07 December 2022 – Ambassador Ma. Hellen De La Vega welcomed Ms. Grace Lawson, an awardee of the New Colombo Plan (NCP) scholarship, to the Philippine Embassy on 06 December 2022. Ms. Lawson, a student of the Australian Catholic University, will pursue a semester of studies at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines in 2023. As part of Ms. Lawson’s pre-departure orientation, she called on Ambassador De La Vega and discussed her program in Manila. Ambassador De La Vega took the opportunity to brief Ms. Lawson on the long-standing friendship of the Philippines and Australia, living and studying in the Philippines, and opportunities for professional growth and development.

In April this year, the Ambassador also met three NCP scholars bound for the Philippines. The New Colombo Plan is an initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region. -- END --