Over 30 countries to join as International Bazaar to return after 3 years
MANILA, Philippines — The International Bazaar will be staged once more this November after missing out the past three years due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Pamela Manalo, wife of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and chairperson of the International Bazaar Foundation (IBF), announced in a press conference yesterday that the bazaar will be held in World Trade Center on November 20.
Initiated in 1966 and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1995, the International Bazaar is an annual fund-raising event that showcases imported and local goods from various participating countries.
This year, over 30 countries will be participating in the bazaar, as well as the European Union, though Manalo said they are still negotiating with more countries interested to join.
Among the confirmed list of nations are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China, France, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
Manalo teased the bazaar would feature "a wide array of cultural items" ranging from sweets to fabrics, each of them unique and flown in directly from their respective countries.
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As the International Bazaar is returning after three years, Manalo said the focus for this year's edition would be on re-engaging partnerships with continuous collaborators along the Diplomatic Corps in the Philippines, on top of ushering in the Christmas season.
Proceeds from the bazaar will go to several beneficiaries that the IBF has been assisting for years, the funds of which will be consolidated by the Spouses of the Heads of Mission (SHOM), a fellow collaborator for the event.
These beneficiaries include livelihood projects for distressed communities and areas affected by calamities, assistance for abandoned children, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities, and several other non-governmental organizations.
The main beneficiary the IBF contributes to are college scholarships for indigienous and poor students. As of writing, the IBF has assisted over 50 scholars pursuing four-year courses in different schools.
The IBF's Executive Director Nora Salazar shared that in 2019 — the last time the bazaar was staged — around P14 million was raised and after deducting expenses, P7 million was dished out for distribution by the IBF and SHOM.
Saazar said that an annual tuition of P60,000 per student is the cap for their scholarships, but she added that if attendance is high this year, they will see if more can be accommodated.
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