The sound of music at real Octoberfest
One week in Germany in golden October taught four young Filipinos how much they loved their homeland.
This year’s Philippine Bayer Young Environmental Envoys (BYEE) brought home lessons and memories from an unforgettable autumn in Germany, where they joined 43 other delegates from around the world in four days of environment-themed exposure trips and group discussions.
The four were music major Alfie Desamparado, 22; Reymart Canuel, an information technology senior; mass communication major Cris Viray; and special education major Mary Jade Gabanes. The last three are all 19 years old.
“At a very young age, we experienced something like this. It’s a great opportunity to grow. Through this experience, I have a clearer vision of how I can help the Philippines progress,” said Viray of St. Paul University Quezon City.
Started in 1998, BYEE is a joint youth environment program of global corporation Bayer and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) that encourages young people to undertake projects on environment protection.
Bayer, a pharmaceutical, crop protection and advance materials development firm, invests some 1.2 million euros ($1.6 million) annually in BYEE as part of its corporate social responsibility program.
The Filipinos joined delegates from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.
During their week in Leverkusen, Bayer’s global headquarters, and the neighboring city of Cologne, the Bayer envoys toured and learned in cold 10-degree (or lower) temperature.
They visited advanced recycling plant Avea in Leverkusen and a mobile science classroom by the Rhine River, held experiments on creating plastic and other advance materials using nanotechnology and listened to resource speakers on emerging green research, including the use of carbon dioxide to develop a new kind of foam, among others.
The envoys also got the rare chance to watch a football match at BayArena between home team Bayer O4 Leverkusen and Valencia FC.
For Canuel, the trip gave him ideas on how to further his project, the Internet site GreEnitiative that aimed to mobilize young environment warriors in virtual-to-actual involvement.
“I got different bits of information that I can share with others. I also saw some techniques from the projects of other envoys that I can incorporate in mine,” said the University of Baguio student.
During the trip, the Philippine group became known as the happy, singing bunch, breaking into song over dinner, during short walks or on the bus. Several delegates noted that the Filipinos were “always great” and “always happy.”
The Philippine delegates used this talent when they were asked to do an impromptu energizer to enliven the mood during a long afternoon session on the first day.
They obliged with the “Banana Song,” a how-to on eating a banana, and a song-and-dance rendition of “Jump Brother!,” a song popularized by the hosts of noontime show “Eat Bulaga.”
They also performed Desamparado’s original composition, “Tubig,” which talked about water as a precious resource, during cultural presentations on October 21, closing day.
UNEP associate public information officer Bryan Coll joked during his closing remarks, “Never challenge Filipinos to a singing competition because you will surely lose.”
As Canuel put it, one must never shy away from an opportunity to mingle with people from different parts of the world.
“You should break barriers. Nothing will happen if you are shy. You should also learn to understand other cultures. If you can’t, then you won’t be understood,” said Canuel.
