WOW Pinoy: achivement Awards

Natori and Hizon won an award

Written by Ms. Confuse on Wednesday, October 08, 2008

INTERNATIONAL fashion designer Josie Natori and BBC World News business anchor Rico Hizon are the 2008 BPInoy Awardees for overseas Filipino excellence. International broadcast journalist Rico Hizon is based in Singapore (with wife Melanie and son Migo), and designer Josie Natori is based in New York (with husband Ken Natori). Hailed as one of 2006’s Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for International Journalism and Community Service, Hizon is the first Filipino broadcast journalist to work for global broadcasting networks BBC World News and CNBC Asia. Rico started his TV career covering the business beat for GMA Network and in 1995 joined CNBC Asia in Hong Kong and later in Singapore. He moved to the BBC in 2002 and currently anchors Asia Business Report and World Business Report. Rico is a very active community Filipino community leader and with his wife champion of Filipino art in the city-state.

Josie, on the other hand, moved from the finance world to fashion design. She was the first female vice president for investment banking at Merrill Lynch when she left Wall Street in 1977. Her Natori Company started with lingerie and now her designs —women’s fashion and accessories — are sold in upscale department stores around the world. In September 2009, her Natori perfume will debut.

Now on its third year, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) recognizes the achievements of overseas Filipinos in their various fields of expertise, and showcases BPI’s commitment to excellence and seek to instill nationalism among Filipinos abroad. On behalf of Hizon and Natori, BPI made a grant of P50,000 each to the awardees’ chosen charities, namely, Munting Tahanan ng Nazareth and Asian Cultural Council.

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Three Filipino college students won poster-making contest

Written by Ms. Confuse on Thursday, September 25, 2008

Three Filipino college students won first prize in the recently concluded Asian Science Camp art competition in Bali, Indonesia. Fourth year Bachelor of Science (BS) in Chemistry student Joey Mangadlao of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, UP-Los Baños (UPLB) Physics student Raymund Lorenzo Abejuela IV, and Elvis Chua, a BS Chemistry student at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), bagged first prize in the poster-making contest. The team bested 50 other groups in the poster-making competition, bagging certificates and three million rupiah (R13,328.18).
The winning poster, entitled, “DNAzymes: Gene Carriers of the Past, Catalysts of the Future,” was inspired by the talk of Rizal Fajar Hariadi of the California Institute of Technology on Molecular Machines Made of and Fueled by DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).

Mangadlao said the competition made him more eager to pursue a Science career, especially after hearing various Nobel Laureates speak about their accomplishments. Mangadlao won the 3rd Grand Award for Microbiology at the 2005 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Arizona, United States back in high school for his project, “Biologically Potent Broad Spectrum Antibiotics Obtained from Tetrodoxin-Rich Organs of Puffer Fishes.” Department of Science and Techology (DoST) Science Education Institute (SEI) Director Dr. Ester Ogena said the success of the Filipino students in the competition showcased the Filipino’s talent not just in Math and Science but also in the arts. “Our students’ international exposures enable them to see the real world with their very eyes and we are confident that once they step into it, they too, shall shine,” she said.

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Students of Albay wins UK drawing awards

Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, September 05, 2008

A 17-year-old high school student of Marcial O. Rañola Memorial School (MORMS) in the province of Albay bested it over 1,676 entries around the world in the Shoot Nations 2008 Drawing category held in the United Kingdom. In the official communication from Plan International, sponsor of the competition, it was said that the judges of Shoot Nations 2008 selected Bryle Napay’s art work as Best Overall Drawing. Napay is a fourth year high school student of MORMS. Said Shoot Nations 2008 is a global online youth photography competition addressing the theme of “Young People in a Changing Climate.” The competition aims to build a global picture of how climate change is affecting young people, how they can act now to slow the change and how they can adapt to the inevitable changes in the future. The competition was held in conjunction with the United Nations International Youth Day last August 12 and is open to anyone aged 11-24 years from anywhere in the world. The exhibition showcases the best of these entries and provides a forum for discussion

According to Napay, the Shoot Nations enables the smallest family, community or environmental issue to reach the highest level of global governance. Napay believes in empowering young people to mobilize and influence policy at all levels is crucial to successful development. “I never expect to win this kind of competition because of the huge number of entries,” he said. “We just sent our entry through email before the given deadline last July 2008 and after several months of waiting the organizer informed us that my entry has been chosen as the overall winner in the drawing category,” Napay added. He also stated that the role of young people is very important in responding to environmental problems. “It also reminds me that we can still do small things before it’s too late. On the other hand, a certificate of recognition has been presented to Napay by the provincial government of Albay whose artwork has brought honor and glory to the province and the Philippines when his art entry was adjudged.

Story courtesy of PNA and Good News Pilipinas

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Pinoy kids win medals in Olympiad in China

Written by Ms. Confuse on Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Three young Filipina math wizards bagged three medals, including the Philippines' first silver medal and another two bronze medals, in the 7th All-Girl China Math Olympiad held over the weekend in Zhongshan, China. Winning the Philippines' first silver medal in the tournament was Geraldine Baniqued, 15, a junior at St. Paul College-Pasig. Her older sister Angeline, an alumna of the same school and currently a freshman at the Ateneo de Manila University, won one of the two bronze medals. The other bronze medalist was Stephanie Anne Oliveros, also a freshman at the Ateneo, who graduated last March from the Philippine Science High School.

