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Philippines celebrates in solidarity with the UAE’s National Festival of Tolerance

Photo: Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, H.E. Hjayceelyn Quintana welcomes Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation at the Philippines’ booth during the kick off celebrations of the National Tolerance Festival

The UAE kicked off their National Tolerance Festival with thousands of residents celebrating with the nation. Themed “On Zayed’s Approach”, several countries including the Philippines participated during the launch held at the Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi last November 9.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation personally visited the booth of the Philippines spearheaded by the Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, H.E. Hjayceelyn Quintana together with the Philippine Embassy staff, Filipino community leaders, and hundreds of Filipinos in attendance during the event.

“As the 3rd largest expatriate community in the UAE, it is very important that we are able to show our solidarity with the United Arab Emirates in terms of highlighting social diversity, social harmony and tolerance. The leaders of this nation have been very clear in acknowledging the important contributions of our community, the Filipino community in the UAE. We are very happy to be part of their achievements as a nation and we hope that we will continue to be very active,” said Quintana.

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The Philippine Ambassador adds that the Philippines looks forward to help the UAE in its continuous efforts to show to the world the importance of diversity and social harmony: “Our participation today shows that we are committed to the principles that they are upholding, and I hope that they will always consider us to be part of anything that would show diversity and social harmony. The UAE is very unique because it’s one of the very few countries that highlight tolerance and acceptance so it is our honour to be participating in this event.”

A New World Record

The festivities also celebrated a new world record as the UAE saw 1,467 people participating at the official Guinness World Record for “The Most Signatures on a Whiteboard”.

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Philippine Ambassador to the UAE H.E. Hjayceelyn Quintana participates in the signing of the mural for the Guinness World Record as the UAE hit a new record with a total of 1,467 signatures.

Afraa Al Sabri shared the message of Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan for the event who thanked all the residents of the UAE for their active participation in the event: “In this Tolerance Walk, we are able to set a new Guinness Book World Record: “The Most Signatures on a Whiteboard.” Tolerance in the UAE means Tolerance for all. Regardless of a person’s nationality, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, age, physical abilities or economic status. Today’s Tolerance Walk portrayed the unique and diverse nature of our country and the message of inclusion was very evident.”

Neil Bie

Neil Bie is the Assistant Editor for The Filipino Times, responsible for gathering news that will resonate among OFW readers in the UAE, Philippines, and around 200 countries, where the platform reaches both Filipinos and worldwide audiences. ||| Get in touch with Neil at: Facebook: Neil Bie ||| Email: [email protected]||| or by sending a message to the Facebook page of The Filipino Times at: https://www.facebook.com/FilipinoTimes/

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