The officers and staff of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN with Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso (seated; third from right) and the facilitators from the Foreign Service Institute.

The Jakarta-based Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN, composed of 16 personnel headed by the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN, Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso, held its annual team building activity on 3-4 November 2018 in Sentul, Indonesia. The quiet suburb situated just outside Jakarta was the perfect location for the team to reflect and discuss their core strengths, as well as identify opportunities where further improvements could be made.

In her opening remarks that set the collective mindset of the team, Ambassador Elizabeth Buensuceso underscored that it is incumbent upon Mission’s personnel, as recipient of the DFA Best Organization Award, to ensure that the level of excellence with which they operate, one that has been recognized and celebrated, is sustained throughout their lifelong careers in the Philippine Foreign Service. She thanked the members of the Mission for their dedication, tireless efforts and for embodying the principles of true and faithful service to advance Philippine national interests.

The Mission team was deeply engrossed in an activity that, among others, highlighted the importance of vocalizing appreciation for others.

The team building activity had 2 major elements: a workshop and fellowship. The workshop, facilitated by Ms. Dulce Amor Fortunado and Ms. Rhoda Acosta of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), was conducted with a mixture of tabletop exercises and group discussions, and was peppered with a lot of laughter, tears and dancing.

Dancing exercises also formed part of the workshop activities to help keep the positive momentum going.

The day-long workshop discussions produced a set of recommendations that may be considered by the larger Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs family with a view to further strengthen operations. The team building activity capped off with a very emotional but rejuvenating fellowship service that acted as a spiritual balm for the Mission team.

The workshop also divided the team into breakout groups where in-depth discussions were held on how to enhance the strengths of the team.