The Philippine Embassy in Brussels celebrated International Women’s Day and the start of National Women’s Month with a women’s art exhibit entitled Pinays: Tinig ng Lakas (Filipinas: Voices of Power) and Networking Event on 08 March 2023 at the Chancery.

The art exhibit showcased thought-provoking and inspiring works of Filipina artists from Belgium, (Ms. Amihan de Sosa, Ms. Mylene Factora, Ms. Anna Beth Santilla, and Ms. Lise Paul Abitona Lackman), the Philippines (Ms. Fabi Nazareno, Ms. Kathleen Dagum, and Ms. Kevin Marie Becira), and Germany (Ms. Sandra Torrijos). The artworks were presented in different media, but all conveyed messages of love, strength, resilience, hope, and power that are every woman’s legacy.

In the event, the Embassy emphasized the significance of this year’s Philippine National Women’s Month theme: “WE for Gender Equality and Inclusive Society” where WE means Women and Everyone pursuing the goal of gender equality and Women’s Empowerment, which can only be achieved when government, the private sector, and duty-bearers in the national and local level provide women equal rights and opportunities that women use to further themselves.  The theme is also a call for an inclusive society that overrides differences in Sex Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE), class, ability, generation, status, and culture, where every individual, with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play.

The guests were informed of the Philippines’ achievement in closing gender gaps and in gathering support for the advocacy. The Embassy likewise acknowledged the work of Filipino students, researchers, and members of the academe in universities such as the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Katholeik Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) who have conducted studies on gender related issues in the Filipino diaspora and immigrants in Belgium, thus, playing active roles in promoting gender equality in Belgium and Europe.

The Embassy also highlighted its continuing efforts to create gender mainstreaming programs for its personnel and the Filipino diaspora, such as the Women Helping Women Network (WHW Network) established in March 2019.  The Network brings together volunteers from the Filipino, Belgian, and international communities who are partners of the Embassy in helping Filipino victims of domestic violence, unfair labor practices, and human trafficking.

The occasion also served as a networking event for Embassy officials and the WHW Network volunteers to establish links with Belgian government officers and NGOs that provide assistance to distressed migrants.  Present at the event were First Deputy Public Prosecutor Brigit Wallecan of the Flanders Region, Mr. Anton van Dyck, CEO of Payoke (Belgian NGO handling human trafficking cases), and Dr. Grace Marie Ku, Senior Researcher and Lecturer of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp.

The Embassy presented all female clients at the Consular Section with roses to mark International Women’s Day.

Ambassador Jaime Victor B. Ledda (4th from left) and Cultural Attaché/Gender and Development Focal Point Officer Liza Jane V. Estalilla (2nd from left) with the featured artists in the exhibit Pinays: Tinig ng Lakas (Filipinas: Voices of Power). From Left: Ms. Amihan de Sosa, Ms. Lise Paul Abitona Lackman, Ms. Mylene Factora Marcotty and Ms. Anna Beth Santilla.

Consul General Pablito A. Mendoza thanks the guests for their active support and participation in the Embassy’s National Women’s Month activities and other community programs.

Mr. Ronny de Blaere, Philippine Honorary Consul for the Flanders Region (left), and Ambassador Jaime Victor B. Ledda (right) welcome Mr. Anton van Dyck, CEO of Payoke (Belgian NGO handling human trafficking cases) at the opening of the Women’s Art Exhibit and Networking Event.

Cultural Attaché/Gender and Development Focal Point Officer Liza Jane V. Estalilla guides First Deputy Public Prosecutor Brigit Wallecan and Consultant Mariella Farine of the Flanders Region through the artworks in the exhibit Pinays: Tinig ng Lakas (Filipinas: Voices of Power) during its opening at the Embassy on 8 March 2023.

Guests partake of the Filipino delicacies served during the Opening of the Women’s Art Exhibit and Networking Event held at the Embassy on 8 March 2023.

Embassy personnel presenting roses to female clients at the Consular Section to mark the celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2023.