...the Miss Grand International 2013 runner-up

At Miss Grand International 2013… Philippines places 4th

 

 

By MST Entertainment
Nov. 25, 2013

ANNALIE Forbes finished as 3rd runner up at the first Miss Grand International pageant held in Bangkok on Nov. 19. Puerto Rican Janelee Chaparro won over 74 other candidates and took home a $30,000 cash prize and a paid apartment residence in Thailand for a year during her reign as spokesperson for the pageant’s ‘Stop the War’ campaign at the international level.

Annalie Forbes’ winning form that won her fourth place

Forbes, a 20-year-old lounge singer who was second runner up in the Bb. Pilipinas 2012 pageant was handpicked to represent the Philippines at the newest beauty pageant and duplicated Ariella Arida’s placement at the Miss Universe 2013.

Dominican Republic’s Chantel Martínez was first runner up, while while Slovak Republic’s Denisa Paseciakova and Australia’s Kelly Louise Maguire were the second and fourth runners up, respectively.

Miss Grand International Janelee Chaparro of Puerto Rico (center) with Annalie Forbes (Philippines), Chantel Martinez (Dominican Republic), Denisa Paseciakova (Slovak Republic) and Kelly Louise Maguire

In the final interview, Forbes answered the top five question, “What would you do to prevent war and global conflict?” with “As a beauty queen, I will use my position to promote the advocacy of Miss Grand International by using various instruments, such as social media, the pageant itself and if necessary, a personal presence to spread the wonderful message of peace by stopping war. Thank you Thailand and all the countries who donated for (sic) my countrymen. Maraming maraming salamat po, from the Philippines!”

Ali, as she is fondly called, was Miss Bulacan 2011 and is currently a first year Infotech student at STI. She started singing at age seven and idolizes jazz queen Ella Fitzgerald.

 She had her first solo concert Invincible in March 2013, which showcased her love for jazz and bossa nova. Her father is a taxi driver so she helps in supporting the needs of her family. – Eton B. Concepcion, Photos: Miss Grand International

 

...the game designers

Pinoys place 2nd in global game design tilt

JM TUAZON, GMA News

07/22/2011

For the second year running, the Philippines bagged one of the top spots in the Imagine Cup, a global student technology competition hosted by software giant Microsoft.

With their puzzle game application entitled "Conjunct!," the De La Salle University (DLSU) team Signum Fidei (Latin for "Sign of Faith") garnered the second place in the Game Design Web subcategory of the 2011 youth software development tilt.

"Conjunct!" is a game challenging the player to clear boards overlaid with photos of real-life global problems.

In 2010, the Ateneo de Manila University team By Implication took home the grand prize in the same category, with their application called "Wildfire," a game about saving the world with the help of social action and volunteerism.

“Winning in this year’s Imagine Cup is a big achievement for the Philippines," said Tim Vergel de Dios, academic developer evangelist, Microsoft Philippines.

The DLSU team—composed of Jeriah KJell Miranda, Thomas Tiam-Lee, Keven Hernandez, and Jenina Chua—said their idea for the game was inspired by the game Tetris, coupled with the competition's theme focused on the United Nations Millenium Development Goals.

“As we realize the vast problems faced by the world today, we saw how Filipinos can make a difference; through our game, we have combined social awareness concepts in order to help make a difference by showing the people the various realities taking place in our world," said Tiam-Lee.

The 2011 edition of Microsoft's competition pooled together more than 400 students from over 70 countries competing in five different categories: software design, embedded development, game design, digital media and Windows Phone 7.

In the category where the Philippines won, Poland took the first place while Slovakia placed third.

To further promote the goals of the Imagine Cup, Microsoft announced a three-year $3 million grant program for the participating students of the competition.

The grant would include, among other things, cash, software, training and consulting support from the technology firm.

“Microsoft is very committed to nurture the talents and skills of all its students and through the grant, we hope to be able to further enhance their capabilities with the help of innovative technology," de Dios said.

“Our Philippine teams have shown potential in the aspect of using technology to help transform simple ideas into technologies that can help transform the way people work," he added. — TJD, GMA News