Event Geek

There will be an upcoming [if] - Innovation Forum: innovation for global competitiveness on August 18, 2011 (Thursday), 1:00-4:30pm, Mabuhay IT Park, Ced Avenue, National Highway, General Santos City, Philippines.

Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship, industry based R&D, technologies for pervasive problems, breaking into global markets, are often written and advocated by both public officials and private individuals who champion the route of national development through science and technology. Existing models of collaboration in public-private partnerships, Industry-academe, laboratory research and application have likewise been mentioned in many workshops and forums exhorting their values.

On the August 18, Innovation Forum, you have a chance to listen to, speak out and share your views on innovation, technology, entrepreneurship can grow and prosper in areas such as Region 12. Join to share your initiatives, game changing ideas, or the linkage and networking strength in your respective organizations that will be a great potential not only for GenSan but for the other provinces and cities as well.

Dr. Greg Tangoan will talk about the COMSTE (Congressional Commission on Science and Technology and Engineering) vision and the multi-stakeholder work of Ateneo Innovation Center (AIC) in facing up to the challenge of global competitiveness and how best this practice can be replicated.

Lenka will have a Manila Concert this coming October 9, 2011 at the A-venue Concert Hall, Manila! The Lenka: Live in Manila Concert at A-Venue Concert Hall, Makati Avenue, Makati City at 6:00pm is actually part of Lenka's Asian tour.

Lenka Live in Manila Concert is presented by PULP Unleashed at A-VENUE CONCERT HALL gates open 6:00PM. Special EARLY BIRD PROMO on tickets, if you buy now until 30 July 2011, you get 10% off on your Lenka Manila Concert ticket purchase. No limit on number of tickets.

About Lenka:

Lenka is the artist behind Billboard 200 chart topper "The Show", charaterzed by a female catchy tune. Lenka creates paper art type of stop-motion animated music videos for each of her singles with James Gulliver Hancock, a visual artist from Australia, gaining popularity. The recent music of this petite Australian singer is her album "Two", an album full of love songs.

• Up to 5 million downloads per day
• More than 40,000 apps represents nearly eight-fold growth in one year
• 158 developers pass 1 million downloads each

Nokia has announced that its Ovi Store has grown by nearly eight times over the last year and now reaches up to 5 million downloads per day, propelled by the latest Symbian devices – the Nokia N8, Nokia C6-01, Nokia C7 and Nokia E7 – which account for about 15 percent of the daily downloads.

Increased demand for apps from the approximate 200-million-strong Symbian consumer base has seen the Ovi Store catalogue grow to more than 40,000 apps, with about 1,000 added per week. This momentum has resulted in 158 developers from 41 countries now surpassing the million download milestone each for their apps.

“As consumers continue to download Ovi Store content with increasing frequency, developers have an immediate opportunity to reach consumers worldwide and capitalize on the approximately 150 million Symbian devices we plan to ship in the coming years,” said Tero Ojanpera, Nokia’s Executive Vice President of Services and Developer Experience. “This momentum continues to demonstrate consumers’ appetite for Nokia’s global and locally relevant apps, and will help us plan the future apps store experience for improved and new Symbian devices, as well as Nokia smartphones based on the planned collaborative opportunities with Microsoft.”

Nokia’s new monetization opportunities for developers are tailored for local markets and include integrated operator billing with 112 operators in 36 markets, more than 25 times more operator billing integrations than Nokia’s nearest competitor. Ovi Store has seen integrated operator billing increase consumer transactions by up to four times and this, coupled with Nokia’s beta programs for in-app billing and in-app advertising, means more revenue opportunities for developers on Symbian.

These opportunities are also being extended to Nokia Series 40 devices, which will enable apps for the next billion mobile phone consumers. The refreshed Ovi Store experience, previously available only for the new Symbian devices, has resulted in more than 35-percent growth in downloads for Series 40 devices in the last two months, making up about a quarter of the total downloads.

Developers and publishers, large and small, are using Ovi Store’s global reach and rapid growth to cultivate new communities. These communities are driven by deeper user connections within their apps, further driving downloads and potential monetization opportunities for developers.

Developer examples:

Singapore developer Breakdesign, created its Barking Seed site as an independent mobile gaming community built for players using Nokia Symbian and Series 40 devices. The site tracks top scores, lets gamers compete with other top players around the world and host contests to win Nokia devices and accessories. In just over a year, Breakdesign has reached more than 6.5 million downloads and more than 70,000 members in more than 170 countries. Its top Flash games found on Barking Seed are That Roach Game South Africa, Ninjani – Emperors Revenge, and Dawn of the Fly Chapter 1 and 2.


