Fil-Am wins 1st Global Denim Awards in Amsterdam

A 27-year old Fil-Am emerging international designer is the winner of the first edition of the Global Denim Awards held in Amsterdam, Europe’s denim capital.

Jonathan Christopher Hofwegen, born of a Filipina mother and an American father and now living in the Netherlands after being adopted by a Dutch stepfather, reveals his winning collection is inspired by his multicultural background and his travels.

The designer won the Global Denim Awards cash grand prize of €10,000 for his collection titled Nomadum, which he refers to as “a look in the different worlds of nomads.” The winning urban nomad collection will be exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Hongkong and other cities. Hofwegen has announced he is using the prize money to launch a fresh collection for his own men’s couture label, Jonathan Christopher Homme.

The Global Denim Awards is a pioneering competition that presented six design projects from the pairing of six promising designers with six international denim manufacturers in a runway show held in Amsterdam’s new innovation campus, Denim City.

Jonathan Christopher was paired with a 42-year-old vertical denim mill ITV Denim in Italy, where he spent part of the competition period studying the fabric, and ITV’s new technologies and techniques in weaving, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing denim. ITV Denim uses a method called Wine-Tex which utilizes residual material from the wine production process instead of using potassium and chlorine for dyeing colour into denim fibres. The practice removes the need for harmful chemicals and significantly reduces the use of water in denim production. The recognized designer and stylist worked on the challenge for his collection to be sustainable and durable while incorporating leather and alpaca wool in his design.

The competing design teams presented their projects to jurors Adriano Goldschmied, acclaimed as the godfather of denim, Jason Denham, the founder of Denham Jeans, Rene Strolenberg, co-founder of Tenue de Nimes, and fashion journalist Norma Quinto.

Prior to winning the denim awards, Jonathan Christopher was awarded the Young Creative

Entrepreneur of 2013 in Rotterdam and the Henri Winkelman Award. The winning designer was also chosen by fashion designer Marc Jacobs (the former creative director of Louis Vuitton) as the only non-German finalist in the Berlin competition, Design for Tomorrow. He currently does freelance design for the women’s design department of Karl Lagerfeld in Amsterdam even while maintaining his own label launched only a year ago.

Hofwegen’s designs are described as androgynous, a mix and match of contrasts in fabrics, silhouettes and colours. He uses Philippine local fabrics made of banana and piňa material.

Hofwegen holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion and apparel design from the Willem de Kooning Academy, and a master’s degree in Fashion Design from the prestigious Dutch fashion school, ArtEz Institute for the Arts in Arnhem, becoming part of the Generation 12 class.

The Global Denim Awards was developed by the House of Denim and fashion agency HTNK, in collaboration with denim trade fair company Kingpins Show and US quality cotton provider e3.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/fil-wins-1st-global-denim-awards-amsterdam/#sthash.pzwANTWP.dpuf

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Lav Diaz wins Int’l recognition for epic movie

Locarno-winner Lav Diaz pulled off yet another international acclaim for his over 5 and a half-hour epic film, “Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon (From What is Before),” at the 38th São Paulo (Brazil) International Film Festival.

Diaz won the Best Film/Audience award which despite its unusual length, is engaging festival viewers and critical acclaim. The win comes after the filmmaker’s scooping the Golden Leopard prize in Geneva in August 2014 at the prestigious Locarno film festival in Switzerland, and the grand prize at the World Premieres Film Festival in July 2014.

The film is set in a remote village in the Philippines, where lives are tracked in the three years leading to the 1972 declaration of Martial Law by dictator president Ferdinand Marcos. It is overtly political in theme, filmed in black and white, and runs for 338 minutes.

The film follows Diaz’ form of slow cinema of long takes, but combines the unhurried visual pace with a sense of urgency in relaying real Filipino history. Scenes evoke Filipino traditions in musical wakes for the dead and faith healers. The traditional is interrupted by military operations; cows are hacked to death, houses are burned down and eerie wails are heard from the forests.

From What is Before takes the viewer on a journey of personal, spiritual and political dilemmas of a particular period in Philippine history.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/lav-diaz-wins-intl-recognition-epic-movie/#sthash.P5XEMOH3.dpuf

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Filipino lawyer appointed to UN Human Rights Body

A Filipino human rights lawyer from the University of the Philippines has been appointed to the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

Human rights lawyer Atty. Ricardo Sunga III, a Law Reform Specialist for the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights (IHR), joins the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent assigned to study racial discrimination problems faced by people of African Descent living in countries outside of Africa and make recommendations on access to justice and elimination of racial profiling. The UN Human Rights Council body is tasked to gather relevant information from both government and non-government sources.

