Filipino resilience to be showcased at Asia-Europe conference

By: Matikas Santos - 11 years ago

DFA Asec. Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, chair of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Manila conference, said in a press conference Thursday that the resiliency of Filipino is known worldwide. MATIKAS SANTOS/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The resilience of Filipinos is set to be showcased to the world as delegates from Europe and Asia come to the Philippines and visit areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) for an international conference on disaster risk reduction and management.

“We are the poster child of resiliency and we have been cited for our resilience and other international conferences have referred to the Philippines because of our determination to rise up again and again,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Asec. Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, chair of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Manila conference, said in a press conference Thursday.

“So far, 140 senior government officials involved in disaster risk reduction and management, experts, non-government officials and civil society leaders, and private sector representatives from 36 of the 51 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) partner countries, joined by senior representatives from 19 regional and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the ASEM Manila conference,” she said.

The conference will be held from June 4 to June 6 and will start with a visit to Leyte province where participants will visit the cities off Tacloban, Tanauan, and Palo.

They will also lead in the ground breaking ceremony for the ASEM E-learning center in Bislig Elementary school which will be a token contribution of the conference participants to the youth.

Collinson said that the conference aims to draw lessons from the Philippine’s experience with Yolanda and to exchange best practices in disaster risk reduction and management among the participants.

They also seek to introduce and promote innovation, technology, systems, and services in disaster prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery from the private and scientific community, she said.

“The ASEM Manila conference on disaster risk reduction and mitigation translates into action the collective commitment of ASEM partners or greater collaboration and coordination,” Collinson said.