Denmark’s Gedda-Headz has built a mobile social gaming community for Java supporting Nokia devices. It blends multiplayer head-to-head gaming and in-game chat and challenges to offer players a unique mobile experience. High scores and player rankings are determined by game play and their gaming experience can be enhanced with the purchase of virtual goods. Through Ovi Store’s scale, Gedda-Headz has reached more than 1.3 million downloads in more than 190 countries.
Moodagent, created by the Danish based Syntonetic, is an intelligent music mobile app that uses cloud-based technology to automatically select music and create playlists based on a user’s mood. It also allows them to share their mood and music with their network on Facebook and Twitter. To date, the number of Nokia Moodagent users has reached more than 4 million from Ovi Store and the total number of Nokia user tracks in the Moodagent cloud is more than 4 billion. Both of these numbers are expected to grow even more with its recent availability for Series 40 devices and the soon to be released Moodagent 3.0, with all the same great features of the original app plus music recommendation.

About Nokia

At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

Summer is definitely a kid’s most favorite season with the fun and exciting activities lined up to make their vacation a memorable and action-packed one. What to do when the lull kicks in? With a Nokia phone packed with these kid-friendly apps from Ovi Store (www.store.ovi.com), they don’t have to endure boredom during those dog days! What’s more, today’s game-loving youth will discover fun and exciting new ways to learn and be creative through their mobile phones. The best part is, these apps can be downloaded for free!

• Hangman Kids – Like the classic game of Hangman, the idea is to solve the pre-determined word by filling in the missing letters, although this version has done away with the “hanging man” and replaced it with a rabbit, which is more suitable for kids. This game is easier than the original too, as there are images displayed on the screen to help the little one link the word to the item shown. This app also has a child-lock feature to keep your child from messing around with the phone’s menus.
• Loop – A fun and creative way for children to make music from the sounds around them. Loop can turn the sound of your washing machine, the doorbell or even the cat purring into a musical masterpiece with little effort. Everything is controlled by just pressing the circle in the center of the screen. This app is indeed a great way to encourage children to express their musical abilities.
• MathsBrain – This one is for the slightly older kids, and has less visual aids or references. This app helps children improve their calculation speeds in solving arithmetic problems. If your child is competitive, he/she can compete with people across the world to achieve a high rank. But if your child is not quite ready for that, he/she can adjust the function to set the difficulty rating according to his/her age.
• Touch Baable – Take a photo, add some clip-art, a speech bubble followed by some facial warping and your kid now has a fun way of capturing the world. With simple to use on-screen buttons, this app allows a child to easily turn anything into something funny and interesting.
• Jigsaw Puzzle – A classic game for many, many years, Jigsaw Puzzles continue to be an all-time favorite among the game-loving lot. There’s something addictive about piecing back together an image that has been deconstructed into little small parts. This one is designed with children in mind, with nine pieces as a starter puzzle to 25 pieces for the master level. Again, there’s no need to worry about handing over your phone with its child-lock feature.
• Kiddo – Aimed at younger children, Kiddo teaches the alphabet and numbers in a fun and interactive way using images, music and voice. Images appear on the screen and it’s the task of the child to determine how many of that item he/she sees or what letter of the alphabet the item begins with. This app also has a child-lock feature, so you can hand your phone over without fear of long-distance phone calls or any unknown downloads from the Internet.

Download these apps now on your Nokia Symbian phones so your child will have new games to sink their teeth into this summer!

About Nokia

At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

The networks of Globe Telecom, Bayan Telecommunications (BayanTel) and Digitel Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) are now 100% interconnected in all areas of common presence and operations nationwide, following the commercial activation of the local linkage between the networks of Globe and Digitel in Lucena City and the rest of Quezon province.

The achievement of full interconnection between Globe, Digitel and Bayantel in all areas of common operations is a mandate from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), in compliance with Republic Act 7925, or The Public Telecommunications Policy Act of 1995. The law aims to create a universally accessible and fully integrated nationwide telecommunications network to encourage more infrastructure investments from the private sector that benefit consumers.

Interconnected telecommunication network means that in areas where Globe, Digitel or Bayantel are present, customers of the competing telcos within a province or city can call each other locally via 7-digit local dialing without having to pay long distance rates. In the past, subscribers of rival telcos, regardless of whether or not they live in the same town, had to pay long-distance rates to call each other via landline.

“This is another milestone not only for Globe, Bayantel and Digitel, but more importantly for the public who will benefit from the interconnection,” said Melvin Santos, Head for National Carrier Relations of Globe Telecom, “Competition should not get in the way of serving the public interest and we have proven that even rival telcos can work together for the greater good.”

Globe and Digitel have established interconnection in common operation areas in the National Capital Region and in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Bataan, Lucena, Sorsogon, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Vizcaya, and Zambales. On the other hand, Globe and Bayantel are both present in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Iloilo, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Negros Occidental, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Norte, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon.

Meanwhile, PLDT has yet to fulfill full interconnection with its competitors. To date, both PLDT and Globe are locally interconnected only in Davao City, Batangas, Cavite, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Cotabato City. The two companies’ networks are not yet interconnected in at least 20 more provinces where both have commercial operations, including the provinces of Pampanga, La Union and Benguet.

Earlier, the NTC and the provincial board of Pampanga announced that PLDT and Globe will implement the interconnection of its networks in the province on April 15, 2011.

