Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards, Inc. (PEBA)

THIS IS IT!!!

2009-12-22T04:44:00.000-08:00

photo op by Ex-link

We are sure you don't want to miss this opportunity...
The event will not just be an awards night.
It is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It is grand.

Be there.
Bring your family.
Bring your relatives.
Bring your friends.
Bring other bloggers with you.

Don't miss it!!!
(That wall is ready for all of you)

The 2nd Annual International
Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards

See you there!

Azel Venerable
PEBA Volunteer

PEBA Poster

2009-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

From PEBA

We are One OFW Family!

2009-12-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

Email, Call or SMS Me

2009-12-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Finalists and Attendees,

We are expecting 700 or more people to come during the event. It will be grace with an opening number from a very prestigious group, the Philippine Stagers Foundation rendering Bayani from I am Ninoy.

Newspapers and TV media will be there, along with dignitaries and leaders, celebrities and OFW families and supporters. OFW Bloggers will also be there.

It is very important that you send your name to this email address for VIP pass and reserve seats.

pebawards@gmail.com

I need volunteers. 27th of December 2009 at the Philamlife Theater, exactly 6pm at a formal gathering.

0915-4825953

0928-1964175

PHOTO CONTEST IS STILL GOING ON!

2009-12-05T05:49:00.000-08:00

The photo contest is still going on. Submit your entries now!!!

Entrants

Open to all amateur Filipino photographers (above 18 years old) who are working as OFW in any part of the world. Participants can submit 3 entries but not more than 5 photos.

Entries

Photographs must be original images taken by the entrant and may not have been previously published.

Content

The photos shall be color or b/w photographs that represent or typifyheroism, love, labor and courage of OFWs abroad (using the host country as part of their subject/s).

Digital image submissions

Image quality must be at least 8" x 10" at 300 DPI or a photo taken with a minimum of 3.2 megapixel camera at the largest image setting submitted through email using JPEG format.

Images that do not meet these criteria will not be considered. Photographs should be submitted without any borders or frames.

Each photo entry should have a filename of the photographer/owner, plus information, location, profession/work and small interpretation comes along in the email.

Example: Fred_santos1.jpg

Location: California, USA

Profession/Job: Computer Engineer

Interpretations/Short explanation: Filipinos love beaches, California has great beaches.

Other Uses

All entries will become part of PEBA. Photographs submitted to PEBA Photo Contest but any photos not selected to be included in the Photo Exhibit may be chosen for use elsewhere in PEBA related publication with full credit given to the photographer.

SUBMIT

Email to pebainc@gmail.com

Winners will receive a trophy and gift packs from PEBA and 'Best Photo Entry'.

PEBA to give tribute to the families of the 37 OFW Finalists

2009-11-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

To all 37 Finalists for 2009 2nd Annual International Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards:

Please send your whole family to the awards night (6 in the vening, 27th of December, 2009, Philam Life Theater, UN Ave., Malate, Manila). Part of the program would be a tribute to all the finalists and we require that your family and friends would be there to receive the recognition, they will also play a vital role in one of the biggest tribute the OFWs would witness this year. Also, please assign one of your families or friends to represent you and receive the recognition in case you will be honored to win this year's competition.

The Public Relation & Media Relation team is now working hard to invite international figures to grace this event, while stalwarts, significant political players and government officials would be invited to attend this biggest OFW event of the year.

Please email peba09@gmail.com for the confirmed number of family members and friends (with complete name and relationship, including your name if you are here in the Philippines) who would be attending the awards night in order for them to receive the VIP ID during the awarding ceremony. Instruct them too that they will pass the red carpet in honor of their sacrifices.

The event would be strictly formal. Evening attire is encouraged.

Thank you very much.

Yours truly,

F. Jigs G. Segre, Program Director, PR& Media Affairs

A view of the venue: Philam Life Theater, UN Ave., Malate, Manila

2009-11-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

The Philamlife Theater and Lobby

Since its inauguration in 1961, the Philamlife Theater has been the premier venue for many artistic performances. With a seating capacity of 737, the theater is most admired for its near-perfect acoustics making it an ideal venue for classical concertos, recitals and musical productions.

The state-f-the-art acoustics is made by Bolt, Beranek & Newman, the same group who built the acoustics for the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Through the years, the theater has also become a popular venue for important conferences, graduation rites and warding ceremonies like the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award.

World-renowned artists like Cecile Licad, Gilopez Kabayao, Andion Fernandez, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, among others have also rendered many memorable performances in the theatre.

With deep regard for history and talent of the Filipino artist, Philamlife also houses some of the country’s significant Filipino artworks. Lining the theater walls are wooden mural carvings depicting various scenes from the Philippine history. It is created by artist Jose Alcantara and carved by artisans from Paete, Laguna.

