YouthHack Manila 2015 Startup Challenge - “Where Will You Go That You’re Not Supposed To Be?”

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Last July 25-26, 2015 at Xavier School Greenhills, aspiring technopreneurs from both high school and university were faced up to this question. The YouthHack Manila Startup Challenge offered two days worth of activities to help these students think, create and innovate as they learn to assemble their very own startups. Through keynote speeches, workshops, a startup fair, and a startup competition for the participants, eyes and minds were opened and participants slowly began to find their answers to the proposed question.

To kick off the first day, YouthHack Founder David Ongchoco delivered his welcome address by sharing his origin story. “It felt surreal for the 18-year-old who just graduated high school,” he says. YouthHack sprouted from David’s realization that the youth of today can play a vital role in revolutionizing “technopreneurship”—the blend of technology and entrepreneurship—in the startup world. The organization is living proof of this belief, as aside from the Manila Startup Challenge (considered “the biggest and baddest YouthHack event” to date), YouthHack is currently growing and making its away outside our nation’s borders to places such as Philadephia and Singapore.

In the first keynote speech, we learn some of the startup industry’s secrets from Kalibrr CEO Paul Rivera. When it comes to the core of your startup, he advises them to be inspired by something more than profit. Though sometimes this would mean pursuing a riskier path, Paul persuades the participants that “[t]his is the time to be experimenting. This is not the time to play it safe.” Failure is inevitable in the startup world, and Paul reassures everyone that this is part of the process and something entrepreneurs learn to move on from. “Entrepreneurs take calculated risks and tolerate uncertainty,” he says.

“Your network becomes your net worth.” He stresses the importance of finding the right people who will help you take your startup to greatness, teaching the crowd that “[l]ife networks matter” and they must “[p]lug into the right ones.”

Boracay Beach Resort Deal Secures Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts a Piece of Philippines Paradise

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has secured its own piece of paradise in one of Asia’s most exclusive holiday destinations, having signed a deal to manage the Sol Marina Resort, which will soon be renamed Mövenpick Resort Boracay, in the Philippines.

Located in the north west of the island on idyllic Punta Bunga Beach, famed for its white powdery sand and aquamarine waters and considered one of Asia’s luxury resort hotspots, the upscale 333-key property will start welcoming guests in December 2015.

The property will not only shore up Mövenpick’s presence in the Philippines, where it already manages Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu, but also bolster the hospitality firm’s portfolio of resort properties in top Asian locations. In Thailand the company operates two resorts in Phuket and one on Koh Samui, while construction is underway on properties in leisure destinations such as Pattaya, Thailand, Quy Nhon, Vietnam and Bali, Indonesia.

“Signing a property in Boracay is a significant development for Mövenpick, as it cements our presence in one of Asia’s most established resort destinations,” explains Andreas Mattmüller, Chief Operating Officer, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Middle East and Asia.

“Punta Bunga Beach, with its crystal-clear waters and soft white sand, is unspoiled and truly idyllic, attracting discerning travellers from all over the world from both the upscale leisure and corporate meetings segments.”

Foundation for a Sustainable Society Holds Several Activities to Celebrate 20th Anniversary

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We were recently invited last August 9, 2015 to attend a media briefing announcing the 20th anniversary of the Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI). The gathering was held at the Gloria Maris Banquet Hall located at the 4th level of Gateway Mall Araneta Center Cubao Quezon City.

The organizers were having a two-day activity-filled celebration which includes open forums on many topics ranging from the challenges to development of debt, tax and fiscal issues, good governance as electoral agenda for poverty reduction or for enabling environment, climate change effects and disaster preparation, enabling cooperatives, and empowering the rural poor through Social Entrepreneurship.

There was also a Social Entrepreneurship product and photo exhibit happening simultaneously at the ground level of the same mall while the talks were being held at the Gloria Maris Banquet Hall.

At the press conference, Mr. Jay Lacsamana, Executive Director of FSSI, showed the impact of FSSI's 20 years of work in helping poor communities get out of poverty through social enterprises.

Mr. Laurence Padilla, Executive Director, of the Palawan Center for Appropriate Rural Technology (PCARRT) and Mr. Ernesto Lactao, General Manager of Malaya Development Cooperative, were also there to give testimonials of how FSSI has helped them.

Also present were Mr. Joel Saracho of PETA, Ms. Aurora Luz Villaviray, Ex Officio Member of Board of FSSI,  Ms. June Rodriguez, Corporate Secretary of the FSSI Board, Mr. Jerome Ignacio, Assistant Director of FSSI, and Ms. Kathleen Lungub, Advocacy and Communications Officer of FSSI.