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This was the main message shared by keynote speakers Mr. Ramon Jimenez Jr., former Tourism Secretary and Former First Lady Amelita \u201cMing\u201d Ramos at the Philippine leg of the International Congress Incontro Romano held last March 11 at the Summit Hall of the PICC.<\/p>\n
Amidst much talk about increasing loneliness despite connectedness and of a rising trend in digital encounters replacing personal conversations, this message couldn\u2019t be more timely. There is a need to reflect on solidarity and how to promote an environment within society that makes every person feel \u201cat home\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Incontro Romano, a joint project of two Italian NGOs, Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria and ELIS (Educazione, Lavoro, Instruzione, Sport), creates space for reflection and promotes activities which place the person at the center. It does so by encouraging interdisciplinary research by and for those engaged in the service industry. Now on its 17th year, it is inspired by the Founder of Opus Dei St. Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 and his first successor, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, who both believe that \u201call work has a dimension of service when it is carried out thinking about the people to whom it is directed\u201d.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s theme, \u201cShaping a welcoming world\u201d drew entries from public and private schools, technical-vocational schools, youth clubs and study centers. It is noteworthy that most participants were scholars.<\/p>\n
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Jumpstarting the day\u2019s event was an exhibit of the elements that shape a welcoming world: sumptuous food, cool drinks, and artistry of different kinds. The ribbon unfurling was graced by Chef Vic Sanchez of Global Academy, Ms. Leah Puyat of The Philippine Star Lifestyle Section, and Mrs. Marie June Maniego.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon, the presentation of papers and videos elaborating the theme was held. \u201cChances and Changes beyond the Prison Rails\u201d won the first prize in the paper category by college students from Iloilo. The paper challenged the audience to give prison inmates a chance at redemption through friendly visits, rehabilitation possibilities, and job opportunities. \u201cCleaning spree for free\u201d got the highest score in the video category. The idea was simple but novel: a group of girls goes to a house to help the occupants clean; a little act of kindness and service that goes a long way.<\/p>\n
The Philippine leg of the Incontro Romano was ably organized by a group of ladies hailing from south of the Metropolis, all culinary aficionados who call themselves the \u201cHappy Cooking Club\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Congress culminates in a forum in Rome where studies, experiences, initiatives and projects from different countries are shared, revolving around the chosen topic. Apart from exposure to an international gathering, it is scheduled within the Holy Week to give the participants a chance to spend these Holy Days in the seat of Christianity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This was the main message shared by keynote speakers Mr. Ramon Jimenez Jr., former Tourism Secretary and Former First Lady Amelita \u201cMing\u201d Ramos at the Philippine leg of the International Congress Incontro Romano held last March 11 at the Summit Hall of the PICC. Amidst much talk about increasing loneliness despite connectedness and of a Read more about Turning strangers into friends<\/span>[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","post_format-post-format-image"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fptiphilippines.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Turning-strangers-into-friends-01.png?fit=820%2C375&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=953"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1587,"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions\/1587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fptiphilippines.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}