AMBIVALENCE by Solenn Heussaff ENDURING DECAY by Arturo Sanchez Jr For Raul Francisco, owner of Provenance Gallery, bringing modern Filipino art to the international stage is a nation-building effort. “The challenge is that Philippine art has long been stereotyped when, in fact, it’s a...
EDUCATION IS KEY In the City of Toda in Japan, public schools are visited by government officials from all over the world to see how they are modernizing learning Last week, I had the privilege of visiting schools in Toda City within Japan’s Saitama Prefecture. The visit offered a glimpse into...
AUTHENTICITY CAN BE YOUR SOFT POWER Heart Evangelista's personal branding, thanks to her authenticity, allows her to work with a broad spectrum of brands, from high luxury to mass products I didn’t expect to find myself back home in Manila this quickly. After only being in Tokyo for six weeks and...
POST-QUAKE AKIHABARA Life goes on for the rest of the country with most tourists unaware of how bad the earthquake was in other parts of Japan For a few years now, I’ve been advocating for welcoming the new year without a hangover. I can’t remember for sure but I guess I was influenced by the...
GETTING BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS Haruki, the author's friend, helps the author figure out how to use the best train car for more efficient transfers A lot of people like to think of expat life, especially diplomatic life, as glamorous. I think this is because hardly anybody ever talks...
REPRESENTING THE COUNTRY Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco and Cong. Duke Frasco at the Thai National Day As the holiday season envelops the country in a festive spirit, the last two national day events before the Christmas break were marked with camaraderie and cultural richness. Government...
PH-AUSTRIA TIES DFA Undersecretary Jesus Gary Domingo, Austrian State Secretary for Economy, Labor, and Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler and Karl Heinz Kopf, Secretary-General of Federal Economic Chamber of Austria On Oct. 25, the Grand Hyatt Manila became the venue of the Austrian National Day....
WOMEN IN POWER Swedish Ambassador Annika Thunborg, Australian Amb. HK Yu, US Amb. MaryKay Carlson, UK Amb. Laure Beaufils, Romanian Amb. Râduta Matache, Dutch Amb. Marielle Geraedts, and Singaporean Amb. Constance See The concept of “witches” today differs dramatically from the malicious and...
TOAST TO PARTNERSHIP Czech Chargé d'Affaires Dalibor Micka I have this habit of listening intently and looking around to see how many people are audibly singing the Lupang Hinirang at another country’s National Day event. I’ve been attending diplomatic events for a decade now and I always...
TIME TO END BREAST CANCER SM Supermalls president Steven Tan and Estee Lauder Companies country general manager Sharyn Wong Every October, the world is dressed in pink to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s a time to celebrate the survivors, remember those we’ve lost, and raise...
EAST MEETS WEST IN FASHION Erzsébet Papp (ZEMA Jewels), Dennis Lustico, and Adrienn Balogh (Adry Couture) at the diplomatic reception to celebrate 50 years of PH-Hungary relations The last week of September was all about Hungary as the country—found in the heart of Europe—celebrated 50 years...
MERDEKA DAY! DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Senator Robinhood Padilla, DFA Usec. Antonio Morales, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, and Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Dato' Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino bin Anthony The essence of camaraderie and cross-cultural collaboration recently found...
