Consul General Neil Ferrer Attends APEC Digital Month Activities in Seattle
SEATTLE, 14-16 August 2023 – Philippine Consul General Neil R. Ferrer attended a number of meetings and activities during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) and Related Meetings held in Seattle, Washington. The meetings are in preparation for the APEC Economic Leaders Week in San Francisco in November 2023.
Consul General Ferrer met Philippine SOM Leader in APEC Ambassador Charles Jose, as well as Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella, and the rest of the Philippine delegation.
Consul General Ferrer and Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona attended a panel titled, “Leveraging Carbon Offsets to Advance Climate Mitigation in APEC,” convened by the Business Council for International Understanding on the sidelines of the APEC Energy Ministerial Meetings in Seattle. The panel, which featured H.E. Arifin Tasrif, Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, and industry players from Chevron and non-profit Rocky Mountain Institute, discussed potential cooperation among stakeholders to create a regional framework that accelerates emissions reduction by enabling cross border trading of credits.
Consul General Ferrer and Consul Bago-Llona also attended the 2023 APEC Closing the Digital Skills Gap Forum, which had the theme, “Promoting an Inclusive Digitally-Skilled Workforce.” Officials from the Philippine Commission on Higher Education, as well as industry players and members of the academe attended the Forum.
The Forum builds upon the APEC Roadmap to Closing the Digital Skills Gap by 2030 and discussed case studies and good practices to close the digital skills gap in APEC economies and prepare their workforce for technological advancements, primarily Artificial Intelligence.
Consul General Neil R. Ferrer (right) with Mr. Andrew Tein, Lead for online education platform Coursera (Coursera.org) for Workforce Development and Public-Private Partnerships. The Philippines and Coursea, through a PPP cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology and Philippine startups, such as ed tech startup Coursebank (https://coursebank.ph), have provided data science education to Filipino workers in recent years.Consul General Neil R. Ferrer (right) with Mr. Andrew Tein, Lead for online education platform Coursera (Coursera.org) for Workforce Development and Public-Private Partnerships. The Philippines, through a PPP cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology and Philippine startups, such as ed tech startup Coursebank (https://coursebank.ph), have provided data science education to Filipino workers in recent years.Consul General Neil R. Ferrer with the Philippine Delegation to the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group led by CHED Commissioner Dr. Marita R. Canapi. Consul General Neil R. Ferrer with the Philippine Delegation to the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group led by CHED Commissioner Dr. Marita R. Canapi.Consul General Neil R. Ferrer with Department of Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella(R-L) Consul General Neil Ferrer with H.E. Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources for Indonesia and Indonesian Consul General in San Francisco Prasetyo Hadi in Leveraging Carbon Offsets to Advance Climate Mitigation in APEC Forum
Consul General Neil R. Ferrer with Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell at the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Reception with APEC Senior Officials at the Chihuly Museum of GlassL-R: Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona, Consul General Neil R. Ferrer, Philippine APEC Senior Official Ambassador Charles Jose, Ms. May Deza Dominguez, Vice President of Filipino Chamber of Commerce Chamber in the Pacific Northwest, and Assistant Secretary Marcos Punsalang.Consul General Neil R. Ferrer (middle) with Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Secretary General Eduardo Pedrosa (rightmost) and Bellevue, Washington Council Member Conrad Lee (leftmost) at the PECC Reception with APEC Senior Officials at the Chihuly Museum of GlassPH Consul General in San Francisco Neil R. Ferrer and Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona Attend Closing the Digital Skills Gap Forum in Seattle.