“We’ve always been ready and waiting to interconnect our network with all our competitors,” said Atty. Froilan Castelo, Head of the Corporate and Legal Services Group of Globe, “We at Globe are fully supportive of the thrust towards developing the country’s Information and Communication Technology infrastructure, which will spur more growth, especially for the Business Process Outsourcing industry, and interconnection of landline facilities is a must if we want economic development to spread beyond urban areas.”

After completing its nationwide interconnection with Digitel and BayanTel, Globe is hopeful that interconnection agreements with PLDT will be hastened for the benefit of the consumers as part of efforts to develop the country’s telecommunications infrastructure and provide consumers with a more cost-efficient way of communications.

Nokia is top mobile and smartphone brand for 2010 – Nokia was recently awarded the best-selling mobile and smartphone brand for 2010 during the recent GfK No. 1 Awards held at the Marriott Hotel Manila. The GfK No. 1 Awards is an awarding scheme by global market research company GfK (Growth from Knowledge) that recognizes top performing brands in various major product categories that include consumer electronics, home appliances, IT, photo and mobile phone products.

 The winning brands announced during the recent ceremony were determined based on unit sales for the period January to December 2010. The GfK No. 1 Awards is also held in other Asian countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Accepting the award from GfK accounts director Gary Espejo (leftmost) and general manager Jake Savellano was Cris Soberano, channel development manager for Nokia Philippines.

The 22nd Philippine Ad Congress will be held at Camarines Sur (CamSur) on November 16 to 19. The theme of the 22nd Ad Congress is “The Game-Changing Generation.” The Gaming-Changing Generation, will make the Ad Congress this year a bit interesting and will probably have a lot of content that will talk about technology and the internet. This is natural since traditional media outfits like TV stations and Print are branching out into the world of digital marketing and the Internet.

The event will formally be launched on April and they will allow online registrations that also include booking in hotels (this is a huge problem every Ad Congress so this is a very welcome move by the organizers). The event, organized by the Advertising Board of the Philippines, brings together the country’s top business, advertising and media firms. It was last held at the Subic Bay Freeport in November 2009.

For more information, check out this article on the Philippine Star website. The 22nd Ad Congress will be officially launched to the public in the first week of April 2011.

More than a decade ago, Nokia, set the trend that would change the way Filipinos get in touch. Through its cutting-edge mobile phones, it popularized the short messaging system (SMS) or texting that paved the way for Filipinos to discover instant and real-time communication that revolutionized the communication habits of Filipinos and putting the Philippines on the map as the texting capital of the world.

This year, Nokia has again blazed the trail in the mobile phone category. From introducing texting that allowed Filipinos across all market segments to experience the convenience of communicating anywhere in the world, Nokia is now elevating communication by allowing more and more consumers to share what they feel instantly with all their contacts through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, using any of its wide range of handsets – from high-end smartphones to affordable internet-capable mobile units.

Since Nokia started in the business, the company has committed itself to leading the industry bycreating innovation in mobile phone technology. The familiar Symbian operating system has been upgraded and combined with engaging services like Nokia Messaging and Ovi Store that keep pace with today’s lifestyle, making it possible for consumers to enjoy and enhance the way they communicate.

“When we launched Nokia Messaging with the Nokia C3 for example, we saw the eagerness and excitement of Filipinos to go beyond SMS and into the realm of social networks, chat and email at that affordable pricepoint. The device itself was half the story, the other half was the services and operator plan that went with it. The same thing happened with our Ovi Store downloads. Since we started to engage more developers to create locally relevant apps, we’ve seen more frequent visits and downloads from the Ovi Store," said Benoit Nalin, General Manager of Nokia Philippines.

Undisputed leader in high-end category

Nokia changed the game in the high-end category when it recently introduced the highly anticipated Nokia N8, which was dubbed the world’s best entertainment smartphone. With the Nokia N8, smartphone users were introduced to a new way of expressing themselves with features that shattered all expectations, giving users the chance to capture pictures or videos in HD quality. The entry of the Nokia N8 model helped Nokia regain its mobile leadership amidst strong competition from widely raved about brands.

Nokia aggressively complemented the launch of its innovative smartphone handset with a marketing and advertising campaign that was nothing short of genius. Shared Nalin: “Staying true to being an innovator, Nokia highlighted the launch of the Nokia N8 smartphone with a fresh, intriguing marketing and advertising concept that we now know as the Pier Roxas story. This campaign provided the perfect platform to incite curiosity among customers while highlighting the best features of the Nokia N8 and harping on its credibility as the best entertainment smartphone.”

Innovating the mid-range segment

Nokia has always been known as a pioneer in mobile phone technologies and this year, the company proved that it remains on top of the innovations game. It recently launched its Touch and Type handsets – the X3-02 and C3-01 models – which offered customers the unique combination of a touchscreen and traditional 12-button phone keypad.

“Like what we’ve said before, innovation is not just a high-end game. Introducing the Touch and Type handsets has given Nokia the chance to bring the best of both worlds in one device to customers at an affordable price,” explained Nalin.

The positive market response to the launch of the Touch and Type devices, added Nalin, has proven that users are open and responsive to product innovation despite the bandwagon of feature-rich and price-reduced touch screen devices in the market today.

