Idea Sharing Session Follow Up (July 17th gathering)
Thank you everyone for coming out to last Saturday's idea sharing session. Your presence there, especially on a sunny Saturday afternoon, was truly appreciated. Honestly, it was a great relief to hear that others also felt the same excitement and enthusiasm about this initiative as RJ and I felt. Other people have since contacted us, interested in how they can be involved and participate in what we've discussed. As I mentioned during our talk, your involvement (whether it be as a presenter, moderator, student, language partner, etc.) is paramount to the success of what we are all creating. I'm looking forward to being in the audience of the various workshops that some of you will be conducting, as well as facilitating some of the workshops that RJ and I are passionate about.
In the true spirit of Bayanihan, workshops created by the community, for the community!
Maraming salamat,
Jay
---
I've never done something like that before. That was the first time I've stood in front of a group of people and talked about what I'm most passionate about. I've poured my heart out before to family and friends but not to people I've just met. It felt comfortable, it felt natural. I have all of you to thank for that. And thanks too for being so receptive to what we had to say and for being so enthusiastic with your feedback.
What we know is that we've created a commitment to you and to the community at large to deliver on those collective ideas we shared. What excites us is how excited you are. What inspires us is how you want to inspire and to be inspired as well.
However, I must confess... Even though we had a fruitful few hours together on Saturday, I was left wanting. I wanted to get to know you all a little better. I'm genuinely interested in what motivates you and what you want to get out of what we're trying to build. I'm sure at some point, we'll get to have another chance at meaningful conversation. Perhaps, I'm just impatient when it comes to being exposed to sources of inspiration.
RJ Aquino
***************
Friends,
The immediate next steps are important. How do we move forward and build momentum? How can we remain engaging and relevant?
Having said that, we're glad to share with you all that preparation for the Tagalog lessons are in full swing. We have a trained linguist who is preparing the curriculum and is tailoring it to what we discussed on Saturday. He has also volunteered to be the primary instructor/facilitator. Yes, he's FIlipino and yes, he has experience teaching languages. Introductions will occur as soon as there are materials to share.
So when are these Tagalog lessons going to happen? We agreed that was the first step we were going to take but we want to get it right. We recognize that we should move fast but we also recognize not to roll out something we feel won't accurately convey the value we're aiming to provide. We studied closely our resources and abilities and we're aiming for the 2nd half of August. Of course, continuous progress updates will be made available.
In the meantime, let's figure out something to keep the conversation going. Should we have another gathering and perhaps treat that like a wine & keso (cheese) session? Should we have a movie night with Coca-Cola in a bag and Nagaraya nuts? Give us your feedback. As Jay quipped, this is by the community, for the community.
There are a few housekeeping items. We are in the process of setting up a portal of sorts. We're going to temporarily use my (RJ's) website, http://rjaquino.com/pilipinas, to post announcements and allow online conversations to occur (please pardon its semi-neglected state). We'll also be setting up a Facebook page. I encourage everyone to participate online as that would be the most convenient way for most people to keep in touch.
You'll hear from us again soon. We'll strive to keep communication with you constant and timely. But you don't have to wait until you hear from us. Leave a comment or send us an email and we'll make sure you're heard.
--Jay & RJ
Want to view a PDF version of the presentation you saw on Saturday, July 17th? Click here
RJ Aquino
Some people have asked me directly how this all began... I just wished they posted their questions in the comments section :P
For starters, this is something that's been lingering in my head for a long time. It's only recently that I've become fortunate enough to have the resources and time to commit to an endeavour like this. It's also quite serendipitous that I ended up partnering with my new friend, Jay Catalan (he's on Twitter as @jaycatalan).
I first met Jay during my short stint working for Aquent which had offices in The Network Hub. We just got to talking about what we felt was missing in the Filipino community here in Vancouver. We had many great ideas and it came to the point where it just didn't make any sense that we weren't acting on them.
To sum up a story worthy of at least a few separate blog posts, I quit my job, paid a visit to Mable Elmore (BC's first Member of the Legislative Assembly of Filipino heritage) and pitched our ideas. Next thing you know, I'm giving a presentation in front of a couple dozen community leaders (including Prod Laquian!) here in Vancouver on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
I've also had a few questions about the slideshow/presentation. Viewing it only gives half of the story. There are talking points that make the notes on that presentation make sense. If you weren't there, I implore you to start a conversation with us so we can talk about it before any assumptions are made. I promise you won't be disappointed with the dialogue.
To add, a Facebook page has been created. As of this writing, there isn't much on there yet but as promised, we'll use it to communicate to everyone what's going on.
You'll see more activity here in the coming days as we have exciting stuff lined up.
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vancity-Workshops-on-Filipino-Language-History-Culture/139855149377247
Event page on FB: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=129193520452736
Philippines, Pinoys, Vancouver 
Reader Comments (3)
I'm in for a Tagalog movie night. Got a few faves that I can recommend :)
Thanks for your feedback, Cris. Which movies did you have in mind? If we can start a list of movies, I can start working on getting copies of them. BTW, did you know that the VPL Downtown has an awesome selection of Filipino movies that you can basically borrow for free?
I didn't know that - that's absolutely cool. Hope they have some of the stuff I like :)
As for my list of movies, my all-time favorite Filipino movie is Kakabakaba ka ba? it's an oldie, so I don't know if the library has it.
I like old ones, I guess because I kind of grew up on them. Kung meron bang black and white Sampaguita pictures movies that we can watch, that'd be doubly fun.
I don't know what type of movies other people like, but here's some that I have liked in the past (I found some clips online too)-
Kakabakaba ka ba? (comedy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRE06IqVIpc
Itim (suspense thriller) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2QWpCQdS5k
Ninja Kids (action) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF3oe9bfIFU - i liked this better than Bagets, also Lea Salonga's in it too
Bituing Walang Ningning (drama) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVeyVqLWBA8 - just because of that infamous scene with Cherie Gil
Lumaban Ka Satanas aka The Killing of Satan (horror) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT5orQRldNM - because it's notorious in blog circles as being one of the best "bad" movies around