Displayed at the lobby are huge oil paintings by the late bational Artist Vicente Manansala and a sixteen-foot stained mosaic of the Sarimanok by National Artist Galo B. Ocampo. The northeast lobby provides an exhibit area for both established and aspiring artist.

With regular performances and exhibits, Philamlife continues its tradition of developing and promoting various activities of artistic and cultural significance.

Awards Night to be held in Philam Life Theater on 27th of December 2009

2009-11-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

UPDATE!!!!

The 2nd Annual International Pinoy Expats/OFW Awards will be held in Philam Life Theater, UN Ave., Malate, Manila on 27th of December, 2009 at 6 in the evening.

The theater has 750 seating capacity, invite your family, relatives and friends.

Live Bands, special guests and performers will entertain us!

Special Prizes await the lucky attendees, the more, the merrier!

Men and Women Behind PEBA - Video

2009-11-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

We thank you all, nominees, judges, and supporters!

JUDGING OTHERS by The Sandbox

2009-11-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

This is posted with permission from the author of The Sandbox, a blog based in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.

The Sandbox, managed by an OFW computer programmer won in the 2008 Top 10 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards and is the 2008 No. 1 in the Middle East and Africa Region.

*****************

Judging Others

Some of you may be aware that PEBA honored me by choosing yours truly as one of the judges in this year’s search for the Top 10 Outstanding Expatriates/OFW Blogs. At first I thought it was going to be easy but then I realize it’s not only difficult mentally but emotionally as well.

There are 37 candidates to choose from. I knew most of them and some I considered as friends. In fairness and for transparency’s sake, I devised a method of calculating the result to avoid being accused of partisanship or later might hear discriminatory allegation (like what happened last year). Hopefully these will do justice to my selection.

There are 5 categories in which blogs are to be judge, PEBA entry post, blog contents,blog entries, popularity and blog traffic. Judges are to handle the first 3 categories and pick what they considered their top ten choices. As for me, I rate each category between 1 thru 10, where 1 is the lowest grade given for an entry and 10 the highest. But since I don’t believe in anything perfect outside the physical world, the highest I could give is 9. Believe me; even if you got an excellent blog, how ever good a writer you are, there will always be a better blog or a superior writer out there.

PEBA entry post is somewhat easier to evaluate compared to the other two categories. I judge an entry by its relevance to the contest’s theme and the way the essay’s message makes an impact on me. 15% of the rating will be taken from this category.

Blog content is somewhat within my territory of familiarity. I sub-categorize it into three;

Refresh rate, presentation and blog information.

Refresh rate is the time it takes for a blog to “download”. I consider this necessary because it is somehow discomforting for a reader to “pick” a blog that somewhat takes forever to appear on screen. A refresh rate between 5 and 10 seconds is good enough for me (at low traffic, my own blog has a refresh rate of 3 seconds).

Presentation, in my opinion, is important to a reader. It’s composed of a blog’s appearance; in its uniqueness, symmetry, readability and color coordination. Bloggers who takes pain in making their site pleasing to the eye gets extra points than those who just use available templates or those who over-do their “make-up”.

Blog information is useful to readers or visitors. It includes post categories and history, personal information and links to other useful sites.

I grade each sub-category from 1 to 9 using the formula - summation of grades of all sub-categories divided by 3. Fifteen percent will be taken from its result to be added to the over-all ranking.

Blog entries is the most tasking of the three. Since some blogs are more than a year old and contains more than 50 posts, I made a point to set January to October of this year the cut-off time of entries I’m going to read. I did this in order to meet the date of submission of my results on December 15. Grading each entry depends on how it impresses me. Is it inspirational, informative or thought-provoking? Is it entertaining or just plain boring? Take note that since the contest organizers specifically stated that each blog nominee contains at least one entry post per month; it would be disadvantageous for a nominee if they have no entry for any month inside my cut-off. You are excuse from this provision if your blog is younger than January as long as it has an entry starting from the month of its conception. 30% of the overall result will be taken using the same formula I used above - summation of grades of all read posts divided by the total number of posts read, adding a point penalty to the divisor for each month without an entry.

Using this method, a meaningful entry posted once or twice a month, gains more points compared to posting insignificant entries trice a week. At least a nominee have an idea what’s their ranking if they wrote something like “what I ate for breakfast this morning”.

I’m explaining the mechanics of my computation in order for candidates to know where they stand in my evaluation. But it doesn’t mean that what I’ve explained is “the basis” in choosing the finalist or my final evaluation makes “the difference”. Remember, there are nine other judges to consider. Each has their own method in selecting the most commendable blogs. Beside that, popular vote and blog traffic are still two categories where a nominee may edge other contenders.

