European Higher Education Fair 2013 draws record crowd
MANILA, Philippines - The European Higher Education Fair 2013 opened last Oct. 15 in full force at The Peninsula Hotel in Makati with the ambassadors of the European Union and member states, and officials from the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Education.
A large numbers of students, faculty and academics trooped to the event to explore education opportunities at 32 distinguished universities from the European Union, including from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and, for the first time from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ireland.
EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux underscored the European Union's goal in promoting EU as a centre of quality and excellence in education and in hastening mobility and people-to-people links between the EU and peoples from the region.
"These people-to-people links certainly go a long way in bridging the cultural divide and promoting a better awareness, understanding and appreciation between and among the peoples from the Philippines and the European Union," Ledoux said.
"In reality what we are doing here is planting the seeds of lifelong relationships between Filipinos and Europeans. These relationships will flourish in all walks of life from politics to medicine, from fine arts to film and on to research , commerce and industry. The bright-eyed student setting off to Europe today will be the strong building blocks of EU-Philippine relations tomorrow", he added.
EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux was joined by Ambassador Gilles Garachon of France, Ambassador Joe Hayes of Ireland, Ambassador Ton Boon von Ochssée of the Netherlands, Ambassador Jorge Domecq of Spain, Ambassador-designate Asif Ahmad of the United Kingdom, Deputy Ambassador Jan Vytopil of the Czech Republic and First Secretary Mr Alfonso Tagliaferri of the Italian Embassy. Education Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages Mr Mario Deriquito, Executive Director of CHED Napoleon Imperial and Director Atty Lily Freida Milla co-inaugurated the European Higher Education Fair.
Other than the booths of the participating institutions, there were short information sessions about studying in the represented member states of the European Union.
The European Higher Education Fair 2013 was supported by the Commission on Higher Education, Business World, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Powermac Center, philstar.com and WheninManila.com.
Further details: www.EHEF-Philippines.org FB/Twitter/Instagram: EHEFPhilippines
