by Tony Blair

from Washington Post

The Philippines is in many ways the perfect place to explore the complexities surrounding the relationship between faith and globalization, both past and present.

As a society deeply influenced historically by Spanish, Indonesian, Malaysian and indigenous cultures, the Philippines finds itself in the 21st century occupying a delicate and profoundly important role in both Asian and Western trade and foreign affairs. I am therefore pleased to announce that the Tony Blair Faith Foundation has just established a deep and extensive partnership in the Philippines: a schools initiative to make inter-faith dialogue a part of social education, a program presently in 17 other nations; and a consortium of universities that will join the global Faith and Globalization course that was begun at Yale in the USA and is now in 8 countries round the world.

The Philippines is a great place to exchange such ideas. It is a fascinating country on the move, facing big challenges but with enormous possibility which it is starting to fulfill. It has a new president with a strong mandate and the determination and capability to succeed and a people behind him willing him on. It is a nation of 100 million, situated in the middle of the rising East, with resources, culture and beauty to shape its future. Its people are hard-working and smart. Its poverty remains real, but so is its potential.

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