Applications are now open for the “Impact Hub Fellowship on Innovation in Mobility with LBC.”

 In partnership with LBC, the Philippines' market leader in payments, remittance, courier products, mail, parcels and, cargo logistics, Impact Hub Manila is now accepting applicants that could offer innovative, disruptive and sustainable ideas for their very first fellowship program.

The ‘Impact Hub Manila Fellowship on Innovation in Mobility with LBC’ aims to discover and cultivate the most innovative business ideas that provide sustainable development in order to promote, support, and implement adaptive solutions to issues of logistics and mobility. “We recognize that there is a great need for a global-minded incubator,which focuses on social enterprises, to support and reinforce the growing and hugely talented sector,” explains LizAn Kuster, one of the co-founders of Impact Hub Manila.

The grand prize includes a twelve month stimulating workspace at Impact Hub Manila, living stipend, and access to seed funding, focused skill development and valuable networks.

Knowlarity goes public as Asian cloud telephony giant launches in the Philippines

Knowlarity, Asian cloud telephony giant is making it public that they are officially entering the Philippine market through an official product launch, October 8 at Discover Primea in Makati with their local partner, Vinea Distributions, Inc. (VDI). Founded in 2009 by IIT Kanpur graduates Gupta and Pallav Pandey, Knowlarity Communications provides business telephony services to companies, particularly in the small and medium enterprise segment.
Vikas Kakkar, Vice President and Head of International Business Strategy of Knowlarity Communications Pvt. Ltd., will be at the event to officially launch the product.  The 31-year-old Indian engineer will also discuss about the prospects for businesses through their product. Cloud telephony which is gaining popularity in the Philippines is dubbed as the future technology when it comes to communication of its kind.  Knowlarity is known to be the pioneers of cloud telephony in India and also the largest provider of PSTN (public switched telephone network) cloud telephony in the world. Vinea Distributoon Inc. (VDI) will be the official local partner of the Singapore based company.VDI, had been known to be one of the leading distributors of thin-clients, storage, security and surveillance solutions in the SME, enterprise and education sectors. An initial service called, SuperReceptionist will be provided in the Philippines.  This cloud telephony service will enable small companies to project a big-company image in terms of handling calls. It is a big opportunity for SMEs and other small businesses to be able to upgrade their communications capacity.  The system basically replaces traditional expensive communication hardware system with affordable and intelligent cloud based telephony solutions for SMBs and enterprises.

The entrance of Knowlarity into the telephony industry in the Philippines is perhaps the start of looking forward into more affordable communication options for businesses in the Philippines. This means that through innovative products like this businesses can reduce the number of sales and leads that they lost due to congestion of their traditional communication infrastructure.

Visit here: https://m.facebook.com/Knowlarity

Saving Juan, One Pawikan at a Time: The Launch of a Legend

  Mona Lisa Publications invites you to celebrate World Animal Day and World Habitat Day through the release of the children’s book “The Legend of Juan Pawikan and the 7,107 Islands,” written by award-winning author Celine Beatrice Fabie and illustrated by Benjor Catindig.

Exciting Line-Up For This Year's QCinema International Film Festival!

  QCinema International Film Festival 2015 once again earns proof that Quezon City is the film festival capital of the country by exhibiting top-rank films and staging film discourses from October 22 to 31 at Trinoma, Gateway Mall, and Robinson’s Galleria cinemas.

The festival will officially open at Gateway Mall with the screening of THE LAST PINOY ACTION KING, a portrait film about the life and death of Rudy “Daboy” Fernandez, one of the Philippines’ most beloved screen icons. The film was co-directed by internationally renowned filmmakers Andrew Leavold and Daniel Palisa. QCIFF is known for its generous grants to cinema enthusiasts and promising filmmakers. Circle Competition for New Filmmakers gives one million each to eight aspiring directors while DoQC International Documentary provides 200,000 peso grant each for the creation of five full-length documentary films.

This year’s Circle Competition lineup includes the following full-lenght features:
WATER LEMON by Lemuel Lorca
KAPATIRAN by Pepe Diokno
IISA by Chuch Gutierrez
PATINTERO: ANG ALAMAT NI MENG PATALO by Mihk Vergara
GAYUMA by Cesar Hernando
MATANGTUBIG by Jet Leyco
APOCALYPSE CHILD by Monster Jimenez and Mario Cornejo
SLEEPLESS by Prime Cruz

AFFI's 14th Franchise and Business Expo: Empowering Entrepreneurs This Oct 2-4 at The World Trade Center

  To further its commitment to the local business sector, the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) is staging the “14th Franchise and Business Expo: Empowering Entrepreneurs” from October 2 to 4, 2015 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila.

Known as the biggest and longest-running event of its kind in the country, the expo brings together over 300 exhibitors showcasing a wide range of business concepts and brands from both the Philippines and a number of countries included in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It also hosts a broad array of seminars and activities from various organizations to further improve the business acumen of all participating parties and promote exhibiting brands.

“Every year, members of AFFI look forward to this expo because it gathers some of the most dynamic and insightful minds in the local business community,” says Ricardo Cuna, owner of the Fiorgelato ice cream franchise and head of the 14th Franchise and Business Expo organizing committee. “Since its conceptualization years ago, it has become an important platform to showcases businesses, promote brands and pursue the association’s goals in aiding local businessmen.”

Philippine Statistical System celebrates 26th National Statistics Month in October 2015

It is October and it is National Statistics Month (NSM) once again!

On October 1, 2015, the 26th NSM kicks off at The Heritage Hotel Manila, Pasay City for the Opening Ceremony hosted by the Department of Health (DOH), with Health Secretary Janette-Loreto Garin as keynote speaker. 

Now on its 26th year, the celebration focuses on government’s thrust on universal health care and the recognition of the various endeavors of official statisticians and technical personnel involved in the generation of health and nutrition statistics. Thus, this year’s NSM carries the  theme, "Pagyamanin at Gamitin ang Estadistika, Kalusugan para sa Lahat ay Abot-Kamay Na."

The highlight of the 26th NSM Opening Ceremony will be the presentation of DOH Universal Healthcare, High Impact (Hi-5) Strategy, and Philippine National Health Accounts by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The program also features an Oratorical Piece presentation of last year’s NSM first prize winner of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) –Department of Education(DepEd) Annual Oratorical Contest, as well as giving of awards for the 25th NSM Best Activity and other NSM-related awards.

Don't Miss This Year's Instituto Cervantes’ PELÍCULA Spanish Film Festival!

 This year's Instituto Cervantes’ PELÍCULA Spanish Film Festival line-up will take you to another level of art filsm.Dont miss it!
From October 8 to 18, PELÍCULA-PELIKULA, the Spanish Film Festival, will be featuring the best of contemporary Spanish cinema at the Greenbelt 3 Cinemas. Presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain-AECID, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Intramuros Administration, the 2015 edition of the Spanish Film Festival will screen around 30 films.
Since its conception in 2002 by Instituto Cervantes, the Spanish Film Festival has been an annual attraction at the Ayala Malls Cinemas, bringing the best of Spanish and Latin American cinema to the local audience of Manila. PELÍCULA-PELIKULA is a combination of the Spanish word “película”, which means film, and its Tagalog derivation “pelikula”, echoing the cultural ties shared by Spain and the Philippines. By putting the two words together, it highlights the unique characteristics of this 2-week event as the biggest Spanish film festival in Asia.