Web-ready handsets that boost mobile lifestyle of every Pinoy

The year also saw Nokia sustaining its lead in the affordable mobile phone segment. Nalin revealed that despite a deluge in cheap China-made brands, Nokia continued to gain a stronghold in this category by introducing reasonably priced, Internet-capable handsets while building on the company’s equity of reliability and user-friendliness.

An example of which is the now hugely popular Nokia C3, which has revolutionized the mobile habits of Pinoy by allowing them to easily communicate with their family and friends online. This handset makes messaging easier for customers by enabling them to connect to the Internet faster through a quick and reliable Wi-Fi connection, which means staying in touch instantly with friends through their Facebook or Twitter sites. It also allows them to keep in touch easily through email, IM or Conversational SMS, in easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard.

Complementing this Web-ready handset is Nokia’s partnership with leading network provider Smart Communications to introduce customers to easy and affordable messaging. Added Nalin: “Because of the affordability of the Nokia C3, Filipinos can now get in touch with their family and friends any time of the day through their social networking sites for as low as P20 a day.”

Ready to introduce more breakthroughs

Next year, Nokia will be stepping up its game even more to continue on with its commitment of revolutionizing communication. More than the products by themselves, Nokia will push its services so that almost any Juan dela Cruz may experience social networking, chatting and email on their mobile and make those services work for them.

The company likewise aims to capitalize on the growing popularity of its Ovi Store, which now gets 3.5 million downloads per day worldwide. Locally, Nokia is eyeing to achieve 1 million downloads per month and if all goes as planned the local developer community will grow three-fold.

The tagline ‘Connecting People’ now becomes ‘Connecting people to what matters most to them’. And Nokia will continue to remain more relevant to Filipinos than ever before.

About Nokia


At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

Azkals Philippine Football Team shocks Vietnam, 2-0, in AFF Suzuki Cup. What makes it shocking is that it is the biggest win in Philippine football history, the Philippines shocked defending champion and host Vietnam, 2-0, Sunday night in the AFF Suzuki Cup in Hanoi, a major upset that shook up the team standings and placed the hosts in danger of being eliminated.

Being a Football/Soccer Guy, it is a very interesting news and development for a country where football has played second fiddle, or no notice at all. Football in the Philippines have to go against basketball, billiards, boxing, and other prominent sports.

The world if not our neighbors regarded our team as among the weakest in Southeast Asia. The Azkals had to scrape through a qualifying tournament where they drew with Cambodia and Laos, results that were already something of a minor miracle.

They came to Hanoi with very low expectations against a field that included regional powerhouses Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Right in their very first game, though, the team, short on talent but long on grit and determination, served notice that this was a different Philippine team competing, going toe to toe with favored Singapore before finally conceding a goal in the 65th minute. It appeared a loss was imminent until Greatwich struck in the very last minute of injury time.

That draw with Singapore, a team loaded with several naturalized players from Europe and Africa, was the talk of the tournament and was already considered a major achievement for the Philippines. No one among the 30,000 or so Vietnamese spectators in the stadium expected any trouble from the Azkals.

Let us stay tuned on the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup and support our National Team for GLORY!

Original Post HERE.

Effective Interpersonal Communication Skills Workshop, Speaking Effectively Workshop for Managers on November 24,2010 at Oakwood Premier,ADB Ave.Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Build your business faster and have better working teams with this workshop, Effective Interpersonal Communication Skills Workshop: Speaking Effectively Workshop for Managers, November 24, 2010 at 9:00am - 5:00pm, Joy 3, 5th Floor Qakwood Premier,Ortigas Center, Pasig City to be more specific.

The program is designed for individuals in managerial positions that directs teams or deal with internal and external customers who find the need to improve their skill and confidence in communication. In this seminar they will learn to apply specific action items in order to speak effectively 1-on-1, in small or large groups.

Deliver your message across with ease and confidence!

Communication is an important key to success and progress. Speaking effectively is bringing your message across individuals or groups, moving them to reflect and act upon what you have said. Many desire to communicate to others this way, but even the most educated sometimes fail to communicate well.

Organizations with effective communicators will benefit and most likely experience quicker progress. In this seminar-workshop, participants will learn interpersonal communication skills imperative to having excellent relationships at work (and even at home), how to deliver message across clearly and concisely to individuals or to groups more confidently, how to properly decode the messages sent to them, and how to comfortably ask opinions of others without necessarily compromising your own opinion.

Call Salt and Light Ventures at 8132732 or 8132703
Fax at 8132745
Send an email at saltandlightseminars@gmail.com or juliet@saltandlight.ph

The most baffling magic illusions will finally be revealed in Philippine TV’s most daring abracadabra-spoiler reality show yet, Magic Gimik! Based on the all-time hit and historic US top-rating reality series "Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed," Magic Gimik! lets all marvelous magical feats exposed. The deepest and darkest trade secrets of magic tricks are shattered starting this Wednesday (October 13), 8pm on TV5’s Primetimes5.

