August 23, 2021

As part of the online celebration of the “Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa” this August, the Philippine Embassy in Japan and Sentro Rizal-Tokyo feature the Young Voices of the Philippines with their rendition of the song “Lipad.”

“Lipad” is the soundtrack of a 2008 Philippine animated movie with music and words by Jessie Lasaten and Temi Abad Jr. It is an uplifting and motivational song about believing in your skills and talents, as these are the tools that can help you reach your dreams.

The song’s message inspired the dedication of this particular performance of the Young Voices of the Philippines to all the Philippine athletes – the Olympic athletes for their great performance in the recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Paralympic athletes for rising above the challenges as they compete in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

The Young Voices of the Philippines (YVP) is one of the choirs performing under the Treble Choir Association of the Philippines (TCAP), Inc. The YVP is a church and community choir, with members coming from a variety of social backgrounds. These young Philippine choristers are trained by internationally recognized children’s choir experts Dr. Maria Theresa Vizconde-Roldan and Professor Jude B. Roldan.

Watch the full video on: https://www.facebook.com/PHLinJapan/videos/333612215112719/

July 26, 2021

UNESCO partners with the Philippines for Culture|2030 Indicators

The Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or Culture|2030 Indicators, a framework from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), supports UN Member States in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through measuring and monitoring culture’s role and contribution across various sectors.

The Philippines’ National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the de facto Ministry of Culture of the country, had expressed interest for cultural data collection and analysis and commitment towards the successful implementation of the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators with a partner City. NCCA designated Baguio City, a member of the United Nations Creative Cities Network, as the pilot site for this valuable endeavor.

The Philippines, represented by NCCA Chairman Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso, and UNESCO Assistant Director-General (ADG) for Culture Ernesto Ottone commenced a ceremonial signing of the agreement to materialize the partnership for the Culture|2030 Indicators Project on July 26, 2021. The event was witnessed by representatives from the NCCA, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); Baguio Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts; UNESCO Jakarta; and Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID)