IT’S been years since I last stepped on Australian soil, but the time that I spent there earning my master’s degree and working to support myself in a foreign country have been formative to my person. I’ve been meaning to go back, but with so many places in the world to see and only so many days of annual vacation leave, I haven’t returned yet.
Australia came back to me through the person of Angela Ferrer, whose Alumni Engagement office at the Australian Embassy has been hard at work searching for and contacting graduates of Australian universities in the Philippines. She was able to gather about 20 of us from Cebu and Bohol; it was wonderful to meet other people who shared similar experiences, and we had the honor of meeting the Ambassador himself.
Ambassador Steven J. Robinson and his wife, together with officers from the Australian Embassy and alumni program, warmly welcomed the group to a casual dinner reception in Feria of the Radisson Blu Hotel. Ambassador Robinson and Mrs. Rhonda Robinson took the time to speak to every one of us, and it was during this conversation that I learned that the Ambassador and I are both products of the University of Sydney.
To strengthen ties between the two countries, Philippines-Australia Friendship Day was celebrated in Cebu for the first time this year. The Embassy held a reception in Marco Polo Plaza Cebu to meet with Cebu’s business community. The entertainer for the evening was Pilita Corrales, who started her singing career in Australia. Everyone was wowed when the Ambassador himself joined her for a duet of “Moon River.” He said he wasn’t prepared, but his voice sounded like it was made for that song.
The Friendship Day lineup of activities in Ayala Center Cebu included a retail, travel and education fair in the Activity Center, followed by a fashion show at The Gallery, and Alumni Family Day the next day. The fashion show was not the typical sort with professional models, but had students from Cebu International school, local athletes, and differently-abled persons owning the runway. The stylish pieces came from handwoven fabric brand Anthill, homegrown in Cebu by Australian alumna Anya Lim; and popular Australian brands such as Roxy, Quiksilver, Cotton On and Ever New.
If there are other alumni reading this, contact alumni@australiaawardsphilippines.org so that the Embassy can keep in touch with you for news and upcoming activities.