Dr. Ambeth Ocampo lectures to a full house at Sentro Rizal Ottawa.
31 May 2019, Ottawa – The Filipino community in Ottawa welcomed Dr. Ambeth Ocampo back to Canada’s capital for the latter’s lecture titled “Rizal: The Hero as Traveler” held on Friday, 31 May 2019, at the Sentro Rizal Ottawa.
An expert on 19th century Philippine history and the country’s leading authority on Dr. Jose Rizal, Dr. Ocampo led the audience of more than a hundred people through the life and times of the Philippines’ national hero. Among the issues highlighted during the lecture were the impact of Rizal’s travels on his view of the world and how his teachings continue to be relevant in the 21st century. Dr. Ocampo exhorted the audience to look beyond Rizal as a hero and see him as an ordinary person, as it is through understanding his humanity that other Filipinos can realize their own capacity for greatness.
The lecture went into overtime as the enthusiastic audience bombarded Dr. Ocampo with questions ranging from rumors about Rizal to little-known snippets of the hero’s private life. First generation Filipino immigrants to Canada conveyed their amazement at the trove of information uncovered through Dr. Ocampo’s research while second and third generation Filipino-Canadians expressed their appreciation to Dr. Ocampo for connecting them with their heritage.
Dr. Ocampo’s lecture was organized by the Sentro Rizal Ottawa of the Embassy of the Philippines in Canada, in collaboration with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and with the support of the Knights of Rizal Gatineau Chapter. This is the first of a series of lectures scheduled to take place in Toronto, Washington,DC, Chicago, and New York. END.