SEOUL, 5 March 2015 – A senior official from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) visiting Seoul on a Korean government-sponsored program called on Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez to discuss ongoing efforts to establish a Sentro Rizal at the Philippine Embassy in the Korean capital.

NCCA Deputy Executive Director Marlene Ruth Sanchez, the Philippines' representative among 20 participants from 18 countries of Korea Foundation's seven-day program KF Invitation of Distinguished Individuals held in Seoul on 1-7 March 2015, said the establishment of a Sentro Rizal in Seoul would be crucial in allowing Filipino-Korean children get in touch with their roots.

Ms Sanchez presented Ambassador Hernandez an electronic repository of instructional and general reference materials on the Philippines such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, atlases and other resources for the Embassy's database on culture and the arts that would serve as the foundation of a virtual Sentro Rizal.

"I welcome the support by the NCCA to promote our culture to Filipinos and their children by setting up a virtual Sentro Rizal," said Ambassador Hernandez, who shared with Ms. Sanchez the Embassy's accomplishments and plans to promote Philippine culture this year and the improvement of a Filipiniana collection in the Embassy's Multipurpose Hall.

Sentro Rizal was established under the 2009 National Cultural Heritage Act (Republic Act 10066), which aims to promote Philippine culture and languages overseas through diplomatic missions in countries where there are large concentration of Filipinos and to provide them means to connect to their roots through language courses, cultural programs and events.

Inspired by the 2009 law, Philippine embassies and consulates in Spain, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, the United States, Oman, and Laos have set up their own Sentro Rizal, which is the Philippine version of state-founded cultural promotion organizations such as the Korean Cultural Center, British Council, Instituto Cervantes, Confucius Institute and Goethe-Institut.

-END-