Cross-cultural interaction has never been as inevitable as it is nowadays. I am blessed to have travelled the world by visiting several countries with my family. Aside from the peaceful vacations and beautiful places that I have visited, my most favourite part of travelling is meeting and interacting with different kinds of people. They may be tourists, business travellers or local residents of their particular countries, but they all have very interesting stories to share about their lives and culture.

Through the years, Go Negosyo has collaborated with a number of foreign partners like the United Stated Embassy and Australian Embassy. In our intention to promote our home-grown talents and give exposure to the Philippines, we once again partnered with another international organization—Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR).

The HPAIR is student-run organization of the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences. HPAIR organizes Harvard University’s largest annual student conferences in the Asia-Pacific region. Since 1991, it has continuously gathered a growing pool of international students from top universities, renowned academics, business professionals, and political leaders to engage in our rigorous educational events. The organization aims to provide a dynamic forum of exchange on international issues vital to Asia, foster long-term relationships among young leaders around the world and connect talented delegates with some of today’s leaders in academia, business and government. (HPAIR.org)

In addition to its international conferences, HPAIR aims to promote understanding of the economic, political, social, and cultural issues facing the Asia-Pacific region within the Harvard community by organizing panels and other events on Harvard’s campus.

This year, HPAIR’s host country organizing committee is the De La Salle Project for Asian and International Relations (DLSPAIR).

The HPAIR Asia Conference 2015 will be held in Manila from August 20-24 with the theme “Confronting Asia’s Development Challenges through Innovation.” The last time the Philippines hosted the same conference was back in 1994.

Delegates from different notable universities such as Princeton University, Berlin School of Economics and Law, University of Santo Tomas, Nanyang Technological University, Duke University, New York University, The University of Hong Kong, University of British Columbia, Cornell University, Graduate School of Industrial Labor Relations (Distance Education Program), University of Sydney, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Delhi, Georgetown University, National University of Singapore, University of Asia and The Pacific (UA&P), University of Manchester, University of California, Berkeley, Keio University, London School of, Economics, and University of Cambridge will benefit from gaining a broader exposure to issues spanning multiple arenas, including political, social, economic, cultural, and business. As the world becomes more globalized as well as commercialized, the boundary between business and other aspects of society is increasingly less rigid. The Asia Conference seeks to capture this phenomenon and help delegates understand its impacts on the future of international relations.

The conference will tackle various relevant issues on corporate leadership, energy and sustainability, entrepreneurship, finance and world economy, health and social policy, human rights and security and diplomacy.

RFM Corporation and Go Negosyo will host the “Manila Night” dinner for the delegates on Aug. 23 wherein we will showcase the Filipino culture and heritage. Several entrepreneurs and school partners are also invited. On this dinner, we would allow the delegates to have a taste of the Philippines through our delicious local delicacies, hear our beautiful music, see our stunning dances through a number of cultural dances and feel the warmth of our friendliness and hospitality by welcoming them.

On the following day, August 24, we will also conduct a Social Entrepreneurship Seminar with the theme: “Changing the World is our Business.” We have invited reputable social entrepreneurs such as Pacita “Chit” Juan of Echostore, Nanette Medved- Po of Hope in a Bottle and Bryan McClelland, founder of Bambike to be the speakers of the event. After all the talks, the attendees will be given the opportunity to ask the panellists any question that they may have.

It is such an honor to be given an opportunity to present our country to the rest of the world. More than the festivities, we hope that our visitors also bring with them memories of friendship and cultural exchange when they go home to their respective countries. Rest assured that Go Negosyo will take good care of our guests as any Filipino would.