Each episode promises no less than the most revealing truth about trickers’ age-old illusion practices. Every Wednesday night, Magic Trick! offers the viewers everything our bare eyes could hardly see—how a thing or a human body is lifted from the surface, how a magician escapes a death-defying stunt, how sleights of hand carry out card tricks, and more.

Join the quirky tandem of Kean Cipriano and Empoy Marquez as they detail the mystery behind the magic tricks that have eluded the public for years now. “This is the kind of show all the magicians the world over don't want you to watch,”said Kean Cipriano, the host of the new reality show who’s ready to learn the trick with comedian Empoy. “But don’t get us wrong here. We don’t want magicians gone jobless; this could even inspire them to do more,” he continued.

Equipped with their enthusiasm to get the magic’s drill, the two are ready to spill their exciting discovery on how the magic is being performed. Lift the confusion from illusion as Kean and Empoy learn from “Master M,” the undercover expert from the magic industry who took the challenge to disclose the unknown. He will guide the two aspiring magic students Kean and Empoy from the secrets his colleagues wouldn’t dare divulge.

The oath of secrecy among magicians is busted as we learn the mystery behind the magic tricks in Magic Gimik!, starting October 13, 8pm on TV5.

PHOTOGRAPHIC images captured by the country’s leading lensmen and Russia’s top photographers will be put on display in the Philippine Russian Photo Exhibition come Oct. 21-24 at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City.

The Photo Exhibit dubbed “Philippines and Russia inSights,” which is among the major components in the 2nd Philippine Russian Business Forum (PRBF), will serve as an educational point of exchange of cultural and psychological backgrounds of both countries.

“We hope the Photo Exhibition will help us expand trade and commercial relations by increasing understanding between Russia and the Philippines,” said honorary Russian Consul Armi Lopez Garcia who is also president of the organizing Philippine Russian Business Assembly Inc. (PRBAI).


Organizers dubbed the exhibit “Philippines & Russia inSights” as “insight”, in marketing, means a deep understanding of the target consumers’ attitudes and beliefs, leading to the achievement of the objective.

“To make business with foreign traders, you need to understand their culture, psychology, and way of thinking,” 2nd PRBF working committee on culture member Tania Arkhangel’skaya said. “That’s what we hope to accomplish through this Photo Exhibition – to make Filipino and Russian businessmen understand each other, know more about their countries, their culture, art, and etc.”

Leading the cast of Filipino and Russian world-class photographers who have already signified their participation in the exhibit are Bob Lim, Jan Gonzales, Alexander Efremov, Evgeniy Globenko, Konstantin Kokoshkin, and Nick Degtyarev.
Some of these well-known lensmen will also give students, enthusiasts, and hobbyists a lecture on photography at the Art Studio of the CICC.
Other top Russian photographers participating in the exhibit are Alexandra Kallistova, Andrey Ilinsky, Andrey Lysikov, Dennis Tarasov, Dmitry Nezhdanov, Eduard Krank, Evgenia Guhman, Evgeny Molodtzov, Luisa Geltz, Nina Troitskaya, Igor Egorov, Julia Vedernikova, Katerina Man’shine, Maria Pavlova, Eugene Schemilin, Oleg Astahov, Olga Mazlova, Roman Nikulin, Serge Romanov, Sergey Ivanov, Timur Dui, and Yuri Borisov.
The 2nd Philippine-Russian Business Forum is organized by the PRBAI and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the Province of Cebu and the Department of Tourism.

The Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp. is co-organizing the event in association with the City of Mandaue, Department of Trade and Industry, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Business Club, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu FAME, Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, and the Cebu Gifts, Toys and Housewares (GTH).

Supporting the four-day affair are Cebu Energy Development Corp./Toledo Power Corp., Cebu Holdings, Inc./Cebu Property Ventures & Development Corp., Hongkong Express, PLDT-SME, Smart, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casinos, Pascual Consumer Health Care Corp., Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Be Resorts Mactan, Ng Khai, Milkfish, Legwork Promotions, Neo Manufacturing Services Inc./Glee Electronics, and San Remigio Pensionne Suites/Primemovers and PRWorks.

Cebu Daily News, Sun.Star Online, Sun.Star Cebu, The Freeman, GMA-7, Business Mirror, Philippine Graphic Magazine, Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Star, and Alcordo Advertising are the media partners of the 2nd Philippine Russian Business Forum and Exhibition.

ART students and art enthusiasts are set to have a once-in-lifetime experience this month when celebrated Russian painter-sculptor Gregory Pototsky makes a bust sculpture right before their very eyes.

This was announced Tuesday by honorary Russian Consul Armi Lopez Garcia, who just arrived from Russia and confirmed Pototsky’s visit to Cebu for the Philippine Russian Art Show.

The Philippine Russian Art Show is among the major components of the 2nd Philippine Russian Business Forum and Exhibition on Oct. 21-24 at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City.


Dubbed “Art Talk with the Master,” Pototsky will give students a lecture on sculpture while making a bust of the late Jesus P. Garcia Sr., father of the Akademiyang Bisaya.

Pototsky, according to Consul Garcia, will be accompanied by his lovely wife Ms. Olga in his Philippine tour .

