, 1982. The FANHS charter Board of Trustees was established in Seattle on November 1, 1986. The FANHS’ first National Conference was held on November 13-14, 1987, with the theme, “Who/What is a Filipino American?”.
* Conference days are Thursday to Friday, July 22-23, with a pre-conference day on Wednesday, the 21st, and a post-conference day on Sunday, the 24th.
* The 2010 theme is retrospective as in looking back on or directed to the past, past events, etc.
The Filipino American Movement, maintained by many Pinoy community activists, started on August 18-21, 1971, at Seattle University with the Young Filipino Peoples’ Far West Convention, highlighting the theme, “Quest for Emergence.”
Historically, many things have happened in Filipino American History since 1971 like Civil Rights, Philippine Martial Law protest in the U.S., burgeoning Filipino immigration, changing Filipino American communities in population, demographics and attitudes, Pinoy college student increase, Filipino American studies third-generation growing presence and FANHS itself.
* Seattle University, founded by Jesuits in 1891, is a premier independent Catholic university having some diversified 6,000 doctoral, professional, master’s and baccalaureate students with its urban campus evolving from original city street grids to park-like malls and gardens to make it a great aesthetic success.
- Dr. Fred Cordova
[Text taken from Facebook]
NOVEMBER 12-14, 2010 – SCOTTSDALE, AZ
Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce
Announces Bi-National Annual Convention
“Entrepreneurs without Borders” Converge in Phoenix
to Address Global Recession
San Francisco, CA, February 22, 2010 – The Filipino American business community is coming together in a highly-visible, unprecedented move to align its empowerment activities with an eye toward evolving as a borderless, globally-focused network of entrepreneurs and professionals. The “Federation 2010: Entrepreneurs without Borders” Convention, slated for November 12 to 14, 2010 in the newly-built, lush and luxurious venue, Talking Stick Resort and Casino Arizona in Scottsdale, Arizona, promises to engage local, national, and international participants alike with a strategic, innovative convention program that “connects the dots” in building a business global mall and promoting technological advancements, opening the doors to green wealth and green building opportunities, and bridging business and community through humanitarian and trade missions, among its many offerings.
In addition to the attendance of luminaries and dignitaries, keynote speakers include Arizona Governor Jan Brewer; Dr. Yolanda O. Stern, international entrepreneur and philanthropist; Jaime Lim, President of the Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce (FPACC) and Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon, acclaimed for his outstanding work in building business coalitions that win government contracts; and Marie Cunning, a successful Arizona-based Filipina American developer who advocates green building practices. After the highly-awaited Philippine Presidential Elections on May 10, 2010, the new President of the Philippines will be invited to address the expected 800 attendees coming from 40-plus FPACC chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
“The road to a world of Entrepreneurs without Borders provides the Federation’s chapters, members, and affiliates with the ability to connect the dots in real time. We will renew and enhance our commitment to improving the business climate for Filipino entrepreneurs during these uncertain economic times, provide a rich directory of resources and networks, and truly help each other grow and succeed. In this year’s bi-national annual convention, we will increase our delegates’ opportunities to meet potential partners from other parts of the world besides the Philippines,” Marie Cunning announced. Cunning is the convention’s chair and President of the Filipino American Business Chamber of Commerce of Arizona (FABCCA).
The Federation is offering its first 200 registered delegates “first come, first served” benefits such as an invitation to a special event within the convention: the opportunity to meet with venture capitalists, investment groups, and companies seeking joint venture agreements. Delegates, guests, and local visitors will also be treated to a diversity of exhibitors’ products and services inside a high-traffic Exhibition Hall as part of the convention’s Business Global Mall.
As the Talking Stick Resort gets ready for the Grand Opening festivities in June, 2010, sparking global attention with its 100,000-plus square feet of indoor and outdoor convention space amidst a backdrop of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Tribe’s Indian cultural heritage, the Federation looks forward to being one of the first groups to enjoy the 5-star facilities. Delegates will be greeted with a Welcome Reception at the resort, sponsored by FABCCA, the Host Committee.
“Becoming an Entrepreneur without Borders means that you are ready to be an impetus to actions that change the world,” says Jaime Lim in his invitation to prospective delegates.
Early convention registration information can be found at FPACC.com and FPACCAZConvention.com.
About the Organization: The U.S. Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce, Inc., is a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation, incorporated under the not for profit laws of the State of Oregon with corporate offices at 447 Sutter Street, Suite 701, San Francisco, CA 94108. It has 42 chapter members from all over the United States mainland to include Hawaii. Incorporated in 1997, it bridges US Philippines trade and commerce, promotes goodwill and mutually beneficial projects between the two countries. It holds an annual convention in the US and one trade mission a year to the Philippines. It currently has several major Memorandums of Agreement with major Public and Private sector departments of the Philippines, including a major one with the US-SBA.
Press Contacts: Ben Menor at FPACC2010@gmail.com or Marie Cunning at MCunning@cox.net.