Atty. Sunga earned his degree from UP Law in 1994 and his Master of Law by Research degree from the University of South Wales on an Australian Leadership Award Scholarship in 2011.

He has been a long time volunteer for the Free Legal Assistance Group, an organization of human rights lawyers, and currently serves as its Board Member and Regional Coordinator for the National Capital Region.

Atty. Sunga’s work with the UP IHR addresses concerns on the protection and promotion of human rights of indigenous peoples, the peasantry, working class, and the urban poor.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/filipino-lawyer-appointed-un-human-rights-body/#sthash.vP1jKlRX.dpuf

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Pinoy chefs compete in World Pastry Cup in France

Pastry chefs from the Philippines have qualified for the first time in the 25-year history of the finals of the most prestigious global pastry competition, Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie (World Pastry Cup) to be held in January 2015 in Lyon, France.

Presenting themselves as the Pastry Team PH, young pastry chefs Vicente Cahatol, Rizalino Maňas Jr., and Bryan Dimayuga will face off with 21 other teams from around the globe in what is touted as the most challenging of all pastry contests.

The Filipino pastry team composed of an ice cream maker, a chocolate specialist, and a pastry chef, will work with sugar, ice and chocolate to complete creations in 6 hours. Another technical requirement has been added in next year’s finals as teams are required to sculpt a whole block of chocolate and include it in the chocolate creation. They will also be given 2 blocks of ice to sculpt and will need to work with drawn and blown sugar. The pastry chefs will compete in an 8,000 m² area with 11 contest kitchens in front of 2,500 spectators.

Pastry Team PH has been practicing in between their pastry chef jobs at the Makati Shangrila, spending their own money in preparation for this great honour to represent the Philippines. They are being mentored by the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines (PAP). The PAP is on a mission to gather as much support as they can muster to enable the 10-member Pastry Team PH to present their best in Lyon.

To qualify for the competition the 22 competing national teams needed to hurdle 50 national team selections and 4 continental team selections. Eighteen teams qualified through this process. The International Organising Committee then picked 4 national teams as wild card competitors which included the Philippines, Switzerland, Algeria and Guatemala.

The World Pastry Cup is held every two years and is recognized as the benchmark for the world’s pastry contests. Its international success is attributed to the highest quality work from competing chefs, the acclaimed international jury, the level of competition and the festive atmosphere.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/pinoy-chefs-compete-world-pastry-cup-france/#sthash.jWAAmK2n.dpuf

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Phl tourism to get big boost with Asean integration

Source:yahoo.com

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE – The Philippine tourism industry will get a further boost with the upcoming regional integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as it will trigger an influx of tourists from the region’s member-economies, tourism officials said.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) expects that ASEAN integration will hasten inter-regional travel and consequently open the doors for more tourists in the country by next year.

DOT Assistant Secretary for market development Benito Bengzon Jr. said the integration would be a boon for the country in terms of capturing visitors from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“In our case, we will relax our restrictions to make it easier for people to move around in the Philippines,” Bengzon said at the sidelines of the three-day North Philippines Tourism and Travel Expo 2014 which opened late Friday at the events center of SM City Clark.

Bengzon, who was guest speaker during the NorthPhil Expo, said the Philippines as an archipelago is dependent on airplanes for the movement of tourists, unlike the other countries. “By this, it means what we are getting are legitimate tourists who travel by plane just to get to our place.”

He added that the country’s foreign visitor arrivals, which posted a 10 percent increase last year, is expected to grow further with ASEAN integration.

DOT Region 3 director Ronaldo Tiotuico, meanwhile, noted that free trade paves the way for the establishment of a single market and production base among the member-countries. This means that there will be a free flow of goods, including rice, services, investment, capital and skilled labor to these countries. The goal is to create a highly competitive single market that would boast of equitable economic development.

“In the same way, tourists can go from one place to another without restrictions,” he added. “So if you are a tour guide in the Philippines, you can also be a tour guide in other places.”

Tiotuico also said that with ASEAN integration, the 10 member-countries would have a standard tourism program for the region. This is particularly beneficial to Central Luzon which posted 2.7 million domestic and foreign tour arrivals in 2013, the bulk of whom came by way of Clark and Subic, all connected by arterial roads such as the North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

NorthPhil Expo is a project of the DOT offices in Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Region and the Cordillera Administrative Region, and event-managed by the Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp.

Now on its ninth year, NorthPhil Expo is marked by exhibits showcasing various travel destinations, products and services, provincial pavilions, corporate booths with affordable tour packages and traders’ booths offering souvenirs, arts and crafts and delicacies.

The event also provides common ground for domestic and international tourism stakeholders to explore markets and promote their destinations, products and services.

