lb. Ever since it was made public that the Philippines will be Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2025, Annette Hug’s world has been spinning even faster. It turns out that many in the German-speaking book scene hardly know anything about the Philippines, the Philippine book market or Filipino/a authors at all. … Read more
pw. Can you imagine what it would be like if we all shared the same recipe for Swiss Fondue? In 2021, the announcement by the Department of Trade and Industry in the Philippines, according to which the recipe for adobo was to be standardized, caused discussions worldwide. This inspired Filipino chef, artist and author Claude Tayag … Read more
At the beginning of this year, Switzerland has for the first time adopted a regional strategy concerning the countries of South East Asia in recognition of the changing geopolitical landscape of the Asia-Pacific. In accordance with the Federal Constitution, its foreign policy adheres to four thematic focus areas: peace and security, prosperity, sustainability, and digitalization. … Read more
ah. On 18 August 2023, the Philippine Book Festival in Davao is where it was publicly declared: the Philippines will be Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025. This leaves two years to prepare the Philippines’ debut at the biggest book fair in the world. Meaning: many books from the Philippines are going … Read more
lb. As recently as in March of this year, pictures of Apo Whang-Od (born around 1920*) went around the world: depicted as the last master of her craft (batok), the tattoo artist made headlines as the oldest cover girl of the fashion magazine VOGUE in their Philippine edition. Along with sun-kissed rice terraces, the face … Read more
The first 17 museum objects have now been published on the SOAS online platform pw. Thanks to the collaboration of Andreas Isler and studiyo filipino, part of the collection of the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich (VMZ) have for the first time been published on the online platform “Mapping Philippine Material Culture” by the … Read more
sw. On the trail hunt for Switzerland’s colonial entanglements, my tour often ends in Manila: With my project ZH Kolonial I organize tours around the city of Zurich. One of the landmarks on the tour is the pompous Alfred-Escher monument at the gates of Zurich Hauptbahnhof. Standing before this statue, I sometimes get teary-eyed as it … Read more
ah. Between Zurich, Paris and Milan, train trips take only a few hours. Flights to Manila are becoming cheaper and more frequent again. But how the supply chains for printed books and the distributors for e-books work remains a mystery. In Europe, there would certainly be a market for Filipino books published in English – … Read more
lb. It is not unusual that legal representatives try to discredit us court interpreters as part of their strategy, so it came as no surprise when the defense lawyer at my latest assignment insinuated I lacked the necessary mastery of his mother tongue to be of any use. His attacks were incessant but by the … Read more
The former ‘suitcase library’ (maletaklatan) of KuwentuhangSabado.com has found a new home last October 2022. Their children’s books from the Philippines are now accessible for children and their families anytime and can be borrowed free of charge. Towards this end, the intercultural library Kanzbi, which has been housing children’s books from all over the world … Read more