South Africa

Saturday, February 4, 2012

THE National Delphic Council of South Africa (NDCSA) recently hosted the IV JUNIOR DELPHIC GAMES in JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (SA) for one week. I headed the Philippine delegation as International Delphic Council (IDC) president, together with National Delphic Council Philippines (NDCP) Secretary General, Liza Ann Ilagan, and my favorite travelling companion, Rey.

Before I go any further, allow me to explain what is meant by DELPHIC GAMES. The word “delphic” was derived from the historic and ancient place of Delphi, Greece, where ruins of numerous amphitheatres and artistic structures are found up to the present. Approximately 600 B.C., the people of ancient Greece strived toward perfection, both in body, mind, and spirit. Hence, the OLYMPIC GAMES – has activities of the BODY (sports), while its counterpart, the DELPHIC GAMES – had activities of the MIND and SPIRIT (arts).

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At the Delphic Games held in MUSEUM AFRICA, JOHANNESBURG, we witnessed exciting arts and culture showcasing performances and competitions, dialogue and debate, and moments with maestros. Under Performance Art, there were dances and theatre showings. In Music and Acoustic Arts, singers, indigenous and western instruments were heard and played. Under Visual Arts, exhibitions of paintings, photographs, installations, fashion design, and film screenings were viewed. In Lingual Arts, there was story-telling and poetry. What was unique in the holding of the Games in South Africa was the official launch of the 1st Delphic World Cultural Forum where maestros spoke on their topic of expertise which included dialogues after each talk. Rey was one of the speakers where he spoke on Arts and Culture in Philippine Education.

Those in attendance were of mixed races coming from all over the world and we hobnobbed with royalty, ambassadors, ministers, school heads, scholars, artists etc... Selecting from hundreds of photographs to show the readers a glimpse of the “Delphic spirit” was tough. So I’m cutting short my explanations to apportion more space for pictures. Truly, the Delphic Games is a venue to experience a different kind of high... activities of the MIND and SPIRIT!