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From Designer to Diplomat
My unlikely road to becoming a career diplomat, with Roots & Wings along the way Whenever someone finds out what I did before entering the foreign service (or whenever I tell my old branding or screenwriting clients why I can’t take on new projects any more), there tends to be a surprise in the inevitable reaction—namely, “How did that happen?”—that I find daunting to satisfy. The simple answer is that my mother-in-law saw an ad for the 2019 exams and thought I might be a goo

Marthy Angue
Jan 249 min read


Three Filipino Books Launch in the Czech Republic
An official press release from the Philippine Embassy in the Czech Republic 22 October 2025 — The Philippine Embassy in Czech Republic, in partnership with Anglo-American University (AAU) in Prague ( https://tinyurl.com/3drn7eea ) and in cooperation with the National Book Development Board, organized the official launch of three books written by Filipino authors recently translated into the Czech language: The Uninvited Guests from Bikol (Nezvani hoste z Bikolu), written by

Roots and Wings
Jan 241 min read


Filipino-Germans Eager to Reconnect Heritage Via CFO's YouLeaD program
By the Commission for Filipinos Overseas (CFO) HANAU, Germany — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) received strong interest from Filipino-Germans in its Youth Leaders in the Diaspora (YouLeaD) Program, which helps young Filipinos abroad reconnect with their heritage. At the “Ugnayan sa Germany 2025: Liwaliw” cultural forum, co-hosted by the CFO and the National Book Development Board (NBDB), many participants—especially Filipino mothers—asked about YouLeaD’s requirem

Roots and Wings
Jan 242 min read


Presidential Awardee Cuizon Pledges Support for CFO Cultural Programs
Press Release from Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Presidential awardee and Filipino community leader Virgilio “Ver” Cuizon has committed to support the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) by serving as a resource person for its Virtual Sentro Rizal–Educational Series. His pledge was made during a meeting with CFO Secretary Dante “Klink” Ang II and artists from his group, KUNST Filipino. Commission on Filipinos Overseas Secretary Dante "Klink" Ang II recently met wi

Roots and Wings
Jan 241 min read
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Three Filipino Books Launch in the Czech Republic
An official press release from the Philippine Embassy in the Czech Republic 22 October 2025 — The Philippine Embassy in Czech Republic, in partnership with Anglo-American University (AAU) in Prague ( https://tinyurl.com/3drn7eea ) and in cooperation with the National Book Development Board, organized the official launch of three books written by Filipino authors recently translated into the Czech language: The Uninvited Guests from Bikol (Nezvani hoste z Bikolu), written by

Roots and Wings
Jan 241 min read


Filipino-Germans Eager to Reconnect Heritage Via CFO's YouLeaD program
By the Commission for Filipinos Overseas (CFO) HANAU, Germany — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) received strong interest from Filipino-Germans in its Youth Leaders in the Diaspora (YouLeaD) Program, which helps young Filipinos abroad reconnect with their heritage. At the “Ugnayan sa Germany 2025: Liwaliw” cultural forum, co-hosted by the CFO and the National Book Development Board (NBDB), many participants—especially Filipino mothers—asked about YouLeaD’s requirem

Roots and Wings
Jan 242 min read


When the Archipelago Spoke
The Philippines as guest of honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025 There are moments in a nation’s history when it steps beyond its borders and encounters itself anew through the eyes of the world. In October 2025, the Philippines experienced such a moment as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse—the world’s most influential book fair. For one luminous week, the archipelago stood at the centre of global imagination. The Philippine presence in Frankfurt was more than

Cipriano De Guzman Jr. – The Filipino Baritone®
Jan 24 min read


Philippine Books to Take World Stage at 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair
by Commission on Filipinos Overseas The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s leading publishing event. (Photo by Lawija via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-4.0) Filipino literature is about to make its grandest entrance yet on the global stage. The Philippines is set to become the Guest of Honor at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest and most influential publishing event in the world. In an episode of The Chairman’s Report aired on Friday, Commission on Filipinos

Roots and Wings
Oct 15, 20254 min read


BOOKlatin sa Oodi
Philippine Embassy holds book reading at Oodi Library by Anne Tafalla, Helsinki, Finland The Philippine Embassy in Helsinki, in partnership with Oodi Library, held a book reading session on 22 August 2025 as part of “BOOKlatin sa Oodi,” in celebration of Buwan ng Wika (National Language Month). Children listened to the Filipino story “Alamat ng Palay” (The Legend of Rice), read by Ambassador Domingo Nolasco and teacher Ricca Carsula from Espoo Multicultural Education Service.

Roots and Wings
Oct 15, 20251 min read


From Iloilo to the Stars
How MRenkerBooks is championing Filipino voices in Europe What happens when two dreamers meet on a university campus in Iloilo and share...

Maria Renker
Jun 6, 20252 min read


THRIVING ABROAD
Let this award-winning book guide you Words by Ieth Inolino-Idzerda Photos courtesy of The Philippine Embassy in The Netherlands If...

Ieth Inolino Idzerda
May 1, 20242 min read


My Graduation Week in Oxford
Text by Donna Künzler, Images from Donna Künzler and Tom Weller Photography I officially earned my Postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and...

Donna Künzler
Oct 9, 20234 min read


SKETCHES AND SNIPPETS
A Conversation with watercolourist Glensie Hombrebueno Text by Chad Osorio, NL Photos and illustrations courtesy of Glensie “Babaeng...

Chad Osorio
Jun 3, 20233 min read


50 DAYS OF EASTER
Covid Reflections Text & images by Hyacinth Reguindin I had forgotten that the Easter season, like Lent and Advent, lasts for 50 days...
Elizabeth von Atzigen
Apr 4, 20233 min read
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