British Ambassador Asif Ahmad recently welcomed 27 young Filipinos who were distinguished with the prestigious Chevening Scholarships by the United Kingdom government for academic year 2015 and 2016.
Four of the returning scholars took center stage inside the ambassador’s residence, and shared their “visions for a progressive Philippines” through a series of presentations patterned after the highly popular online idea-sharing conference “Ted Talks”.
First to speak was Robert Siy, who talked about “The End of Traffic”. He delved on conversations about transportation, as well as ideas on how the Philippines should move the discussion away from solving traffic to creating access.
Maria Carmen Fernandez followed suit and discoursed on “Building Relationships in Space and Place: Spatial Thinking for Peace-Building and Good Governance”. She centered on various dynamics playing out in actual space and place in the fabric of communities and cities.
Next up was Ianela Carla Ortiz, who tackled “The Politics of Energy”. She used one of the episodes of the TV series The Crown as her discussion backdrop, where the great smog of 1952, caused by coal plants, descended upon London, killing up to 12,000 people and almost cost then-UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill his position. The catastrophe eventually served as catalyst for the UK’s Clean Air Act. Ortiz’s talk explained that politicians need to put energy and environment matters at the forefront, emphasizing the need for people to hold public servants accountable.
Paul Zambrano capped off the sessions with a talk on public-health nutrition as a “quintessential development goal”. He covered difficult questions that everyone needs to start asking about, such as the food he or she eat, and redefined “nutrition” as something beyond food and hunger.
Aside from the four, the scholars who recently represented the Philippines in Chevening were Ysmael Mangorsi, Maila Beniera, Tasneem AbdulRauf, Asnin Pendatun, Maria Lourdes Gregorio, Edy Lynn Santiago, Julius Lotilla, Benedict Nisperos, Carizza Castelo, Anya Palileo, Micaela Papa, Asryman Rafanan, Raymond Astillas, Aison Garcia, Rhio Fuentes-Nuylan, Margarita Villanueva, Miguel Dorotan, Carmela Fonbuena, Emilio Marañon III, Baby Ruth Villarama, Marc Cebreros, Irene Valones and Ivan Ledesma.
The Filipino Chevening alumni pursued master’s degrees in different educational institutions in the UK among the fields of finance and economics, law and human rights, trade, art and film, health and sciences, governance, and peace and conflict studies.
Prior to the presentations, Ahmad formally recognized the batch’s outstanding scholars by handing out their individual certificates. Officers also shared updates on projects through a segment, “Chevening in Action”, while those in attendance formally welcomed the new alumni.
Chevening scholarships are awarded by the British government to learners who have a vision and drive to become future leaders in their chosen fields and countries. Applications to Chevening scholarships are ongoing. For more information, log on to www.chevening.org/apply.