Josenians were given direct access to history-related webinars included in the Philippine International Quincentennial Conference (PIQC) by the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) through Facebook Livestreaming.
This was after the NQC and University of San Jose-Recoletos reached a mutual understanding of the need to explain and promote the 34 quincentennials or 500th anniversaries the Philippines this 2021. The arrangement was made possible and facilitated by the Communications Unit of the USJ-R Public Affairs and International Relations Office.
Virtually attended by delegates from across the globe, NQC advocated a more “Filipino-centric” point of view of the first circumnavigation of the world by highlighting the compassion and humanity of Filipino ancestors to the impoverished and sickly crew of the Magellan-Elcano expedition who traversed the deadly Pacific for about four months.
“The milestone is seen by the Philippine Government as an opportunity to dispel the myths and misconceptions about the Filipinos through history; and as a platform to let the world know that the Filipino people are one with the world in fostering unity and magnanimity,” stated in the official NQC website.
NQC is a committee under the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
In the PIQC inaugural session, NQC gathered embassy representatives from the countries that the Philippines is historically connected to in line with the quincentennial celebrations. It included topics discussing the current and future thrusts in maintaining international comity.
“Through this international gathering, we position our country as a leader in the global commemoration. Alongside it, we proclaim to the world that we co-own the quincentennial with parity. Papers, messages, and statements from these sessions will form part of the proceedings of the PIQC so that the next generation will be guided on how the Philippines and the world commemorated the milestones associated with the first circumnavigation of the earth,” wrote in the PIQC event statement.
The conference started on October 20 and culminated on December 17. A total of 13 virtual sessions were conducted.
A Facebook playlist is available at the USJ-R Facebook page for those who want to rewatch the series. The said playlist also contains the proceedings of the PH-Guam conference about NQC and the documentary by NHCP entitled Kaagi: The Philippines and the First Circumnavigation.
Written by Lorraine Mitzi A. Ambrad
