Events:  Archives:  2004

Published last April 2004, the book Philippine Diplomacy in the 21st Century contains the proceedings of the symposium of the same title organized last 23 November 2003 by the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR), the Philippine Ambassador's Foundation, Inc. (PAFI), and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in cooperation with the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF).

The symposium is the first in a series which aims to provide a regular forum for the continuing discussion of current issues concerning Philippine Foreign Policy. The next symposium will be held during the second half of this year as part of HSF's program related to public administration.

Foreword by Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo-Albert >>>

Summary report >>>

The House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines awarded the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) with the Congressional Medal of Achievement last 14 May 2004. The award was presented by the Speaker of the House Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr. to HSF Chairman and former Bavarian Minister of State for Science, Research and the Arts Dr. h.c. Hans Zehetmair, HSF Deputy Director General and Head of the Foundation's Institute for International Contact and Cooperation Dr. Rainer Gepperth, and HSF Resident Representative to the Philippines Mr. Paul G. Schäfer.

The award, conferred for the first time to an institution, was given in recognition of the Foundation's commitment to development cooperation in the country for the past 25 years. Past recipients of the award include Former South African President Nelson Mandela, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Dr. Norbert Lammert, Vice Chairman of the German Parliament and Vice President of the the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

During their visit, Dr. h.c. Zehetmair and Dr. Gepperth also met with two local partners of Hanns Seidel Foundation: Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation (BSAF) and Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV) and their respective Chairpersons Former Presidents Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino and Mr. Fidel V. Ramos.

Congressional Medal of Achievement >>>
Congessional Medal of Achievement Citation >>>
Dr. h.c. Hans Zehetmair's Acceptance Speech >>>
Photos taken during the awarding and visit >>>

Mr. Eduard Lintner, MdB (Member of the German Parliament) was a visitor of the Hanns Seidel Foundation last 15 to 22 April 2004. During his visit, Mr. Lintner conducted meetings with representatives from government institutions as well as private organizations.

A highlight of Mr. Lintner's stay was his visit to Barangay Magdaup, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay in Mindanao, where, along with German Ambassador H.E. Herbert Jess and Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Resident Representative Mr. Paul G. Schäfer, they visited the site of the Seaweed Production and Training Project of HSF and LEAP (Livelihood Enhancement and Peace Program). Welcoming them were LEAP Chief of Party Mr. Noel Ruiz, Growth Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Chief of Party Dr. Charles Feibel, Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman and Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Assemblyman Hon. Hatimil Hassan, and Bangsamoro Women Foundation for Peace and Development (BMWFPDI) Executive Director Hja. Nawira Rasdi. In the ensuing Seaweed Harvest Festival, the MNLF conferred a plaque of appreciation to Mr. Schäfer in recognition of HSF's contribution to this project.

Press release >>>
Message of Mr. Paul G. Schäfer >>>
Photos taken during Mr. Lintner's visit >>>

The Institute for People Power and Development - Benigno S. Aquino Foundation (IPPD-BSAF) in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) held an advance briefing on "The Philippines: Pre- and Post-Mayday Scenarios, A Country Risk Assessment" last 30 March 2004 at the Mandarin Oriental in Makati City. Lead resource person was Dr. Emmanuel S. de Dios, an economics professor from the University of the Philippines (UP) and a founding fellow of Pulse Asia, Inc. and the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis (IDEA) Philippines, Inc. A panel of social scientists and journalists were on hand to answer questions and to shed further light on aspects of the presentation. This panel included Dr. de Dios, Prof. Felipe Miranda of Pulse Asia, Dr. Cayetano Paderanga of IDEA and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), and Ms. Marites Vitug of Newsbreak magazine. Mr. Lino Rivera, Executive Director of IPPD was the moderator.

Presentation of Dr. De Dios >>>

Effective 1 March 2004, the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Germany will have the following changes in the Board:

• Chairman: Dr. h.c. Hans Zehetmair, (Ret.) Bavarian Minister of State for Science, Research and the Arts
• Vice-Chairman: Mr. Alois Glück, President (Speaker) of the Bavarian Parliament
• Secretary: Mr. Michael Glos, Member of the Federal Parliament and Chairman of the CSU Parliamentary Group in the Federal Parliament

The members who were elected to continue in their positions are:

• Vice-Chairperson: Prof. Ursula Männle, Member of the Bavarian Parliament and (Ret.) State Minister of Bavaria
• Treasurer: Dr. Wolfgang Piller

The newly-appointed Managing Director is Dr. Peter Witterauf starting also 01 March 2004.

We also wish to announce that Dr. h.c. Alfred Bayer and Mr. Manfred Baumgärtel have already retired, after a successful stint of 10 years as Chairman and 13 years as Managing Director, respectively.

In February 2003, the European Commission (EU) approved a three-year co-financing project (2003-2005) jointly with international and local institutions namely, Hanns Seidel Foundation (lead partner), Fundacion CODESPA (second lead partner), and the Jose and Demetria Cojuangco Foundation, Inc (local partner), for the expansion of quality technical education in Tarlac through the institutional strenghtening of the Tarlac Training Center (TTC).

Photos of the project site taken 27 to 29 January 2004 >>>