So, to each of the nominees, I say GOODLUCK!

2nd PEBA ON AIR at DZXL

2009-11-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

Listen to DZXL 558 khz Sunday, 4pm Philippine time, Nov 15, 2009

Jigs Segre, Program Director and PR and Media Affairs will co-host
Willy Perez Tech Talk to discuss the 2nd International Pinoy Expat/OFW
BLog Awards.

Log on to - http://www.rmn.ph/national# to listen to live radio streaming

To listen live, click the link in the arrow after clicking the link above.

Send text messages and greetings to Jigs mobile number +63915-393-4770. Be
sure your family, relatives and friends are tuned in to the radio
program or online radio.

Those who does not have roaming but with Gmail can add any Philippine
mobile number to their Google Talk and send from their computer to a
mobile number in the Philippines by adding a number using this
syntax:

639153934770@chikkatalk.com

___________________________________

PEBA is in the 7AM nationwide news of RMN Networks today, November 15, 2009

SUNDAY RMN NEWS NATIONWIDE NOV 15, 2009

BAKBAKANG MANNY PACQUIAO AT MIGUEL COTTO SA LAS VEGAS ---KASADO NA

A-F-P MANANATILI DAW NAKA-ALERTO SA KABIILA NG MAINIT NA LABAN NGAYON NG PAMBANSANG KAMAO

ISA PANG BAGYO POSIBLE DAW MABUO SA LOOB NG LINGGONG ITO

MGA KOMPANYA NG LANGIS PAYAG NA DAW SA SUMAILALIM SA AUDIT

SA IBAYONG DAGAT---PITO ANG PATAY SA AKSIDENTE NG TREN SA INDIA

SA NEGOSYO---LABOR AT BUSINESS OFFICIALS, DADALO SA AWARDS NIGHT NG PRESTIHIYOSONG BLOG CONTEST PARA SA MGA OFW.

My 2008 Top 12 Favorite Nominees

2009-11-13T23:28:00.000-08:00

When I first started this project with Pete Rahon and a few others, we selected 25 nominees who qualified as per the requirements from PEBA. Before, it was simple, you're nominated, we asked that you display the banner in your sidebar, then you submit your blog for voting and judging.

It was simple, and yet it was successful. I was thinking to do the same next year. One category for top 10 without entries, and top 10 for those with entries. Those with entries will receive a trophy and certificate, and those who without entry, will just receive an online banner. What do you think?

Reymos, one of the nominee for this year posted his favorite 2009 Top 12. I leave the choice to the nominees if they wish to make an entry about their favorite blog too. Being the founder, I do not want in anyway to influence the judges take who is currently judging the 37 nominees, so instead, I'll post about my Top 12 from last year nominees.

Here's some of my favorite and wished that they all got into Top 10 out of the 25 nominees from 14 countries.

A Grateful Heart, USA

Manilenya, Canada

Writing on Air, Australia

Pinay Hekmi Ponders USA

Pansitan ni Ate Sienna, USA

Euroangel Grafitti, Germany

Wits and Nuts, Abu Dhabi,UAE

Desert Prince, Kuwait

Rey Ian's Blog, Japan

Ronel Livelihood

Pamatay Homesick, Kuwait

The Sandbox, Saudi Arabia

Not all of my favorite won, but I visited them, not as often as I should have or I should be, but pieces by pieces, I learn from them, and they inspire me. For me, and the many other OFW and Expats blogs out there, including the best and qualified nominees of this year, 37 strong and powerful voices of stories from 21 countries, are all winners, in my heart and in my mind.

*************************

The POLL is STILL OPEN. It closes on the 15th of December 2009, 8:00PM Philippine time.

_____________

OFW/EXPATS Photo CONTEST.

PLEASE JOIN!!! We are extending the submission of Entries till December 15, 2009! JOIN NA!

Submit your photo entries now and get a chance to be recognize and win trophies, and prizes!

PEBA: Lights, Camera, Action!

2009-11-09T03:18:00.000-08:00

In the next 35 days, 12 people of high caliber and veteran in blogging will be visiting each of the 37 blogsites of the PEBA Nominees. The judges, with the matrix, will determine the Top 10 winners and recipient of following awards by Region.

1. Asia and the Pacific

2. Canada and USA

3. Europe Region

4. Middle East and Africa

Also, these citations:

Most Popular Blog, Best Blog Entry, Best Blog Theme, Best Blog Entry Video, courtesy of our Sponsors

Sponsors like

Friendster will give 2-3 Awards.

Nokia with 2 awards

Smart with 1 award

as well as Ople Policy Center

Depending on the number of Partners and sponsors, we hope that more will come through the support of new people joining PEBA.