Nude white-on-white paintings of the famous Russian artist will also be displayed in the Art Show along with the works of selected local painters and sculptors led by Jojo Sagayno, whose winning entry in the Philippine Art Awards will be mounted on an easel for public viewing.

Also tapped to exhibit their contemporary art pieces are Cebuano painters Wenceslao “Tito” Cuevas, Vidal “Ondo” Alcoseba Jr., and Dennis “Sio” Montera and sculptors Florence Cinco and Fr. Jason Dy.

Other local participating artists include Nomar Miano, Palmy Tudtud-Pe, Javy Villacin, Radel Paredes, Adonis Durado, Koki Olario-Miano, Wesley Rasines, Karl Roque, and Russ Ligtas.

The 2nd Philippine Russian Business Forum and Exhibition is organized by the Philippine Russian Business Assembly Inc. and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the Province of Cebu and the Department of Tourism.

The Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp. is co-organizing the event in association with the City of Mandaue, Department of Trade and Industry, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Business Club, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce, Cebu FAME, Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, and the Cebu Gifts, Toys and Housewares (GTH).

Supporting the four-day affair are the Cebu Energy Development Corp./Toledo Power Corp., Cebu Holdings, Inc./Cebu Property Ventures & Development Corp., Hongkong Express, PLDT-SME, Smart, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casinos, Pascual Consumer Health Care Corp., Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Be Resorts Mactan, Ng Khai, Epson, Milkfish Studio, Legwork Productions and Promotions, Neo Manufacturing Services Inc./Glee Electronics, San Remigio Pensionne Suites/Prime Movers and PRWorks.

Cebu Daily News, Sun.Star Online, Sun.Star Cebu, The Freeman, GMA-7, Business Mirror, Philippine Graphic Magazine, Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Star, and Alcordo Advertising are the media partners of the 2nd Philippine Russian Business Forum and Exhibition.

The Winning Brand Positioning Seminar is a 1 day seminar about Brand Positioning = Market Positioning +/x Competitive Positioning w/ Dr. Ned Roberto on October 15, 2010 | 9am-5pm | AIM Conference Center.

Save P2,000 when you sign up on or before September 24, 2010!

Learn new and better winning ways of positioning your brand so that it satisfies your target market's priority values (i.e., do a resonating market positioning), and/or so that it satisfied your target market with a distinctiveness versus competition (i.e., do a differentiating competitive positioning).

Facilitated by one of Asia's best marketing gurus, Dr. Ned Roberto, join him on October 1 at the AIM Conference Center. Discover how to translate and craft these positioning insights into a correct brand positioning statement, to guide your advertising strategy, and to inspire your ad creative brief.

6 Practical Benefits for Participants
Each participant will learn:
1. How to find out the priority product/services values of consumers in order
to align his/her brand's benefits and features with those values.
2. How to position or reposition the brand by changing target consumer priority
values.
3. How to change consumer priority values via traditional vs non-traditional
means.
4. How to unlock the brand's motivating differentiator versus the competition.
5. How to craft a brand positioning statement to serve the 2 purposes of
directing the positioning strategy, and composing an inspiring ad creative brief.
6. How to choose the right positioning strategy for the brand under changing
competitive conditions.

Overview:
The seminar has 8 sections. The first 5 sections deal with brand positioning's 2 component parts, namely, market positioning (how to satisfy your brand's target market priority values), and competitive positioning (how to satisfy your target market with a distinctiveness versus competition). In the 6th section, the issue of how to combine market with competitive positioning is addressed.

This leads to the strategic task of how to craft a consumer-centric brand positioning statement (BPS). Formulating the BPS should see to it that it would play its 2 critical roles. One is to clearly direct the brand's positioning strategy. The other is to guide in specifying the brand's advertising strategy, and to inspire the composing of the ad creative brief. The last sections are about options for brand positioning strategies.

Contact below to join or inquire about the Winning Brand Positioning Seminar:
Call | 8132732 | 8132703
Fax | 8132732
Email | inquiry@saltandlight.ph
Visit | www.saltandlight.ph

The 1-day Buzan Mind Mapping Workshop will be on 9am-5pm, September 20, 2010 New World Hotel Makati City. "Sign up on or before September 3 and Save P1,000 on our Early Bird Rate!" Unleash your mind's potential and the genius in you! Take advantage of the opportunity to learn the revolutionary thinking tool - Mind Maps through our 1-day Buzan Mind Mapping Workshop!

What if YOU are given the operations manual of the brain to unleash your brain's full potential and creative genius? Mind Mapping will help you:

~Absorb various trainings and learnings better!

~Brainstorm better and faster through the Bloom™ techniques and generate 10x more creative ideas.

~Plan and set goals, write proposals and letters 4x faster.

~See the whole picture, the global view at once and understand links and connections.

~Multi-task and set priorities with ease.

~Prepare better for presentations, meetings and briefings with confidence and less stress - and much more!

Discover how people and organizations use the infinite resource of the human brain and be amazed at the transformation of your organizations as well as yourself! We invite you to scroll down below and read up on Mind Mapping and how it has benefited individuals, companies, and even cities!

