Swiss-based Mabuhay Dance Group represented the Philippines at the 2nd Annual Festival of Cultures held in Berne on 17 March 2018. The event is part of the week-long celebration of the fight against racism.
The festival pitted, in a friendly competition, twenty-six (26) performing artists from various cultural groups in Switzerland. The Mabuhay Dance Group took on the challenge with their rendition of a Muslim folk dance and a modern interpretation of the Tinikling.
The Mabuhay Dance Group during their performance at Festival der Kulturen 2018, Heiligeistkirche
The Festival of Cultures is an annual event jointly organized by a group of migrants in Switzerland and Swiss NGOs with the support of the City of Berne. It aims to provide a platform for artists of different cultures to show their talents as a form of fostering cooperation among all peoples, promote peace, and end racism in all its forms.
In another event, members of the Filipino Community Network in Berne (FilNetwork- Berne) supported the Genfest 2018 dinner held at Dreifaltigkeitskirche by joining Swiss artists in providing entertainment for the event through their repertoire of original Philippine music, and preparing Filipino dishes like pancit bihon, adobo and fried lumpia, for the guests.
The Filipino community in Bern, entertained the guests at the fund-raising campaign and joined the organizers in preparing Filipino food for the dinner
The Genfest 2018 dinner is a fundraising campaign to support the participation of youth from across the world at the International Youth Conference to be held in Manila on 6-8 July 2018. The festival, which is on its 11th edition now, banners the theme, “Beyond all Borders”. This is the first time that the festival will be held in the Philippines.
Genfest was founded in 1985 by Chiara Lubic, founder of the Focolare Movement, which brings together, in universal fraternity, young people from 180 countries, embracing different faiths, cultures and social backgrounds. END