“Trade visitors and industry buyers have been joining this event regularly, which been working effectively in tourism business networking and trade development,” Bengzon said.

He also stressed that tourism and community development go hand-in-hand in helping build a better quality of life for the people.

He noted that one of the core elements of tourism development is to encourage local communities’ participation which is central to the sustainability of the tourism industry.

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Masskara is one of the top 25 festivals in the world

Source: Philippine Star

The Masskara Festival of Bacolod City has been listed among the 29 most colorful festivals and celebrations around the world by the website www.placestoseeinyourlifetime.com.

Masskara ranked 25th, out of the 29 festival in the world.

Mayor Monico Puentevella said the recog ition came following the successful staging of the festival this year, as he thanked the sponsors, participants, organizers, local government unit, guests and the people of Bacolod for their cooperation and support.

This only shows how big Masskara Festival is, Puentevella claimed.

World’s best

The top world festivals include the following: HOLI of India, which topped the list; followed by the Yi Peng Lantern Festival of Thailand; Halloween of the US; La Tomatina of Buñol, Spain; Loi Krathong of Wat Arun, Thailand; the Carnival of Venice, Italy; Levis Bonfire of Lewes in the UK; Chinese New Year; the Carnival of Rio de Janiero in Brazil; Burning Man Festival of Blackrock Desert, Nevada; Concurs de Castells of Tarragona, Spain; Calcio Storico Fiorentino of Florence, Italy; AfricaBurn, Tankwa Karoo National Park of South Africa; Vivid Festival of Sydney, Australia; Cherry Blossom Festival of Japan; Saint Patrick’s Day of Chicago; Hwangmaesan Royal Azalea Festival of Mt. Hwangmaesan, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea; Krampusnacht, Neustift of Austria; Bristol Ballon Fiesta of Bristol, UK; Remal Sand Festival of Kuwait;

Tulip Festival of Skagit Valley, Washington; Busan fireworks festival of South Korea; Mosaiculture International of Montreal, Canada; Jinhase Gunhangie Cherry blossom Festival of Changwon city, South Korea; Makha Bucha,
Chiang Mai of Thailand; Yadnya Kasada Mount Bromo of East Java, Indonesia; Fuji Shibazakura of Fuji five lakes, Japan; and Reykjavik, Iceland.

 The Masskara Festival, the only festival in the Philippines included in the list, was also named by the international news channel CNN as “one of the 12 best things in the Philippines.”

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Pinoy jeepney recast for Yolanda victims in Tacloban

Pinoy Jeepneys, the colourful World War II-style icons known in the country as the King of Philippine roads, have resurfaced in the Visayan wasteland as electric jeepneys (eJeepneys) a year after Tacloban City was hit hard by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

When the typhoon passed through the Visayan Islands southeast of Manila, the diesel-fed jeepneys were flooded by the storm surges with a mixture of salt water, debris and grime that turned 95% of Tacloban City’s public transport unserviceable.

 A year into the rebuilding of the city, a fleet of electric Jeepneys (eJeepneys) had risen from the wasteland amid public clamour for dependable public transport. Four eJeepneys redeployed from Metro Manila and a converted storm-damaged multi-cab now service the local commuters. The fleet will be joined soon by two more storm-damaged jeepneys scheduled for rehabilitation to run on solar-powered electricity. Each one was close to ending up as scrap.

The initiative to replace and retrofit storm-damaged jeepneys into solar-powered vehicles is led by the RE-Charge Tacloban project of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC), a local non-profit group working on sustainable energy solutions internationally recognized with the top transport solutions prize in a global contest by Ecopolis Program of Discovery Channel in 2009.

iSCN Executive Director Renato Redentor Constantino shared their story with Good News Pilipinas, “We look at the vehicles as symbols of Tacloban – from rubble it can rise again, more benign, better.

It was an opportunity to contribute to the notion that we can build back better – and brighter, by integrating solar with sustainable transport.”

The RE-Charge Tacloban eJeepneys run on batteries charged by a solar facility also set up by the group. The facility uses a hybrid off-grid solar photovoltaic system with battery backup and grid-tie capability that is connected to the geothermal-powered Leyte grid.

Constantino asserts that the initiative is about providing sustainable jobs and encouraging government and the private sector to answer climate change challenges and not only technical fixes as “sustainable strategies that ultimately make us more resilient.”

RE-charge Tacloban not only recasts storm-damaged vehicles into eJeepneys, as it combines the vehicles with training programs for local drivers, dispatchers, operators, administrators and technicians in the servicing and maintenance of both the eJeepney fleet and the solar facilities.

- See more at: http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/pinoy-jeepney-recast-yolanda-victims-tacloban/#sthash.luga8VWq.dpuf

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