BRASILIA PE HOSTS THE CULTURAL WEBINAR ON RIZAL’S NOLI ME TANGERE TO COMMEMORATE THE 160TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. JOSE P. RIZAL, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HERO ON 20 JUNE 2021
BRASILIA, 20 JUNE 2021 – The Philippine Embassy in Brazilia organized an online lecture/webinar for its Cultural Diplomacy activity entitled "Kwento Ni Jose - A Webinar on Dr. Jose P. Rizal's Noli Me Tangere" on 20 June 2021. The lecturer for the webinar was Professor Barbara Bomfim, a faculty member of the Centro Universitário Euro Americano (UniEuro). The webinar was Post’s commemoration of the 160th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal.
The webinar started with the participants singing the Philippine National Anthem led by the emcee Mr. Martin Vicencio, Post’s Cultural Officer. Charge d’affaires, ad interim, Leilani S. Feliciano gave the welcoming remarks to those present in the zoom webinar as well as those watching from Post’s Facebook page.
Charge d'affaires, ad interim Leilani S. Feliciano
CDA Feliciano emphasized the relevance and importance of Dr. Rizal as the Philippines’ national hero and the Father of Philippine nationhood and nationalism and to the cause of the country’s struggle through the Philippine revolution and the attainment of national sovereignty, independence and freedom from foreign subjugation and the Spanish occupation in 1898. She added that Rizal was the intellectual, poet, writer, novelist, ophthalmologist, highly educated and Renaissance man who formulated and created the concept of Philippine nationhood and the Filipino national identity which were exhibited in his literary and published works such as the Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, among others. His literary and published works and intellectual contributions influenced the Filipino heroes at the time and the cause of the Katipunan movement. She stressed how Dr. Rizal was the embodiment of ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ and noted the cultural significance Noli Me Tangere still has up to the present era.
Professor Bomfim’s lecture on ‘Noli Me Tangere’ focused on a handful of topics which included the historical background of Dr. Jose P. Rizal and the historical context and social milieu of the Philippine history at the time the book was written, and the book itself. She focused on the book’s plot, themes, and its key characters.
The event had a brief Question and Answer portion before CDA Feliciano gave her closing remarks to conclude the webinar for Post’s celebration on Jose P. Rizal’s 160th birth anniversary.
The webinar was attended by the Filipino Community in Post’s jurisdiction as well as some attendees from the DFA Home Office, Argentina, UK, Canada, India, and residents from the Philippines. END
Professor Barbara Bomfim
Group Picture with Prof. Bomfim and participants
