12 October 2005 – The Philippine Embassy in Berlin reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that  Filipino singer and song-writer Grace Nono and the Bob Aves Group conquered the German stage with their excellent performance at the closing concert of the Asia-Pacific Weeks 2005 (APW) held on 02 October 2005 at the House of World Cultures in Berlin.

In his welcome remarks, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Mr. Klaus Wowereit, acknowledged the presence of former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos who was in Berlin upon the invitation of the Harms Seidel Stiftung, a Christian Social Union (CSU)-party affiliated foundation.  This year's Asia-Pacific Weeks, which takes place every too years, focused on Korea but it also showed the cultural diversity of 19 other countries in the region. The APW is an initiative of Mr. Wowereit while the patron of said event is German President Dr. Horst Koehler.

In her introductory remarks, the interim Director of the House of World Cultures, Prof. Dr. Lydia Haustein, cited that Grace Nono was chosen by music experts who traveled in the Asia-Pacific region for the selection process. She described Nono's music as a dialog of various music cultures of the Philippines identified along ethno-linguistic, religious, and generational lines.

A principal feature of the group is its inter-tribal, inter-faith personnel composed of Christian, Muslim, Shamanic (traditional religion), Eckankar, Hindu, and Baha interfaiths. The group performed a homegrown repertoire that has emerged from the Filipinos' effort to remain rooted in living traditions as well as to adapt to changing times and contexts.   The group utilized local dialects and melodies, traditional instruments like bamboo pipes, flute, gongs, the octavina, as well as computers, thus bridging tradition with technology and contemporary developments in world music. Their repertoire consisted mostly of prayers and life cycle songs integrated with contemporary themes in Philippine life.

Apart from Grace Nono and her band, the Philippines was also represented in the APW 2005 by two Philippine short films, Tawidgutom by John Torres and short stories by Khavn de la Cruz, as well as by a Philippine-Japanese co-production entitled "Abong."   In the field of literary arts, Marianne Villanueva and Jose M. Tesoro represented the Philippines. Villanueva is a university professor, author of several books, and co-publisher of the anthology of Philippine writers entitled Going Horn, to a Landscape, Tesoro is a journalist and political science expert. He gained recognition as a non-fiction writer for "The Invisible Palace: The True Story of a Journalist's Murder in Java."

The next Asia-Pacific Weeks, which will take place in September 2007, will focus on the theme "The Changing World."  END