COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN WELLINGTON
Welcome to the Bulwagan Foundation Trust’s community website!
This is our first post and we’d like for you to get to know about us a little better and to find out what we do as a community development-oriented non-profit organisation operating in Wellington New Zea-land.
We’d like to start by inviting you to watch a recent video about the Foundation in the format of a recent interview with the Trust’s Chairperson, Ms. Flora Muriel-Nogoy.
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Watch The Video |
One Brick At A Time Nothing is impossible for a community who yearns to express itself in brick and mortar through a cultural and community centre for the good of all its members. To achieve that aspiration, we need the community to help the Foundation raise funds in stages: for acquisition of land, for construction of the Main Centre, for the Marketplace Space and for development of the surrounding garden grounds. While all these components consti tute ‘The Philippine Village Project’ when completed, it will be open and used for all community members and groups regardless of their ethnic background – a testament to New Zealand’s rich diversity of its peoples. |
WHAT OUR VISION LOOKS LIKE
We now have a series of articles posted on our community website that will help you visualize what the Foundation has in mind to do for the community. Here are the links:
Investments That Inspire – “Many funding agencies will have already committed large investment plans into community facilities of varying scale. Let’s review these with the aim of determining where investment can be maximized – sort of a re-drafting of a Local Community Facilities Plan and Strategy.”
A Passionate Desire – “The Foundation ascribes to a belief in the transformative power of great archi-tecture to uplift, not only the physical, but also the economic and social conditions of a community. It is not a dream, but a passionate desire to make what will one day be the outcome of its Cultural and Community Centre Building Project – The Philippine Village, a meaningful whole out of many divergent parts and one which reflects the increasing diversity of New Zealand’s culture today.”
Here Comes The Sun – “New Zealand is the first to see the light of day. It shapes who we are – a people who are welcoming, friendly and relaxed. We have a deep relationship with the natural environment. The land gives us a fresh perspective as it does an innovative spirit that compels us to create living spaces that nurture our way of life and for the environment we live in. It is central to how we live, work, play and relate to each other.”
Arts, Culture & Business – “Right now, cities around the world are competing to attract new businesses as well as the brightest of young professionals. International studies show that winners of this race will be those communities that offer an abundance of arts and cultural experience opportunities. As they flourish, so will creativity and innovation – the fuel that drives our national economy.”
Social Entrepreneurship – “Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, ‘social’ entrepreneurs on the other hand act as change agents for society. They develop opportunities others might miss, adopt new approaches and systems, and create solutions to improve communities for the better. As a social business venture in the making, the Philippine Village Cultural and Community Centre building project will be the equity the Foundation will create with its partners. But rather than return profits to share-holders, like pure commercial ventures, it will reinvest those profits to further this social venture in order to sustain resulting social benefits to the community it serves and stakeholders it works with.”
The Marketplace-1 – “For thousands of years, people knew exactly what marketplaces were for: a space where conversations between people who sought out others who shared the same interests. Buyers had as much to say as sellers. They spoke directly to each other without the filter of today’s modern media, the artifice of positioning statements, the arrogance of advertising blasted in your face as targets for product pitches, or the shading of public relations that mask some deficiency.”
The Marketplace-2 – “A community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community. The Marketplace will be more than just an ordinary place to buy and sell goods. What will make it unique is that it will also be an integral part of a much larger space where major festivals, the arts, cultural and social activities can take place to educate, inspire and enervate people.”
Help us to help you build the Philippine Village Cultural and Community Centre in Wellington for all to use and enjoy!
Thank you. Come and visit us again soon!
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The truest expression of a people are in their dances, their music and their festivals. The way a people move is their autobiography in motion. Bodies never lie. In the Philippines, the Cultural Centre of the Philippines (CCP) was established to preserve, develop and promote the arts and culture of Filipinos and to showcase performances and exhibitions for various local and international productions. Perhaps some time in the near future, the Bulwagan Foundation Trust hopes to stage some of these live performances in New Zealand when the community and corporate sponsors get behind its project to build the Cultural Community Centre in Wellington. If you wish to learn more about the richness of Philippine culture through dance, click this link.
This site is a member of the Filipi nos in New Zealand network of websites which can be accessed through its 
The Bulwagan Foundation Trust 