The Filipinoâs talent and distinction in varying competitions are almost always recognized and rewarded here and abroad. Even in the academic field, Filipinos are acknowledged as among the peoples of the world who show exemplary performance.
At the so-called Francophonie Week in the Philippines, Filipino students were again given due recognition and prizes for their acumen in usingâŠand speakingâŠFrench in poetry and in video production.
The competitions were organized and sponsored by Alliance Francaise de Manille, Lycee Francais de Manille and the Embassy of France.
On March 21, several students from the University of the Philippines, the Quezon City Science High School, Alliance Francaise de Manille (AFM) and other schools were awarded prizes for winning in the said contests.
Held at the Alliance Francaise de Manille, the students who won in the poetry tilt were:
1st prize: Keina Nakamura âInternautique- AFM student;
2nd prize: Stephanie Carag â Cacheâ UP Diliman;
3rd prize: Julianne Fetalvero â Les visage-Â Quezon City Science High School;
4th prize: Francine Motos â Le Web â Quezon City Science High School;
5th prize: Sarika Ty-Clochard â TĂ©lĂ©snobeuses- 1st year high school at the French School, 11 years old.
The participants in this category were asked to include at least 2 of the 10 words chosen by the French Ministry of Culture relating to the topic âThe Webâ.
These words were:
avatar, canular, émoticÎne, favori, fureteur, héberger, nomade, nuage, pirate, télésnober.
The participants were also asked to illustrate their poem through calligram, drawing, painting, original photography, visual montage, collage and other forms of illustration.
It was exhilarating to hear the winners actually read their winning pieces during the awarding ceremony, at their tender age.
But perhaps the most excited victor who received her prize was Geraldine Resareal, a University of the Philippines-Diliman student, who won for her French video production in the LabCitoyen competition. This yearâs contest theme was âHuman Rights in the City.â
Geraldine is taking up European Languages in the State University.
She will be spending eight days in France as part of her prize, where she will join other winners from all over the world in the same contest category.
LabCitoyen is an international program by the Institut Francais of Paris, which brings together young âfrancophonesâ (a person who speaks French), 20-26 years olds, from different parts of the globe, to participate in a series of conferences, debates, visits and workshops on citizenship for eight days.
The French Ambassador
No less than French Ambassador to the Philippines Thierry Mathou acknowledged how such activities encourage tourism exchange in both countries.
âWe took the new concept âPhilFrance, feel Frenchâ in this festival. It is a year-long program of activities offering the Filipino public an opportunity to âfeel Franceâ in all aspects, within the context of the strong bilateral partnership shared by the two nations,â he said in a brief speech at the Francophonie night.
PhilFrance : Feel French !
aims to illustrate the growing political, economic and cultural cooperation between France and the Philippines through five key themes: Arts and Culture, Art de Vivre, the Youth and Knowledge, High Tech and Entrepreneurship, and Sharing Values.
âFrancophonieâ is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is the first âmotherâ or customary language, where a significant proportion of the population are Francophones.
While French is not yet among the major languages Filipino speak, Ambassador Mathou was encouraged to note that a lot of Filipinos have been showing great interest in the language, especially in some universities.
The French Ambassador was joined by Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines John T. Holmes, who delighted the mainly Filipino audience with his wit and humor-laced speech.
He commended Filipino immigrants and workers in Canada for their help in building Canadaâs economy in several ways and how Canadians have also been helping the Filipinos in their stay in his country.
Ambassador Holmes also took note of how the Filipinos seemed to hold Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in high esteem when he came over for the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) in 2015.
The Canadian ambassador spoke in both English and French during his speech.
The two ambassadors were joined by other foreign diplomats and dignitaries during the Francophonie night.
The Book LaunchâŠ
One highlight of the Francophonie Week kickoff was the launch of French Chef Michel Herbertâs book âLe Bezot du Quai Nord.â
The book brings its readers on Charentais shores, to help them discover a beautiful family history and the budding love of a young man for his missing father.
Itâs a story inspired by the authorâs childhood at the Atlantic Coast.
Mr. Herbert gladly answered questions about his book from mostly Filipino audience, who can speak and understand French and English. He also took time to sign autographs who purchased his book during the launch.
The Entertainment PartâŠ
The Francophonie night was capped by the performance of  the Band O, headed by Olivier Marguerit. The groupâs performance was in tradition of inviting French acts in the Philippines during this occasion as part of worldwide celebration of the French language.
Olivier Marguerit, aka O, is a young (33 years old) multi-instrumentalist that one has already seen on stage with Syd Matters, Mina Tindle or Chicros. Guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals: this graduate of the American School of Modern Music touches everything with skill and modesty, always a little on stage withdrawal, but decisive in his musical contributions, harmonious, precise and delicate.
Between French-touch (Daft Punk, Tellier, Phoenix) and pop experimentalists (Robert Wyatt, Todd Rundgren, Sufjan Stevens), Ohm part1 (a tribute to Kraftwerk) reveals five songs where the melody is king, but do not hesitate to question the verse-chorus format while claiming some ânaivetĂ©,â rather than as we hear the sincerity, honesty, true exposure.
Five songs sung in French and English, and distributed on both sides such as those of the same coin, drawing a picture, circular and generic O, which speaks better than anyone. (Information courtesy of Alliance Francaise de Manille).