Also, we will have winners for the Photo Contest, please take note that PEBA will have a 3-day mall tour of this photographs with your name and the sponsors name on them.

KAYA sali na!

The 2009 INTERNATIONAL PINOY EXPATS/OFW BLOG AWARDS is being presented by

PEBA Inc. honoring the best and inspiring Pinoy blogs abroad in partnership with

FRIENDSTER

and

NOKIA

in cooperation with

SMART Communications and Ople policy Center

Event Management Partner: Exlink Events

Legal Partner: Lepetin and Bojos Law Office

Live Streaming by: Pinoy Web.tv

Media Coverage:

ABSCBNNews

Malaya Newspaper

Sunstar Cebu

Baguio Midland Courier

ZXL 558KHZ RMN

WRMN Radio Pinoy NY, USA

Global Pinoy by Susan Ople of DWIZ

Bantay OFW by Marvin and Hannah at UNTV37

VERA Files

and more coming.

Also brought to you by:

EllenTordesillas.com

DigitalFilipino.com

FilipinaImages.com

Sinuate Media and Trident Gums

and more!

Sponsor this event!

PEBA Nominees at ABS-CBN News!

2009-11-08T00:22:00.000-08:00

This is repost, from ABS-CBN News

MANILA – Thirty-seven overseas Filipino bloggers made it to the finals of the 2nd International Pinoy/Expats/OFW Blog Awards (PEBA).

Out of 73 entries, PEBA said 37 Pinoy bloggers from 21 countries are on its final list of nominees in the upcoming “2nd Annual International PEBA Awards Night”.

With this year’s theme, “Filipinos Abroad, Hope of the Nation, Gift to the World”, the awards night will be held on the night of 26th of December 2009 at the Ang Bahay ng Alumni Convention Hall, University of the Philippines, Quezon City.

The finalists are:

Perfect Square of Dubai, UAE;

Dungeon Lord, Koror, Palau;
The Desert Dude, Dubai, UAE;
Chook-Minder's Quill, Port Wakefield, Australia;
The Bizjoker, Kandahar, Afghanistan;

Hulascoop, atbp., Misawa, Japan;

A Piece of Cake, Yishun, Singapore;
Wits Expression, Dubai, UAE;
Utak Ni Drake, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;
Klasrum Ni Pajay, Damman, Saudi Arabia;

Gumamela sa Paraiso, Taipei, Taiwan;

Francesca in France, Nice, France;
Life Moto, Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia;
Minddeth, Buket Panjang, Singapore;
My Life's Journey, Fabriano, Italy;

Anino at Liwanag, Dubai, UAE;

Angel na Walang Langit, Madrid, Spain;
Poging (Ilo)cano, Abu Dhabi, UAE;
My Orange Vest, California, USA;
Ba Be Bi Bebing, of Georgia, USA;

Palipasan, Doha, Qatar;

Isla De Nebz, Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia;
Lyzius, Woodlands, Singapore;
Ang Baul Ni Noel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;
My World is Getting Smaller, Northern Ireland, UK;

Style Shanghai, Shanghai, China;

Pinoy Bro, Tahiti, French Polynesia;
Pink Tarha Girls, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;
As Is, Hong Kong, China;
Wits and Spirits, Bangkok, Thailand;

Kablogie, Doha, Qatar;

Travel & Explore, Bavaria, Germany;
Boni Station, Damman, Saudi Arabia;
Topexpress, Nova Scotia, Canada;
'Flamindevil', Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;

Classic Musings & Eccentricity, Dubai, UAE;

Carlo Butalid's Blog, of Tilburg, The Netherlands.

According to PEBA, the blog award aims to recognize and honor exemplary work of Filipino bloggers abroad.

“The primary advocacy of the organization is to present the blogs of our modern-day heroes and bring their creative talents to light, helping other Filipinos to understand and appreciate their plight, sufferings, thoughts, ideologies and stories that made the ‘Filipino worth dying for’,” PEBA said in a press statement.

PEBA said it advocates the welfare of migrant workers through blogging, strengthening the freedom of speech and the right to information.

“OFWs are uniting to educate and inform the Filipino people while protecting their rights and safeguarding democracy of our nation,” it added.

The event would also coincide with PEBA’s International Pinoy Expats/OFW Photo Exhibit, which aims to foster further awareness of the heroism of OFWs.

Read more at ABS-CBN News

Ellen Tordesillas Blogged About PEBA Finalist!

2009-11-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

Great! Just so great!

Ellen Tordesillas, is truly supportive of OFW's especially the bloggers. She judged last year and is judging this year's PEBA finalist. She even posted the PEBA support banner in her Top Blogs No. 1 Political Website in the Philippines Ellentordesillas.com . She agreed to be one of the Media Partners, and yes, she just blogged about the PEBA Finalist!

