CONSUL GENERAL FLORES IS GUEST SPEAKER

AT 2014 SUMMER CAMP’S CLOSING PROGRAM CUM GRADUATION

• • • • • • • Top left photo: ConGen Julius Caesar A. Flores speaking during the Closing Program and Graduation Ceremony of the 2014 Summer Camp Chinese Language Summer Camp
            • Top right photo: ConGen Flores poses with the Filipino students during the Closing Program and Graduation Ceremony of the 2014 Summer Camp Chinese Language Summer Camp

   Philippine Consul General Julius Caesar A. Flores was invited as the Guest Speaker during the closing program cum graduation ceremony of the Chinese Language Summer Camp held at the Minnan Normal University Auditorium, Zhangzhou City on 22 May 2014. The Summer Camp program was co-organized by the Philippine Chinese Education Center with the Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Zhangzhou Municipal People’s Government and the Overseas Education Institute and the College of Arts of the University.

  Some 500 Filipino-Chinese high school students from the Philippines participated in this year’s summer camp, which is an annual activity instituted by the Tan Yan Kee Foundation (Lucio Tan Group) for Filipino students with Fujian ancestry to rediscover their ancestral roots by obtaining a firm grasp of the Mandarin language, and expose and familiarize them to local arts and culture, education and the local environment. The Minnan Normal University, on its debut hosting of the Summer Camp program is one of many participating schools in Fujian.

   In his remarks, ConGen Flores lauded the Foundation for the Summer Camp, which he said, is an excellent vehicle for deepening people-to-people contacts between the Fujian Province and the Philippines. He expressed the desire for the program to continue for many years as it promotes and deepens friendship and understanding between the peoples of China and the Philippines.

   ConGen Flores commended the Filipino students for their keen interest in joining the Camp and learning more about local culture, particularly honing their Mandarin language skills which facilitates learning many aspects of Fujian society, arts and culture, which form part of their ancestral heritage.

   During the ceremony, the Filipino students performed a variety of numbers, including skits to demonstrate their Mandarin language proficiency, martial arts, poem recitations, and dances, before an appreciative audience including University officials, their Filipino and Chinese mentors, as well as their Chinese students and friends. END