Conference on Philippine culture in Oahu

HONOLULU — The growing movement to foster global appreciation of Filipino culture gets a boost next spring with an international conference in Honolulu. Since Filipinos are working and making contributions to society all over the world, why not bring some recognition to Filipino culture as a global influence? The international conference on Filipino as a global language will be held March 17-19, 2008 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, one of the most beautiful spots on Oahu. “The conference will be an avenue for bringing together scholars, writers, language teachers, researchers and other practitioners from around the world to discuss issues pertaining the role of Filipino as a global language," said Dr. Ruth Mabanglo, a full professor at UH and coordinator of the Filipino and Philippine Literature Program.She said teachers, researchers and other scholars and administrators are invited as well as any scholars involved in the promotion and nurturing of the Filipino language, literature and culture. UH Manoa’s Filipino and Philippine Literature Program is nationally and internationally recognized as the most innovative program not only in the field of Filipino language teaching but also in curriculum development, Mabanglo said. The Filipino Program at UH Manoa is at the forefront in developing materials and preparing future scholars and teachers of Filipino who can address a national need for more competent, literate users of Filipino, the national language of the Philippines and the lingua franca of Filipinos worldwide. Sponsors include: • The University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource • The National Commission on the Culture and the Arts (Philippines) • The Commission on Filipinos Overseas • The Commission on Filipino • The East-West Center (Hawaii) • The Consortium for the Advancement of Filipino (CAF) •. Pambansang Samahan sa Lingwistikang Filipino (Philippines) •. Salin -- an organization of translators in the Philippines • Philippine Consulate General-Honolulu National artists and scholars will speak at the conference: Virgilio S. Almario, better known by his pseudonym, Rio Alma, is a Filipino poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He is a prolific writer and dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of the Philippines. Bienvenido Lumbera is a prize-winning poet, critic and dramatist from the Philippines. He is widely acknowledged as one of the pillars of contemporary Philippine literature, cultural studies and film, having written and edited numerous books on literary history, literary criticism, and film. Dr. Ricardo Nolasco has a doctorate in linguistics and is the chairman of the Commission on Filipino. He is a pop culture icon. Many of his novels have been translated into films and comic books. Before becoming chairman of the COF, he was professor of linguistics at the University of the Philippines. Ambeth R. Ocampo is chairman of the National Historical Institute (NHI). Filipino historian, academic, author best known for his works on Philippine national heroes. At present he is a columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and professor at the Ateneo de Manila University For more information and to register, visit http://www.hawaii.edu/filipino/intlconf2008 - Philippine News