Apr. 1, 2011
at 7:52pm
39 notes
#Manila Minds#Project Heal Manila#co[LAB]#Sarah Meier#Ruby Veridiano#Banjo Albano#Philippines
co[LAB]: Where #ManilaMinds Meet

colabmanila:

Imagine having 40 of Manila’s prime movers and shakers — all wanting to create change in the country — sitting in one room.

This was exactly what happened here at co[LAB] last Wednesday. From being an unassuming coworking space for some time, we took the leap to actually hosting a community. We couldn’t contain our excitement as The Home Room was filled up with young and passionate individuals, each fueled by their own special projects and causes, all willing to connect and collaborate.

You turn to the left and you can talk to someone from media. To your right, you can exchange ideas with someone from the fashion industry. There were people from government, lovers of music, filmmakers, graphic designers, writers and bloggers. The energy was just bouncing off the walls, and the exchange was geared towards one common passion: harnessing our creativity and talents to bring change to the community we live in.

 

Facilitating the exchange was guest speaker Ruby Veridiano, a Filipino-American living in New York who has already begun creating positive social change as an empowering speaker and author.

In her homecoming to the Philippines, she asked us two very important questions: How do you define change and progress? What is it that you do and why do you do it?


The room just about exploded with everybody sharing their dreams about a better future for Manila, for the Philippines. People started talking about projects and causes they’re involved in, and soon, were finding common ground and intertwining advocacies with other participants. Bridges were formed, connections were made, collaboration was sparked, possibilities just kept on unfolding — and this is EXACTLY what co[LAB] is all about.

Ruby closed the workshop by reciting a poem she’d written. The fiery delivery charged the room and left everybody feeling more than inspired. Her poem, “For the Fallen”, ended with:

“So if you’re falling
Don’t trip
Love,
I swear,
I got you.”

Everyone left co[LAB] that day in high spirits, much more purpose and new friends.
This is definitely the start of something exciting, and we are so glad to be part of it.  Till the next one! #ManilaMinds

Special thanks to Chef Off Tham and Sous Chef Eric Santos for providing the awesome French-Asian cuisine! Check out co[LAB]’s Living Room morphed into a cooking station:


A huge huge thank you to our favorite husband-and-wife team Sarah Meier-Albano and Banj Albano of Project Heal Manila who both worked hard to make this happen:

And of course, the team behind co[LAB] - Francesca Zimmer, Danella Yaptinchay and Tasha Teh.

And say hi to co[LAB]’s official mascot and most adorable co[League] - Chuchu!

More photos of the event on our Facebook page. Make sure to click like! Thank you to Arriane Serafico for the photos :)

Want to attend more events like #ManilaMinds? Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to get updates about our upcoming workshops/talks. We’d love to cowork with you soon!

(Source: colabmanila)

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