Yes, that's true we ended with 73 nomination entries in the PEBA nomination form, but only 37 made it to the finals. The finalist came from 21 countries, including Hongkong under China.

Heed over to Ellen's blog and leave your comment there. She listed and linked the Blog Finalist!

Thank you Miss Ellen. OFW bloggers admire you, and thank you for standing with PEBA all for the past few years, serving as one of my personal mentor. Thank you, from Kenji and the whole PEBA family! Hope to see you there on the 26th of December!

Reserve your seat here

2009 Blog Nominees by Region

2009-11-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

Presenting the

37 Nominees,

from 21 Countries,

One Developing Nation,

One Talented Race!

Welcome to the final period of the 2009 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards!

The one and only organization that honors the best and inspiring OFW bloggers of our time!

Culminates on the 26th of December 2009 at the UP Diliman Bahay ng Alumni Convention Center, in front of more than 200 guests and friends and families, NGO, supportive agencies, and government leaders.

Will be live-streamed online to thousands of viewers around the globe!

Will be watched and read on local TV and local newspapers!

Will be blogged far and reposted from one blog to another.

This is exciting! This is the 2009 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards!

Be a Sponsor now! Download the packages here.

Reserve your seat here

Asia and the Pacific

DUNGEON LORD, KOROR, PALAU

WITS and SPIRITS, BANGKOK, THAILAND

HULASCOOP, MISAWA, JAPAN

MINDDETH, BUKET PANJANG, SINGAPORE

A PIECE OF CAKE, YISHUN, SINGAPORE

STYLE SHANGHAI, SHANGHAI, CHINA

CHOOK-MINDER'S QUILL, S.A., AUSTRALIA

FLAMINDEVIL, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

LYZIUS, SINGAPORE

GUMAMELA SA PARAISO, TAIPEI, TAIWAN

AS IS, HONGKONG, CHINA

PINOY BRO, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Middle East and Africa

WITS EXPRESSION, DUBAI, UAE

POGING ILOCANO, ABU DHABI, UAE

PERFECT SQUARE, DUBAI, UAE

ANINO AT LIWANAG, DUBAI, UAE

TAMBAY SA DUBAI, DUBAI, UAE

CLASSIC MUSINGS and ECCENTRICITY, DUBAI, UAE

ISLA DE NEBZ, AlKhobar, SAUDI ARABIA

PINK TARHA GIRLS, Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA

BONI STATION, DAMMAM, SAUDI ARABIA

KLASRUM NI PAJAY, QATIF, SAUDI ARABIA

LIFE MOTO, AL KHOBAR, SAUDI ARABIA

UTAK NI DRAKE, RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

ANG BAUL NI NOEL, JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA

KABLOGIE, DOHA, QATAR

BIZJOKER, KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN

PALIPASAN, DOHA, QATAR

Europe

CARLO BUTALID'S BLOG, Tilburg, the Netherlands

MY LIFE'S JOURNEY, Fabriano, ITALY

Travel & Explore Germany, Bavaria, Germany

ANGHEL NA WALANG LANGIT, Madrid, SPAIN

MY WORLD IS GETTING SMALLER, Northern Ireland, UK

FRANCESCA IN FRANCE, NICE, FRANCE

Canada and the US

TOPEXPRESS, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

MY ORANGE VEST, CALIFORNIA, USA

BABEBIBEBING, GEORGIA, USA

165 FACEBOOK Fans, and counting!

2009-11-03T22:55:00.000-08:00

165 and counting! Do you think we can make it to reach 1,000 before the awarding ceremony?

Simple goals, simple joy.

1.000 fan is all we ask.

If you are busy in the Farm, spare some time to invite a few of your facebook friends to take a look at the PEBA, Inc, and be a fan!

JOIN HERE!

PEBA, Inc. (Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards)

Dear PEBA 2009 Judges

2009-11-02T00:39:00.000-08:00

Dear PEBA Judges,

Thank you so much for your support to the 2nd International Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards by PEBA, Inc. It is truly an honor to have someone of your caliber as judge and evaluator of our nominees for this year's contest.

In total, we have 37 nominees, both expats and OFW's of different backgrounds and professions, from 21 countries representing the more than 12 million OFW's and Filipino Expatriates around the world.

We recognize that our request for you to judge our nominees is not an easy task. Firstly, because the nominees and their nominated works are all exemplary and truly commendable. Walang itulak kabigin sa galing! Secondly, without monetary resource to pay our judges, we would request you to perform the task pro bono.

In lieu of your service, we will recognize your valuable efforts in our website and honor you during the formal culmination program on December 26th at the UP Diliman Bahay ng Alumni.