Course Outline:

Session 1: Definition & benefits of Mind Mapping
1. Introduction to Mind Mapping
2. Introduction to Tony Buzan and latest trends in creativity

Session 2: Brain specializations
1. Brain scales
2. Brain synergy
3. Brain capacity

Session 3: Learn Mind Mapping!
1. The Mind Mapping Laws and the Elements of a Mind Map
2. Association, Bloom and Flow
3. The correct way to read a Mind Map
a. Exercise: Read a Mind Map

Session 4: Mind Mapping Applications
1. Create your very first Personal Mind Map

Session 5: Mind Mapping Case Studies

Who Should Attend?
- Leaders, managers, supervisors, directors, executives, and teams who give importance to organizational development and completion of goals and finding solutions

- Trainers and HR professions who are responsible for implementing innovation, creativity and leadership programs within their organizations.

Training Investment
BUZAN MIND MAPPING WORKSHOP
A 1-day transformational Mind Mapping Workshop
9am-5pm, September 20, 2010
New World Hotel Makati City

Best Buy Rate is only P7,977+VAT when you sign up before August 20, 2009.  Save P2,000!

Early Bird Rate is only P8,977+VAT when you sign up before September 3, 2009. Save P1,000!
Regular rate is only P9,977 + 12% VAT

Inclusive of:
~Workshop attendance
~Workbook,
~Certificate of completion
~Lunch and snacks

*Save as much as P1,000 when you sign up as a group :
3 delegates - Less P 300 per delegate on top of Regular Rate
4 delegates - Less P 400 per delegate on top of Regular Rate
5 delegates - Less P 500 per delegate on top of Regular Rate
6 delegates - Less P 600 per delegate on top of Regular Rate
7 delegates - Less P 700 per delegate on top of Regular Rate
8 delegates - Less P 800 per delegate on top of Regular Rate
9 delegates - Less P 900 per delegate on top of Regular Rate
10 delegates - Less P 1,000 per delegate on top of Regular Rate

For reservations and more info, you may contact seminars@saltandlight.ph

The 5th DEVELOPING THE GM MINDSET: How to Lead and Grow Your Business Whatever the Season with Alex Castillo, will be on September 15, 2010, 9:00am-5:00pm, New World Hotel Makati City.

Reserve seats for the September 15, 2010 5th Developing the Mindset of a GM workshop with Alex Castillo and save P1,000 when you reserve seats until August 31! Learn how to develop the correct GM mindset that will grow your business whatever the season!

Limited seats are available at this workshop that combines both leadership training and business growing strategies in one powerful, impactful workshop. Designed to give you that extra edge to hit your targets, a successful participant of this workshop will discover these 7 key drivers to business growth:

1. Gain a view of your business' potential that you may not have seen before, and capitalize on it for greater growth

2. Discover the "low lying fruits" in your business that are ripe for picking, and learn how to pick them.

3. Understand how to use your corporate culture to not only generate consistently great results but sustain them.

4. Learn how to think like a CEO/GM -- and boost not just your business unit but your career as well

5. Develop and cast vision for your team

6. Learn how to develop a leadership style that is sound, intuitively appealing and effective for the long haul;

7. Discover how GMs can attract and retain the best people.

Program Outline for the 5th Developing the GM Mindset:

Introduction: Two fundamental strategies to help you make your numbers during a crisis

1. What is my business?
Company D marketing innovation case study
Am I marketing my products in a way that touches my customer

2. Do I have a vision?
What is vision?
The impact of vision
How do develop and communicate a compelling vision: visioning exercise
To get buy-in to a vision, be the vision

3. How active is my marketing posture?
Am I in a distribution situation or a demand-stimulation situation?
Company M distribution innovation case study
Distribution-driven growth opportunity questionnaire
Distribution improvement: the frequently overlooked "low-lying fruit"

4. Do I genuinely care for my people and my customers?
The case for a caring leadership style
To care for people, connect with them.
To connect with people, know a few things about them.
Connecting with people is a leader's responsibility.
Do I care enough to develop my people and give them opportunities to grow?

5. How smooth are my operations?
Company M Supply Chain innovation case study
Supply chain diagram
User-friendly supply chain diagnostic tools
Company culture: the invisible supervisor. How culture can lead to great results consistently and sustain it.

6. Do I lead with integrity?
Do I demonstrate character in my decisions?
Do I respect my people as individuals?
Do I recognize the contributions of my people to my business' success?
The case for integrity in leadership.

7. Closing
Do I have a passion for my business?
What can motivate me going forward?
Learn from the former president of Del Monte, who with his team survived the Asian Crisis, several corporate take-overs/buy-outs, and perennial labor and market challenges.

The EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS Workshop is an intensive customer service learning event designed to reveal the secret to achieving and surpassing your customers' expectations. Through this workshop you will discover the 10 powerful keys to excellent customer service, how to anticipate changing customers needs, deal with upset customers through discussions, case studies, individual and group learning activities. This workshop is facilitated by Boris Joaquin, head of donor engagement of World Vision in the Philippines and an advocate of excellence in customer service. Although World Vision thrives on donations of individuals and organizations, it was in his leadership that donations grew because of the effective donor care programs he spearheaded.


