Philippine Embassy in Madrid Brings Together Filipino Participants to the language and Culture Assistants Program of the Spanish Ministry of Education

Embassy officials present to the Filipino language and culture assistants of the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

The Philippine Embassy in Madrid brought together over 40 Filipinos participating in the Language and Culture Assistants Program of the Spanish Ministry of Education for a post-arrival orientation seminar (PAOS) held on 07 November 2019 at the Philippine Embassy in Madrid.

 “We are here to learn from each other and help each other in promoting the best of the Philippines in Spain,” Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe J. Lhuillier said in his welcome speech.

Targeting the newly-arrived batch of young Filipinos in Spain, the two-hour seminar given by the Embassy officers tackled the history of Philippine-Spanish relations, cultural and public diplomacy efforts by the Embassy, and the consular and Assistance-to-Nationals services available to Filipinos in Spain and Andorra.

Filipino “auxiliaries de conversacion” in Madrid during the orientation.

A question-and-answer portion followed the discussions to which the young Filipinos received responses on proper messaging of varying historical perceptions, especially in the context of the 500th Anniversary of the Arrival of Magellan in the Philippines, Philippine-Spanish bilateral relations, consular services and other forms of assistance available.

The PAOS also served as a venue to meet other Filipinos language assistants who are in Spain for the 10-month program and interact with Philippine Embassy officers and staff over Filipino food and beverage.

“We are happy that the Embassy is doing this. We thank everyone in the Embassy for giving this opportunity,” shared Von Harris Tarmad, a participant to the PAOS.

The Language and Culture Assistants Program is primarily devoted to students with a Bachelor’s Degree who render limited teaching hours in various schools in Spain, while learning about Spanish history and culture.