We promise you one thing though: That as you read each of the entries, you will positively feel the inherent spirit of Filipino kindness and inner heroism, and you will admire the talents these men and women heroes do offer in their blogs.

Again, on behalf of PEBA Inc., I profusely thank you for your efforts. Our gratitude of your services is truly beyond words. God bless you and your family!

________________________________________________

TO SEE THE LIST OF our HONORABLE JUDGES, CLICK HERE.

This is an excerpt from one of the nominees post, by the Pope over Palipasan

"As PEBA, Inc. concludes its nomination for its forthcoming 2nd International Pinoy Expats/Blog Awards (PEBA), 37 stories have officially gathered from 21 countries across the globe, converged and united in one vision and one voice in exhibiting their pioneering spirit in their passion for blogging in bringing inspirations to the 12 million Global Filipinos around the world."

"Despite our diversity and multiplicity, we have conquered the world and proudly brought into the foreign lands not only our talents and skills as Migrant workers but we have establsihed a community of Filipino people, made it known to the whole world that we exists because we came from a country where everyone is a hero."

"This is an affirmation of our courageous diasporic decision and the worthy causes fought for and of the right, albeit unpopular options taken of being separated from our family."

"And a challenge to do more, to better, and be the best for our family, for our community, for the Filipino people and for our country the Philippines."

"Let us not just dream, live our dream. Let us keep moving towards it."

"Congratulations to PEBA for this opportunity to let the OFW bloggers shine amidst the trials and pains of being away from Home and good luck to the 37 hopeful nominees, you already have won the hearts of your readers around the globe."

Nomination Ends Tonite!

2009-10-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

7PM Saudi Arabia time, 12 Midnight Philippine time, the 2009 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards nomination will be closed. All entries will be captured, saved, and make ready for judging.

Thank you to those who joined in the nomination process.

We won't accept any entries, and any changes to your entries anymore.

But there are contest that will still be running up to December, the

OFW PHOTO CONTEST

and the

Historical NOKIA OVI Tweets.

Join and have fun!

Uniting OFW Bloggers

2009-10-30T07:06:00.001-07:00

Uniting OFW Bloggers through 2^nd International Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards

QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES, 29 October 2009 – Over 37 OFW Bloggers from 21 countries are vying for the most coveted 2009 Best Expats/OFW Blog Awards. The Pinoy Expats/Overseas Filipino Workers Blog AWARD or PEBA, together with Nokia Philippines, is a search contest aimed to recognize and honor the exemplary work of blogging Pinoy Expats/OFW. The event entitled, “2^nd Annual International PEBA Awards Night” on the 26^th of December 2009, 6:00PM at the Ang Bahay ng Alumni Convention Hall, University of the Philippines, Quezon City with this year’s theme, “Filipinos Abroad, Hope of the Nation, Gift to the World”.

The primary advocacy of the organization is to present the blogs of our modern-day heroes and bring their creative talents to light, helping other Filipinos to understand and appreciate their plight, sufferings, thoughts, ideologies and stories that made the “Filipino worth dying for”. PEBA advocates the welfare of migrant workers through blogging, strengthening the freedom of speech and the right to information. OFWs are uniting to educate and inform the Filipino people while protecting their rights and safeguarding democracy of our nation.

This event would coincide with the International Pinoy Expats/OFW Photo Exhibits which is intended to be toured all over the Philippines to foster further awareness of the heroism of our OFWs. The awards night might be attended by last year’s winner Jim Paredes (based in Australia) and several significant 2010 political players would be invited to grace the event to discuss their agenda in addressing the plight of Filipino migrant workers.

The complete list of nominees can be found in www.pinoyexpatsblogawards.com including the details on how to vote for this year’s best OFW blog awards.

Contact Information:

Felix Jigs G. Segre

Program Director, Public Relations and Media Affairs

Mobile: +63915.393.4770

Landline: +632.219.1018

Fax: +632.518.0445

E-mail: jigs_segre@yahoo.com

Visit www.pinoyexpatsblogawards.com for more media resources.

NOKIA OFW OVI

2009-10-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

You're seeing on top of this post, a beautiful PEBA NOKIA OVI Banner ad. So far, these are the nominees who submitted their photos to be used in this ad, and will be feature during the awarding ceremony.

Behind the blogs and the entries, are real Filipino's from all walks of life, (who happen to be handsome and lovely OFW Bloggers) and each own a mobile phone, mostly NOKIA! hehe.

This is ad is definitely worth more than what NOKIA is giving PEBA to finance the expenses of the event. This ad is priceless. It is a compilation of photos of OFW bloggers from several countries, representing the 37 nominees from 21 countries, representing the more than 12 Million men and women, scattered to every corner of the world. We will add more as we receive the photos from other nominees.

