March 24, 2009

Anthony Charles Lynton

Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was the speaker at the fourth Ateneo MVP Center Leadership Forum yesterday and I was privileged to be among the 1,200 people invited to the talk. I had a great seat too: not orchestra center because the first few rows were reserved for important people and the rest of it was immediately filled up, but the first row of the left side which turned out to be right in front of Mr. Blair's podium! His topic was "The Leader as Nation Builder in a Time of Globalization." The topic was specially chosen by the Ateneo de Manila University for its 150th anniversary whose theme, The Ateneo Way, comprises excellence, spirituality and nation-building.

Tony Blair at the Ateneo MVP Center Leadership Forum
I'm not going to say anything about the lecture itself because I've already seen three articles written about it and will just point you to them. The articles of John Nery, a journalist and columnist at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, are "Blair: The battle is about Islam" and "Her Britannic Majesty’s loyal texter." The article of Rick Olivares, an alumnus who writes regularly for the Ateneo de Manila website, is "Tony Blair: An ordinary human being in an extraordinary situation." And the article of Joaquin Alonzo Narciso, a young high school student, is "Servant-Leaders as Nation Builders." After the lecture, Mr. Blair was presented with several gifts which hold great meaning to the university: a replica of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus carved by Philippine national hero Jose Rizal while he was a student in the Ateneo; a set of books collecting the essays and homilies of Fr. Horacio de la Costa, a historian and the first Filipino superior of the Jesuits in the Philippines; and, probably a first for the university during a formal occasion, an Ateneo de Manila jacket.

Tony Blair wearing an Ateneo de Manila University jacket

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always read your blog like Hilda. This photo is great. At the same time shows the power of the blog author. Congratulations. With the most sincere respect.

VP said...

Tony seems quite older, time passes (for me too!).
Nice jacket, thanks for the links, and obviously fine shots.

-Chris- said...

To answer your questions about the snow plow, the wheels went up in the air because the guy lowered the plow to the ground and it pushed the vehicule upward (Now don't ask me why he did that).

Reena said...

wow! when i herd about tony blair coming here, i checked the cost of the seats. grabe, ang mahal ha. hehehe..iba tlga ang ateneo, bigatin ang guests! happy 150th pala. Were you starstruck?

last year, during UP's centennial, i only had the chance to watch Satur Ocampo's lecture. Syempre ang daming activists. :) but i went just to witness him.

i like the jacket too. :)

Lois said...

Oh my gosh Hilda! That is so exciting! You got some wonderful pictures!

Halcyon said...

Cool! It's always neat to see leaders up close and personal. He always seemed like a pretty regular guy too - not one of those snooty Engligh-types. (No offense to any English here - as I'm sure if you're reading this blog you're not snooty. :) )

Jane Hards Photography said...

Not a face I was expecting to see on your blog, but a very familiar one here.

Judy said...

Cool....very cool.

Olivier said...

te voila reporteur politique. la classe la veste de Tony Blair ;o)
veiled you are political correspondent. the class the jacket of Tony Blair ;o)

Andrea said...

Dear Hilda, Love your blog!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for visiting mine!!!!!!
Yes!!! is Fall time, it is like this for all the Southern Hemisphere!!! LOL

Unknown said...

He was looking at you!... Are you sure photos were allowed? Lol! Nice shot, Hilda!

marley said...

Great photos. Glad you enjoyed the lecture.

I think it best I keep my opinions of Tony Blair to myself. He isn't my favourite person.

D said...

Great post and what a neat experience for you!

Anonymous said...

Lucky!!! My mom and I have this silly crush on him. Hehe... blame it on the accent :)

Mia

P.S. I have a new blog, on running. I'm better at keeping that one up than my metro manila photos blog. :)

GreensboroDailyPhoto said...

So glad a citizen-of-the-world like you was there, front-row-center, Hilda! Thanks for sharing this episode in your life.

escape said...

what a great privilege. i also want to learn from him. i am quite intrigued with his second talk about islam. Ill be reading it. thanks for sharing hilda.

Lowell said...

What good fortune! And good pics, too, Hilda.

I don't say much about Blair because of his Iraq war support, but it is always interesting to hear such a personality.

 gmirage said...

Wow thats really close! I am curious abt the Islam talk too...

Priyanka Khot said...

Wow! I almost envy you for that seat and being invited to the talk. Must have been interesting.

Blair looks good in the jacket.

will surely read the articles later in the day.

Anonymous said...

He has always been one of my favorites. I used to watch him on television each week.

I like that jacket.

Cezar and Léia said...

Congratulations Hilda and many thanks for sharing this post!
Léia

Hilda said...

Reena:
Oh yes, definitely starstruck! I actually missed his first few lines because I was just staring at him!

JM:
Hee hee, why do you think I chose that shot out of more than 80? And yes, cameras were allowed, just no flash. I had to turn it on for security though, just to prove it was a real camera and not a shell hiding a bomb!

Mia:
I don't blame you and your mom. The man's good looking and he's a great speaker.

penny said...

What a fantastic honor for you to be asked to speak, Hilda. Congradulations!

Eki said...

what a priviledged opportunity indeed to be able to listen to lecture from such a prominent world figure and take his photo from so up close, Hilda.

Joe Narvaez said...

Uy si Blair! Nakapagpa-autograph ka ba? hehe