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DEPARTMENT
OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
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DEPARTMENT
OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
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SFA-AGR-291-08 |
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NATIONAL HISTORICAL INSTITUTE CHAIR AMBETH OCAMPO LECTURES |
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28 April 2008—Members of the Filipino community in Austria and the Austrian academe packed the Rizal Reading Room of the Philippine Embassy in Vienna last 23 April to listen to a lecture by Prof. Ambeth Ocampo, Chairman of the National Historical Institute (NHI) and noted historian, author, university professor and newspaper columnist.
The lecture coincided with NHI Chair Ocampo’s visit to Vienna to examine the Philippine collections of Austria’s National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) and the Vienna Museum of Ethnology (Museum für Völkerkunde) and to meet with Austrian museum officials.
Prof. Ocampo’s lecture centred on the importance of re-examining conventional views and ideas about Philippine history and its personages, in light of new evidence and findings that challenge many of long-held notions that had been taught in Philippine schools. To underscore this point, Prof. Ocampo invited audience members to sketch, from memory, national heroes Jose Rizal – who visited Vienna in May 1887 - and Andres Bonifacio. The NHI Chair then proceeded to deconstruct many of the outdated ideas and stereotypes appearing in the sketches.
The lecture was followed by an animated open forum, during which Prof. Ocampo shared his views on a wide range of topics, including Philippine history education, current research, and Philippine pre-colonial history.
 The Filipino community lauded Prof. Ocampo for his illuminating lecture and commended the Philippine Embassy for organizing the event, which for many served as a first opportunity to see the value of history in helping Filipino expatriates keep in touch with their roots.
The event was organized as part of the Embassy’s quarterly “Lecture Series” for the Filipino Community.
During his visit to the Austrian National Library, Prof. Ocampo viewed an original Tagalog-language dictionary dating back to the 1700 that has been preserved by the institution. END
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