12 July 2012- The Philippine Embassy in Norway hosted a diplomatic reception to commemorate the 114th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine Independence last June 12.
The reception was well attended, with guests from the diplomatic corps, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and other top officials from the Norwegian government, and private agencies in attendance.
Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Knut Solem, together with Ambassador Ture Lundh, Norway's Chief Mediator for the Peace Process between the Philippine Government and communist insurgents also attended the event.
Representatives from the two major Filipino organizations in Oslo were also invited.
An audio-video presentation of tourist destinations in the Philippines was played during the reception.
Filipino finger food, dessert, fruits and an assortment of drinks were served which were well received by the guests.
An Independence Day mass, followed by a dinner, were also held on the afternoon of June 12 at St. Joseph's Church with a Filipino priest officiating. Officers and staff of the Embassy attended the mass and dinner.
The Embassy also attended two Filipino community-led Independence Day celebrations last June 02 and 09.
The June 02 event, spearheaded by the Filipino community in Norway, started with a grand parade from Karl Johan until St. Hanshaugen Park, which was attended by almost 1,000 Filipinos, Norwegians and friends of the Philippines.
Both ABS-CBN and GMA7 reported about the grand parade on their respective websites and featured video coverage of the same, which could be found on the following links:
The June 09 event was a much smaller event, which was also held at St. Hanshaugen Park and spearheaded by the New Filipino Working Group (NFWG).