Events:  News

In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, through the leadership of Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, convened the first-ever “National  Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances – Searching for Solutions” in July 2007 in response to the spate of extralegal killings and enforced disappearances in the country, particularly of political activists and media personalities. It was organized in cooperation with the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, Hanns Seidel Foundation, United Nations Development Programme, USAID, and The Asia Foundation. Read more...

5 December 2006 - The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), the European Commission (EC), the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV) organized a whole day conference on the environment focusing on the role of the business sector based on the EU experience. The conference entitled, "Investing in the Environment - The Role of the Business Sector in the Environment: The EU Experience" was held at the Ballroom 1 of the Renaissance Makati City Hotel.

The conference tackled 3 main topics:

• Climate Change
• Solid Waste Management
• Renewable Energy

It was attended by more than a hundred participants representing various sectors.

22 - 27 October 2006 - A delegation of high-ranking members of the Secretariat of parliaments of the Senior Advisory Council of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) visited the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg at the invitation of the Deputy Director and General Manager of the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung e.V. / Germany, Dr. Rainer Gepperth. The visit aimed to provide the participants with detailed information on the history, structure, and mechanisms of PACE in connection with the decision of AAPP to transform itself into the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), as well as to expand and strengthen possibilities for future cooperation between APA and PACE.

4 - 6 October 2006 - The 8th National Cooperative Summit was held last October 4-6, 2006 at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

The summit was attended by more than 3,600 delegates coming from all over the Philippines composed of cooperatives, government agencies, non-government organizations, business/private sector and international organizations, among others. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was the special guest of honor and keynote speaker. The plenary/session speakers were mainly top national and local government officials.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) is one of the institutional partners of the 8th National Cooperative Summit through the National Cooperative Movement (NCM), its partner organization which is one of the co-organizers.

4 October 2006 - In its fourth year of operation, the Tarlac Training Center was awarded with “The Best Performing Expansion of Dual Education and Training (EDET) Project Beneficiary Institution Award” by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and German Technical Cooperation for exemplifying the most outstanding accomplishments in implementing the goal of the EDET Project toward the expansion of Dual Training System (DTS) in the Pilippines.

The awarding ceremony was held at the Diamond Hotel, Manila last 4 October 2006.

15 June 2006 - The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), the Delegation of the European Union (EC Delegation), the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) and the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV) organized a conference entitled, "RP-EU Business Opportunities and Challenges" at the Renaissance Makati City Hotel.

The conference aimed to:

• explore ways and means to further develop and enhance trade relations between the Philippines and the European Union (EU)
• explore possible growth areas and prospects in the movement of goods and services as well as specific projects between the Philippines and the EU
• identify problem areas that hinder the growth of two-way trade between the Philippines and the EU

It was attended by more than a hundred representatives from the Philippine and European private business sector, the diplomatic community, the government and the academe.

24 - 25 May 2006 - The Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) presented a 2-day symposium entitled, "The Philippine Perspective on Maximizing Development Gains from the Multilateral Trading System: Enhancing Business Opportunities and Accomplishing the Internationally Agreed Development Goals" at the Bulwagang Blas F. Ople (Summit Lounge) of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.

The symposium discussed the concept of the Multilateral Trading System (MTS) and the role of the United Nations (UN) in the MTS. It also presented specific ways of fostering a closer public-private partnership.

An eclectic mix of academics, officials involved in multilateral trade negotiations, as well as veterans of the UN’s work on development issues in New York and Geneva, the key centers for the UN’s work on development, provided presentations. Opinion leaders in government as well as the business and academic sectors, including NGOs active on trade and development issues attended event.

6 April 2006 - The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR), and the Center for Research and Communication (CRC) organized a whole day conference entitled, "Assessing RP-China Relations in the Age of MUltilateralism" at the New World Renaissance Hotel, Makati City.

The highlight of the event are the keynote speeches of Undersecretary Esteban Conejos, Jr. of the Department of Foreign Affairs and H.E. Amb. Li Jinjun of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China

The event was attended by more than a hundred participants.

24 - 26 March 2006 - The Association of Hanns Seidel Foundation Scholars of the Philippines, Inc. (AHSFSPI) held their Nachkontakt Conference for 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Manila Hotel, Pasay City. This year's assembly was also attended by seven former German scholars and three Korean scholars of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) as well as Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Niedermeier, Head of the Scholarship Department and Dr. Michael Czepalla, Head of the Scholarship Department for Foreign Scientists and Postgraduates at the Hanns Seidel Foundation Head Office in Munich.

Highlights of the event included a courtesy call on Former President, Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino, lunch with H.E. Amb. Dr. Axel R. Weishaupt of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the closing ceremony with Prof. Ursula Männle, Vice Chairperson of the HSF, Member of the Bavarian Parliament and Former Bavarian State Prime Minister.