Also in the Philippine team were Carmela Lao of St. Jude Catholic School-Manila who has been a gold, silver and bronze medalist in other international math Olympiads; Giselle Ong; and Hazel Shi. The six-member Philippine team competed with the best female math wizards from the different parts of China and the United States, which both fielded several teams, and Russia, Hong Kong and Macau. Dr. Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers' Guild-Philippines (MTG) and who accompanied the Philippine team, said he was overwhelmed by the country's continued "spectacular" performance in international math tournaments held in different parts of China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

"I am very proud of our young students who continue to show that Filipinos can also be excellent in Math like their counterparts in other countries," Chua said. Chua said that he was also happy for the victorious students who gave much of their time and effort to undergo rigorous math training under the MTG to prepare for the international contests. "They have sacrificed a lot to train. Their parents also spent hard-earned money and also gave much of their time and support for the training to make it possible for their children to participate in these tournaments that has given honor, recognition and goodwill to our country," Chua said.

In the past, the Philippines only managed to win bronze medals in the tournament, regarded as one of the more difficult math competitions since it was started by Chinese organizers in 2002. Geraldine Baniqued and Oliveros were both bronze medalists along with Aileen Giselle Chua of Grace Christian High School in last year's 6th All-Girls tournament held in Wuhan, China. The Philippines' medal-winning performance in Zhongshan followed the triumph of another MTG-trained team of 49 young Filipino math wizards who won a silver medal and 48 bronze medals in the China Primary Level Math Olympiad held in Yichang City in Hubei province last week. - Rainier Allan Ronda (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

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Dr. GundelinaVelazco wins award to street kids

Written by Ms. Confuse on Tuesday, August 26, 2008

From Washington D.C., Ambassador Willy C. Gaa congratulated Dr. Gundelina Velazco for being first Filipina to receive the 2008 American Psychological Association's International Humanitarian Award. Velazco was also a "Pamana ng Pilipino Presidential Awardee" in 2004 for outstanding achievements in her field as an international counseling psychologist working with street children. In his letter to Velazco, Gaa noted that this award from the American Psychological Association recognizes and validates Velazco's extraordinary humanitarian service as a psychologist working in he field to care for and prevent child exploitaion and the trafficking of children.

Commenting on this latest achievement by a Filipino, Gaa said, "This only goes to show the valuable contribution and the important role the Filipino American community continues to play, not only in their respective communities here in the United States but also for their homeland, the Philippines, and the Filipino people."

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Lara Villanueva Wins Gold at the United Nations for Her Green Projects

Written by Ms. Confuse on Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Lara Villanueva , a soft spoken 17-year-old barrio lass from the sleepy town of Bacacay in Albay, Philippines still can't believe her luck.

August 13, she received her Youth Achievement Award at the United Nations for her humanitarian efforts working with Children International in her hometown. Villanuva, now a freshman nursing student at Bicol University, is one of 12 youth leaders honored by the UN/Youth Assembly this year. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she'd be flying thousands of miles away to New York just to receive the award. In between sobs, Villanueva said that coming from a middle class family in the Philippines did not deter her to dream big, In fact, she overcame poverty's hurdles and developed environmental projects in her area. "Hindi pa din ako makapaniwala. This is more than a privilege for me and I thank God for this wonderful opportunity. Up to now, I stil could not believe that I am here," Villanueva said during an interview at the UN cafeteria while she was waiting for more official events. Villanueva went through a rigorous selection process and she felt that her competitors were all equallyqualified and deserved that's why she was quite suprised yet relieved when she found out that she won.

The awards means so much to her and she is thankful that her entire family is supportive to her cause. Villanueva's father is a farmer and her mother is a teacher and while they may not be earning much, they are able to provide her and her siblings. "I will never forget this experience habang ako ay nabubuhay. The award gave me more confidence in dealing with my peers, the community and the government officials," she added. Despite the struggles, she succeded in trying to balance her studies and her humanitarian work. For the last couple of years, their local organization has received grants but instead of using the funds that would benefit them, they decided to use them for their projects. "Lara could have used the grant scholarships for them or for projects that will benefit them but they chose to develop projects for their community. The region where Lara is from is typhoon0prone and during the last few typhoons, their neighborhoods coastal areas were inundated with garbage when it flooded. Now the youth group is educating the community about how to take care of the environment," Eleanor Pena, CHildren International's regional program coordinator of the Philippines.

Through their youth empowerment fund, they developed Green Patrol, where they would invite speakers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to talk about global warming, climate change and other processing issues. It was because of this green initiative why she won the UN gold. "This trip changed my life for the beter. WHen I go back to the PHilippines, I will share everything that I learned including the best practices of the other countries and I will make sure that our projects there continue," Villanueva said.

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