FSI CELEBRATES 30^TH ANNIVERSARY

28 November 2006 — The Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the career development arm of the Department of Foreign Affairs, celebrates its 30^th Anniversary on 30 November 2006 with a reception to be hosted by Secretary of Foreign Affairs and FSI Chairman of the Board Alberto G. Romulo. The official FSI website will also be launched at said occasion.

The FSI was established by Presidential Decree 1060 on 9 December 1976 as the DFA’s career development arm. It was also tasked to provide training to government personnel from other agencies assigned to the Philippine foreign missions. Beginning 1987, the FSI was mandated to provide research assistance to the DFA and to participate in the Department’s planning review process. Director Teresita V. Berner currently heads the Foreign Service Institute.

The Carlos P. Romulo School of Diplomacy, established within the FSI on 22 May 2000, was created to provide quality education and training to the career foreign service corps and other public officials in subjects related to their respective areas of responsibility.

To increase awareness and understanding of international trends, the FSI also hosts the Current Issues Forum, Symposium on Diplomacy and Occasional Lecture Series. These fora are envisioned to provide venues for practitioners of foreign affairs, policymakers, members of the academe, think-tanks and non-government representatives to discuss and assess crucial issues affecting the Philippines.

The FSI also provides local scholarship support to DFA personnel who wish to take up post-graduate courses in Philippine Studies, Asian Studies, International Studies and Political Science at the University of the Philippines.  It likewise assists personnel in applying for foreign scholarship grants administered by the inter-agency Special Committee on Scholarships.

The FSI maintains the Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies that undertakes studies in support of the formulation, review and dissemination of Philippine foreign policy. It also provides channels for interaction, cooperation and integration of the efforts of local and foreign experts from government, private and academic sectors on foreign policy issues and their domestic implications.

The Institute releases publications and maintains the Carlos P. Romulo Library.

The reception and website launching ceremony will be held at the Carlos P. Romulo Library at the ground floor of the DFA in Pasay City.  END

/epa

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