Join EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS, Achieving True Loyalty By Raising the Satisfaction Bar on August 26 (9am-5pm) to 27 (9am-12nn) at the New World Hotel Makati City. Give your customers that extra mile and they'll give you their time far, far longer than ordinarily.

Exceeding Customer Expectations
Achieving True Loyalty by Raising the Satisfaction Bar
Program Outline:

1. Generally Accepted Facts about the importance of Excellent (Poor) Customer
Service


2. What motivates a customer? Satisfaction vs Motivation


3. How can we best anticipate changing customers needs?
a. S-Plus
b. Equity Theory
c. Positive Side of Equity Theory


4. 10 Powerful Keys to Excellent Customer Service


5. Challenges in customer service


6. The Challenging Customer
a. Characteristics of challenging customers
b. Five Tips to avoid creating challenging customers
c. Six ways to cope with challenging customer


7. The Potentially Lost or Actually Lost Customer
a. General info on lost customer
b. What turns off customer
(1) value turn offs
(2) systems turnoffs
(3) people turnoffs
c. Four Tips in Recovering potentially lost customers
- includes: Preferred approaches when dealing with upset customers


8. Closing

Benefits:
Learn to achieve customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty
Learn how to exceed what customers anticipate
Learn how to anticipate changing customers needs
Learn techniques on how to recover lost or potentially lost customers
Learn approaches in dealing with upset customers
Learn ways to cope with challenging customers
Learn what to avoid to prevent customer turn offs


Who should attend?
Telemarketers
Outbound customer service agents and consultants using VOIP and POP (chat support and email)
Technical support agents
Outbound business support supervisors and heads who need a refresher
Quality assurance team members
Account managers
Sales Managers

Learning Investment: Exceeding Customer Expectations with Boris Joaquin Achieving True Loyalty by Raising the Satisfaction Bar August 26-27, 2010 |  New World Hotel Makati City Early Bird Rate: P6,977 +vat until August 13 Regular Rate: P7,977 +vat Walk-In Rate: P8,977 +vat Want discount? Knock off a couple of pesos off our rates when you register in groups! Call us to inquire about group discounts!  Tailor-fitted just for your company! We'll bring this workshop right at your base - customized and personalized to fit your training needs. Grab this opportunity to train your whole staff and attain results faster and simultaneously. Got Inquiries? Call us at 8132732 or 8132703 Send an email at saltandlightseminars@gmail.com

This October 21-24, 2010 the Philippine Russian Trade Exhibition opens to the public at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City. This first-ever Trade Exhibit showcasing the world-class products of leading companies from the Russia and Philippines is a specially-added major component in this year’s Philippine Russian Business Forum (PRBF).

The exhibition will serve as an educational point of exchange of cultural and economic backgrounds of both countries. It will showcase the various trade opportunities in both the Philippine and Russian sides.

Lined up for exhibition are products and services related to tourism and wellness; trade promotion and development; mining and energy; education and culture; labor, placement services and outsourcing; and retirement facilities and real estate development.

As Russia is known to have the largest reserves of mineral and energy resources in the world and is the world’s leading energy superpower, the visiting exhibitors are expected to bring in new ideas and current trends on the Russian energy market. Russia also has the world’s largest timber reserves and may likewise promote its wood furniture industry, along with its food products, toys and housewares, jewelry, fashion and accessories, and industrial goods.

Exhibits for tourism and wellness will showcase M.I.C.E. facilities and destinations, tourist attractions, and health and wellness products as well as medical tourism-related services.

The various aspects of both Filipino and Russian education, as well as culture, will also be featured in the trade fair, including English language training and arts and crafts. Among the highlights of the Philippine Russian Business Forum and Trade Exhibition is the one-on-one business matching and meeting between exhibitors and investors/buyers which is instrumental in the procuring of trade.

Meanwhile, the bust of famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy which will be mounted at the Sugbo Cultural Center has already arrived in time for this Russian-Philippines forum. The Tolstoy bust will be officialy unveiled on October 21, 2010 during the opening ceremonies of this year’s Philippine Russian Business Forum (PRBF).

Also, one of the main attraction of this event is the exhibition of Pototsky’s paintings in the Philippine Russian Art Show, which is one of the PBRF’s major component along with the Philippine Russian Trade Exhibition and Philippine Russian Photo Exhibit.

Investors, real estate developers, businessmen, decision makers, exporters, importers, national government agencies, and local government units from both the Russian Federation and the Philippines are expected to attend the four-day Philippine Russian Business Forum.

The 2nd Philippine Russian Business Forum is organized by the Philippine Russian Business Assembly (PRBA), Embassy of the Russian Federation, and the Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp. (PETCO) to promote tourism, trade, investment, and greater economic and socio-cultural exchanges between the Philippines and Russia. This year’s Forum promises to be a useful venue for prestigious business groups to network and explore opportunities that will expand trade and investments between the two countries.