We will continue to run this flash ad. You can pause it if you want to take a look at the details of each of the nominees, and you can click each photos and be redirected to their sites/entries.

In the next few days, the nomination will end, and its showtime! Goodluck po sa lahat!

Anyways here are the photos while we are doing the editing of this ad.

Historical OVI Tweets (updated)

2009-10-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

PEBA received an email from

Niini Kokkonen of Finland, the creator of the Historical OVI Tweets at OVI Blog.

She said " just wanted to say thank you so much for picking up our Tweets on your blog!! Glad you've enjoyed them! We've actually already received quite a few submissions via our Blog (some of them have directed me to the PEBA site, actually :), and we just love love LOVE all of them!! It just warms my heart that so many people have been inspired by the Historical Ovi Tweets!"

Remember that we asked you guys to come up with your own Historical OVI Tweets?

So we are having coordination at OVI Blog for a "fan art" post of the selected OVI Tweets. For a primer, here are some of the contribution so far.

Reymos of My World is Getting Smaller Everyday

AZEL of Panunumbalik ng Ulirat

RIO of Bizjoker of the Philippines

The Pope of Palipasan

RJ of Chook-minder's Quill

DETH of Minddeth

NEBZ of Isla de Nebz

Thank you guys, and hope more will create their Historical OVI Tweets.

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REMINDER

We would like to remind you that nomination will close 7pm of October 31st, 2009. After that, we will copy all your entries, and make it ready for judging. Any alteration or changes and editing done after October 31st will not be valid. So if you plan to do some editing or changes in your entries, you can do so, before the deadline.

PEBA and Exlink Management & Marketing Services Corp. to team up in the upcoming "2nd International Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards".

2009-10-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

EX-LINK Management and Marketing Services Corporation is a full service marketing company specializing in events & exhibits management, trade shows, mall exhibits and conventions. The company is composed of people experienced in the field of Marketing, Leasing, Retail, Operations, Organizing, Training and Seminars. The partnership is now being finalized which would tap Exlink Events as the main event organizer and marketing arm of PEBA. They have already reserved a slot for PEBA to hold our promotional activities in their upcoming SM Mega Trade Hall OFW exhibition.

One of the upcoming events of Exlink would be the International Parking Expo & Conference ( PIPEC).

The first Philippine International Parking Expo & Conference ( PIPEC) will open on Oct. 27 & 28, 2009 (10:00AM – 8:00PM) in SMX Convention Center , Mall of Asia.

Organized by Ex-link Management & Marketing Services Corp. in cooperation with Pasay City Government, this parking event will feature products and services innovation and technology in the parking industry in the country as well as other Asean countries with the theme: “Towards Development and Continuous Growth of the ASEAN Parking Industry.”

Keynote speaker is Bayani Fernando, Chairman Metro Manila Development Authority. Details can be accessed via www.exlinkevents.com or www.philparkingevents.com.

The speakers are:

Event’s featured Speakers and Topics are :

Day 1 (October 27, 2009)

TOPIC : Parking 101: The Basic Elements of Running A Gold Standard Parking Operation

SPEAKER : Peter Guest (President – British Parking Association 2006/07)

TOPIC : Best Practices in Local Parking Security

SPEAKER : Dr. Eduardo M. Fulgencio, CPP, CSP, CFE

TOPIC : Data Mining your PARCS (Parking Access/Revenue Control System)

SPEAKER : Dennis Cunning (CAPP)

TOPIC : Parking System for the 21^st Century

SPEAKER : Brendan McFarlane (General Manager, Secure Parking India)

Brendan McFarlane, General Manager

Secure Parking India

Secure Parking SPS / CPMS Car Park

TOPIC : GOOGLE Applications in Parking Industry Development

SPEAKER : Aileen Apolo, Philippine Country Manager, GOOGLE

Day 2 (October 28, 2009)

TOPIC : On Street Parking and Price Setting

SPEAKER : John Van Horn (Parking World Publisher & Editor)

TOPIC : Parking Management Liabilities on Loss and Damages: Legalities, Limitations and Expectations”

SPEAKER : Den Den Tesoro (Assistant Vice President, Construction, Energy & Natural Resources – Aon Philippines)

TOPIC : Parking Security: Addressing the Crime and Other Security Challenges in Parking Operation

SPEAKER : Angus Stevenson-Hamilton (Director of Corporate Security, Shangri-la Group of Hotels & Resorts)

TOPIC : Public Parking: To Outsource or not to Outsource to Private Entities

SPEAKER : Erickberth Calupe (Car Parks Group& SWM Group Head Coordinator – Ayala Property Management Corp.)

Erickberth N. Calupe Car Parks Group & SWM Group Head Coordinator

Ayala Property Management Corporation

TOPIC : Parking Management Liabilities on Loss and Damage ; Legalities, Limitations and expectations.

