“We have a strong faith in the virtue of Filipino’s natural talent and creativity. We believe firmly that we can use that individual talent to serve the Filipino community in the Netherlands.”

 

I believe that there are many things we can do for ourselves and for our “kababayan” in the Netherlands if we really try to tap our individual potentials. This is exactly the main reason why we formed FILMIS in the Netherlands. We want our members to develop and use their innate talents, creativeness and knowledge in the service of their fellow Filipinos.

 

FILMIS objectives

Founded in 2013, FILMIS has been active in organizing different events that promote the Filipino culture, the right to education, and the human rights of the Filipinos. FILMIS stands for Filipino Migrants in Solidarity. This is an organization of Filipino migrants who are dedicated to promote the above mentioned objectives. But how can FILMIS achieve these objectives? FILMIS adheres to the philosophy that every human individual is unique, creative, and rational. Human beings are gifted creatures with natural inclination to express their human creativeness that engenders self-satisfaction and happiness. On this basis, we aim to encourage our members to discover their individual natural talent and develop and use it as a means to benefit them and their fellow countrymen.

 

 

FILMIS Promotes the Filipino Culture

I remember Joy, who is one of the founders of FILMIS, said emphatically, “Filipinos are talented people, and they should be given the opportunity to expose their hidden potentials. FILMIS is here to push them to the limit of their human potentials so that they can grow to the fullest to enjoy life and share it to others”. Of course, FILMIS always tries to tap the talents of our members by giving them a chance to perform at our various events. In short, we help them showcase their talents in art, music and dancing by promoting the Filipino culture. In fact, we have discovered through the years that many young Filipinos are profoundly enthusiastic to develop and showcase their talents. They are ambitious and eager to share it!

 

 Just last June 25, 2016, we held our big charity event in Don Bosco Rijskwijk with a theme: “Filipino Culture, Arts and Talent 2016”. The donation collected from the charity event would go to Stichting SEMP (Support Education Mindanao Philippines), a non-profit organization that supports the education of the poor children in certain barangays in Mindanao. The event featured a variety of Filipino traditional dances and songs, and a number of Filipino performers playing different musical instruments on stage such as violin, flute, saxophone and piano. Rhiza, a dance choreographer, who joined FILMIS two years ago, expressed her sense of pride when casually asked about her participation at one of the FILMIS events. “I enjoy being part of FILMIS, because it provides me with the opportunity to do what I love most – sharing my skills in dancing”, says Rhiza.

We want our kababayans to show off to the world how good the Filipinos are. We believe this will help create a good image for our country and the Filipino community as well. Showing our culture is one way to elevate our pride and earn the respect of the Dutch community. We should always keep in mind that our culture is our soul and the reflection of our history as a nation.

 

FILMIS Believes in the virtue of education

However, FILMIS does not only focus on culture, but we also focus on education. We believe in the importance of education. For us, education is the key to empowerment. We want Filipino migrants to acquire personal capability to make a wise decision about their lives, and participate in some important national issues that affect their interest as Filipino migrants. That is why we have collaborated with other academic institutions that offer special programs and seminars related to migration, labor and human rights for migrants. We have also forged partnership with the organizers of the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE-NL), a six-month Training Program offered by the Ateneo School of Government for Filipino migrants.

 

FILMIS raises awareness of the Filipinos about human right principles

 

More so, FILMIS pursues to promote the human rights in line with its belief that all human beings are born equal with dignity. While we are all equal as human beings, we are, at the same time, distinct and separate as individuals with unique characteristics. The full expression of our sense of humanity as creative beings depends on how much the authorities respect our basic rights. Human rights are paramount important for individual development and self-discovery of one’s hidden potentials.

 

Last year, FILMIS organized a forum that provided information about migrant rights in the Netherlands. Seth Paul, a Dutch lawyer with long years of experience in litigation, explained in details about the laws in the Netherlands related to the rights of migrants.

 

 Bing, the current vice-president of FILMIS, says: “we need to inculcate to our kababayans about the important of knowing the laws of the host country in order for them to know how to protect themselves against any kinds of abuse”.