Kamalayan: Youth Party Congressman Raymond Palatino Speaks…

Raymond “Mong” Palatino, 29 years old, represents the Kabataan (Youth) Party in the 14th Congress of the Philippines. He was chair of the University Student Council of the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2000 and president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), the largest alliance of tertiary student councils nationwide from 2001 to 2003.

On Saturday, November 7, Congressman Mong Palatino will speak about:

• the role of Filipino youth in the Philippine struggle for liberation and democracy – from the Katipunan to the present.
• the Filipino youth and student movement today.
• what it means for Filipino youth to have a representative in Congress. 

Date:  Saturday, November 7, 2009
Time:  1:00-5:00 PM
Location:  Father Madden Hall (in Carr Hall), St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto
Address:  100 St. Joseph Street

*CLICK HERE FOR A MAP*

*Click here for Facebook event*

Be prepared to participate in a discussion of what our role as Filipino youth in Canada is.  Socials to follow after the forum.

Mong Palatino’s Blog – http://mongpalatino.com
Kabataan Partylist – http://kabataanpartylist.com/
Kabataan Partylist video ad – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX0Vmdrt5-0

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KAMALAYAN is a series of events for Filipino youth, running from Fall 2009-Spring 2010, focusing on Philippine history, politics and issues in the Filipino Canadian communiy. Kamalayan is a Tagalog word meaning “consciousness”.

Kamalayan Organizing Committee:
Migrante Ontario – Youth <http://migranteontarioyouth.wordpress.com>
Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture <http://kapisanan.wordpress.com>
Filipino Students’ Association of Toronto <http://fsat.sa.utoronto.ca/>
Filipino Canadian Association of Ryerson <http://stw.ryerson.ca/~fcar/index.htm>

For info: kamalayan.festival@gmail.com, (647) 239-6553

Kapelosopohan: Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and the Philippines

Migrante Ontario invites you to the first session of
KAPELOSOPOHAN (Kapihan at Pilosopiya)

Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio
and the Philippines

We have invited a couple guest speakers to help start us off, but it’s not really about the speakers at all, but about the participants sharing their questions, thoughts, and knowledge with each other.

Who were these guys?  Why are the considered heroes?  Why are they also sometimes considered less than heroic?  Why did they matter?  And most importantly why do they still matter today?

You don’t have to know a lot about Philippine history, or the Philippines today, you just have to be curious and eager to discuss.

Speakers:

Caroline Mangosing, a descendant of Jose Rizal’s sister Olympia will share what she knows about her ancestor.   Caroline is the Exec Director of the Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture.  www.kapisanancentre.com

Joe Rivera is a Toronto based writer, and former lawyer.  He will be speaking about Andres Bonifacio.  You can read his writing here:  http://letterfromtoronto.blogspot.com

Sunday, 1 November 2009
1:00 PM (DON’T FORGET TO SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK ONE HOUR.)
SEAS Centre
606 Gerrard Street East (east of Broadview)

Click here to see map.

From the subway:  Go to Broadview Station, take any southbound streetcar down Broadview, get off at Gerrard and walk one block east.

Visit the new Kapelosopohan blog for future updates and online discussions: kapelosopohan.blogspot.com.

For more info - migranteON.youth@gmail.com.

Migrante Youth at Kapisanan’s PSL 4

Migrante Youth has been invited to present a segment of the last part of Poetry is our Second Language (PSL): Poetry of Struggle.  PSL is a four-week workshop at the Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture, facilitated by spoken word poet Len Cervantes.  Below is the invite taken from the Kapisanan blog (kapisanan.wordpress.com)

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Its the FOURTH and FINAL week of Kapisanan’s Poetry Unit!

On Thursday, August 27 our special guest will be Migrante Youth! You might be wondering what’s that’s got to do with POETRY — but I think you’ll see the answer is A LOT.

MIGRANTE Ontario Youth is an organizing group which aims to bring together Filipino youth for the purpose of building awareness about the history and continuing struggles of the Filipino people towards engaging in collective action for social change. (more about Migrante Youth HERE.)

Week 4 of PSL
“The Poetry of Struggle”
Migrante Youth + TBA
@Kapisanan 167 Augusta
6pm SHARP
*plan Poetry Night at KPC!

We’re ending the unit off with a focus on “The Poetry of Struggle”. What Poets made their marks at pivotal times in Philippine History? What pieces of writing did their part to change the course of history? What role can Poetry and Spoken Word play in educating and uplifting? Building a Community?

Crispin Beltran Philippine History Lectures: Part III

Part III:  The Philippine Working Class Movement in the Era of U.S. Colonialism

The Commonwealth Government and Attempts to Divide the Union Movement; The Struggle against Japanese Occupation during WWII (1917-1945)

Thursday, March 19, 2009
University of Toronto
Bahen Centre for Information Technology
Room 2135
40 St. George Street, Toronto (map)

This next installment of the lecture series covers the latter part of the American colonial period and the period of Japanese occupation.