SPEAKER : Atty. Francis M. Egenias

Atty .Francis M. Egenias is a litigator and legal advisor.

All interested attendees of the conference may register for a fee through the website www.exlinkevents.com or call Ex-link Corp. office 6401280/ 6407439 / 09209242532/ 09209814376. Expo participants are also invited. Expo highlights include on-line parking games, parking demo and alot more.

PEBA OFW PHOTO CONTEST

2009-10-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

Digital Photography Contest Guidelines

Entrants

Open to all amateur Filipino photographers (above 18 years old) who are working as OFW in any part of the world. Participants can submit 3 entries but not more than 5 photos.

Entries

Photographs must be original images taken by the entrant and may not have been previously published.

Content

The photos shall be color or b/w photographs that represent or typify heroism, love, labor and courage of OFWs abroad (using the host country as part of their subject/s).

Digital image submissions

Image quality must be at least 8" x 10" at 300 DPI or a photo taken with a minimum of 3.2 megapixel camera at the largest image setting submitted through email using JPEG format.

Images that do not meet these criteria will not be considered. Photographs should be submitted without any borders or frames.

Each photo entry should have a filename of the photographer/owner, plus information, location, profession/work and small interpretation comes along in the email.

Example: Fred_santos1.jpg

Location: California, USA

Profession/Job: Computer Engineer

Interpretations/Short explanation: Filipinos love beaches, California has great beaches.

Other Uses

SUBMIT

Email to pebainc@gmail.com

Winners will receive a trophy and gift packs from PEBA and 'Best Photo Entry'.

Deadline of submission will be 01 December 2009. Please note that your entries will be printed/blow up for exhibit during the awarding ceremony. Join now!

NOKIA: Bridging, Connecting, Touching

2009-10-18T00:32:00.000-07:00

Since Nokia became an official co-presentor/partner of PEBA 2009 Awards, I've been intrigued by Nokia OVI. I signed up and register for a free Nokia account right away. It took less than a minute to register. I register for organization, for PEBA, and then downloaded the Nokia Connector.

By the way, the word "ovi" means "door" in Finnish (aptly so, I think, because Nokia OVI opens doors for your Nokia cellphones to become something else other than a simple mobile phone).

Since weekend, I've been browsing OVI Blog which contains salient points about Nokia OVI. It's quite a read, actually and so far, I've already downloaded the Anytime Files program but starting to get to know how it works.

Did you know Ovi Files lets you remotely access your computer-based files from your mobile phone and web browser?

Not just files, but calendar, contacts, store for music, applications and games, mail, and share your photos and videos.

If you're asking how would this be applicable to you, I offer you these scenarios:

You've been up all night last night because you were working on a PowerPoint presentation for your boss but you forgot to upload the file on your USB. No worries! Through Nokia OVI, you can use Anytime Files to remotely send the files to your boss' computer. Oh, sorry, is he far from you? I mean, are you continents apart? Then that's fine too because you can actually send it from almost anywhere in the world.

The coolest thing about Nokia OVI is that you can create an online copy of your important files which you can access from your mobile even if your computer is turned off or there's no connection. All OVI file communications are encrypted so you don't need to worry about security.

In short, your PC actually becomes an extension of your mobile phone via Nokia OVI. Cool, heh?

But that which intrigued me the most are the Nokia historical Ovi tweets which are not only funny but I find it simply awesome.

Take this for example.

To give back to Nokia OVI, I encourage all PEBA nominees (and yes, including all bloggers tuning in to PEBA 2009) to come up with their own Nokia OVI historical tweets, and then send it to us.

We'll choose the best three and will send them over to blog.ovi.com for their feedback. Whoever gets published will win a surprise gift from PEBA Team.

Oh, by the way, Nokia will also sponsor two other Special Awards during PEBA 2009. The PEBA Team and Nokia are still thinking of two categories to award to...well, just a surprise, maybe. Again, I encourage you to share your feedback.

We may ask all our readers too, especially nominees and OFW bloggers, send us in email, peba09@gmail.com your best photo modelling shot with your Nokia phone and we will come up with a Flash banner, that will be up and running soon. Hope Nokia likes it, the OFW Bloggers OVI, and they will post it in their site. Who knows, some guys will be signing a contract as Nokia model soon. :)

Thank you, Nokia. Thanks guys.

Nokia sponsoring PEBA, as the literal voices of the OFW in the world wide web is significant to us. OFW spends more than anything in units and phones that makes communication between us here abroad, and there at home. Nokia, the leader in mobile phone manufacturing in the world is simply bridging, connecting, touching people, specifically OFW's and their families back home.

- Jebee Kenji Solis

Founding Chairman

Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards, Inc.