Chile roots for the Filipino character

MANILA, Philippines - The embassy of Chile, with the University of Asia and the Pacific and the University of Sto. Tomas, celebrates the strength of human character through a national essay writing competition on calidad humana – Breaking the Ground: A Life Well Spent.

Ambassador Roberto Mayorga shares, “Calidad humana is a virtue that represents somebody with human character, someone with human compassion.”

With the competition title inspired by the heartening rescue of the Chilean miners, Breaking the Ground seeks to highlight narratives of individuals, families, a community, and even an entire nation that are exemplars of calidad humana – people who show strength of character and yet still struggle steadily for an even stronger character.

Mayorga adds, “Filipinos have in them this virtue. They are very caring and compassionate – something that other cultures have taken for granted. The objective of the contest is to encourage Filipinos to keep their calidad humana and not lose it in the future as they go about achieving economic progress.”

Breaking the Ground is open to all students from high school to graduate school who are not more than 30 years of age. Rules on the competition and tips for writing may be found in www.chilebtg.uap.asia.