Above, under & beyond the rainbow: A Historic Event for Mindanao, The 1st International Business Summit

Last June 28, 2014 marks an important day for the people of Mindanao. It was the day that makes the people of Mindanao stand proud as a community bonded by faith and beauty of their place. June 28, 2014 was the 1^st International Business Summit on Mindanao held at the Tent City Ballroom of the Manila Hotel.

Attended by, first and foremost, the Muslim community, business entrepreneurs and media/social-media people; the event was a success (to a point). The whole business summit started with a prayer that showed respect to all beliefs regardless of the religion that one has in his life. Something that shows the high respect of the Muslim community to other people and what they ask of others also. The prayer was followed thru with the National anthem and a demonstration of unity by the invited panel of speakers from various fields and race in the form of an arm-lock symbolism. Next is the opening remarks given by Sultan Shariff Ibrahim Albani, chairman of the Unity for Revival Foundation.

Sultan Shariff Ibrahim Albani and Princess Isabelle

Part of the summit is the introduction of Princess Isabelle of France, as the International Ambassador of the Tribal People of Mindanao. I am a Catholic, but I am proud and at the same time humbled that it took another person from another country to represent my country men in the international scene. That may be the case, I am happy that my countrymen is now finding voice in the international business scene.

Those who have organized the event tagged it as “Restoring the Lost Glory”, for me it should be “Bringing New Glory”. Why do I say so? Mindanao is a place worthy to be visited and developed. It is still beautiful and rich in culture and natural resources. It is a shame that it is divided in strife but as what Sultan Shariff Ibrahim Albani has said: “Now is the time for us to be unified. Only in unity can we make all these plans possible.”

Resource people from various parts of the globe such as Japan, China and even Hawaii came to the said summit to give support and share what they can offer to the development of Mindanao; as an island of the Philippine archipelago and its people. I was surprised to hear the various technologies and programs that these people has to offer and even get to visualize the benefits that the island and the Mindanao people will get out of this. We are looking at a boom in economics and pride if all these takes root and bloom.

Two aspects raised were the development and the educational program of the island. Two aspects that affects not only Mindanao but also the whole country! Regarding the development of the island, I will leave that to the business people. Regarding the educational program, here are my 2-cents about it. Right now the country’s educational program is gearing in making a highly skilled and competitive workforce. That is good to a point but we are missing something here. We are slowly forgetting that we are human beings that need to be reminded of that. We are not machines that are to be programmed to simply do our task right the first time. We need to sustain and encourage free and developmental thinking and this is where the Humanities subject steps in. Hope this can be addressed too.

One of the main points raised by the business community is the issue of security for all investors, local and foreign alike. The answer, UNITY! Being unified will indeed assure everybody in all aspects; security, development and sustainability. Something that Sultan Shariff Ibrahim Albani and Princess Isabelle is working on, not only internally but also externally. Working with people having strong personalities and points of view, in both political and personal level, is one challenging aspect; something that showed during the open forum/question-and-answer portion of the summit. To quote a guest speaker who is also a journalist: "We now have a weapon! A weapon not to destroy but to help build and end poverty and strife."

One of the important things that needs to be pointed out, in connection with this summit, is the showcasing of the Mindanao culture in form of dance, painting and sites. The whole summit even has a theme song titled "We Are One", a call for unity.

CYO Chorale singing "We Are One"

The whole event could have been better if those invited, people with political responsibilities, were present. In my opinion, it would have showed support and concern to the people. I may not know their exact reason as to why they were not present but one thing is for sure in my mind, things could have been different. Despite the absence of some invited political personas, the whole event was the start of something new for the whole of Mindanao, its people and the land itself.

Photos of the Event:

(All photos used are personally taken by me during the event)

The Delegates