After the complete pacification of the Filipinos through the Philippine-American War, the American colonialists continued the repression of the working class by co-opting the ruling classes and established the Commonwealth Government. But even though the armed resistance was suppressed, Filipinos continued to organize through labour unions and community associations which clamoured not only for workers’ rights but also for national liberation, and eventually formed a working class party.

As the Second World War broke out, Japan invaded the Philippines and the United States retreated, leaving Filipinos to struggle against a new imperial force.

Some topics and personalities to be covered:

• Crisanto Evangelista
• Manuel L. Quezon
• The Commonwealth Government
• HUKBALAHAP
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s famous promise: “I shall return.”

*Attendance at previous lectures is not a pre-requisite. A recap of major points from the first two lectures will be provided.

*This event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Presented in partnership with the Filipino Students’ Association of Toronto (FSAT).

For more information, contact migranteON.youth@gmail.com or (647) 239-6553.

Visit our page on the entire Ka Bel lecture series:
http://migranteontarioyouth.wordpress.com/projects/

Coming in January 2009

Crispin Beltran Philippine History Lectures
Part II:  The Philippine Working Class Movement in the Era of U.S. Colonial Rule
Second Half:  The Commonwealth Government and Attempts to Divide the Union Movement
Date and location TBA.
Once again presented in collaboration with the Filipino Students Association of Toronto (FSAT).

Filipino Youth Festival
A whole day of activities on awareness-raising about Philippine history and culture and community engagement.  A collaborative project of Migrante Ontario Youth, Philippine Advocacy Through Arts and Culture, Kapisanan Philippine Centre, Filipino Students’ Association of Toronto, Filipino Canadian Association of Ryerson.
Saturday, January 24, 2008
Time and location TBA.

MOY member to speak at Saturday Night Love

One of our members will be speaking at Saturday Night Love this Saturday, December 13, on the topic of exploitation of women in the Philippines.  Saturday Night Love is a weekly event hosted by Toronto Poets, consisting of a panel discussion followed by musical and spoken word performances.

SATURDAY NIGHT LOVE
Saturday, December 13, 2008
7:30pm – 10:00pm
Ritz Caribbean Restaurant, 3rd Floor
606 Yonge Street, just North of Wellesley subway station

Facebook event page:  http://www.facebook.com/events.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=63204112432

Crispin Beltran Philippine History Lectures: Part II

Part II:  The Philippine Working Class Movement in the Era of U.S. Colonialism

First Half: The Philippine-American War and the Consolidation of U.S. Rule

We are continuing the “Ka Bel” lecture series which started in the summer. The next topic will be the first half of the American period, 1898-1916- that covers the Philippine-American War and the Consolidation of US Rule in the Philippines. In this period, we’ll also see the beginnings of the Philippine trade union movement, and the role of the Philippine Independent Church in the liberation movement.

Thursday, November 20, 2008
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Charbonelle Lounge, St. Michael’s College @ University of Toronto
81 St. Mary Street, Toronto

Special Guest Speaker:
RAMON GRAJO
- Sessional lecturer/instructional assistant at the University of Toronto
- PhD Candidate in Philosophy
- Spokesperson for BAYAN-Canada in Toronto, a campaign centre for Philippine issues

This event is FREE!

If you have any questions please contact:

Lei-Ley Hull, FSAT Education & Community Affairs – (416) 801-4869
Ben San Juan, FSAT External Affairs – (647) 830-1675
Mithi Esguerra, Migrante Ontario Youth – (647) 239-6553

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=42882478427

Crispin Beltran Philippine History Lectures

Part I: THE BIRTH OF THE PHILIPPINE WORKING CLASS AND THE KATIPUNAN

Migrante Ontario Youth and the Filipino Students’ Association of Toronto (FSAT) are proud to present “The Birth of the Philippine Working Class and the Katipunan,” a lecture on Philippine history to be held on Saturday, July 5, 2008, 1-4pm at the Charbonnel Lounge, St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, 81 St. Mary Street (south of Charles St. West, west of Bay St.).

July 7 marks the founding anniversary of the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Highest and Most Revered Association of the Children of the People). Founded in 1892, the Katipunan quickly became a nation-wide organization which would lead the Philippine Revolution of 1896 to end almost 400 years of Spanish colonial rule.

The lecture, “The Birth of the Philippine Working Class and the Katipunan,” will focus on the period of Spanish colonialism and how economic policies at the time resulted in the emergence of the Philippine working class. The lecture will also look at the Katipunan as an organization initiated by workers and its role in the struggle for national liberation.

The featured resource person at the lecture, Ricky Esguerra, is former instructor of Political Science a the University of the Philippines.  He is currently on the executive committee of the Community Alliance for Social Justice, and member of the Philippine Solidarity Network.

This lecture is the first of the Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran Philippine History Lectures prepared by Migrante Ontario Youth in commemoration of the long-time labour leader turned congress representative, who passed away in May 2008 shortly after a visit to Canada.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact:

Migrante Ontario Youth
Mithi Esguerra
migranteON.youth@gmail.com
647-239-6553

The Filipino Students’ Association of Toronto (FSAT)
Lei-Ley Hull, Education & Community Affairs Executive
fsat.educational@gmail.com
416-801-4869