The Foreign Service Institute organized a lecture-workshop on speech writing and delivery on 6 January 2017, led by Senior Foreign Affairs Adviser, Dr. Dante Velasco and PTV-4 broadcast journalist, Veronica Baluyut-Jimenez. The session, which aims to enhance the oral and written communication skills of its participants, is part of the Diplomatic Communications module of the Foreign Service Officers’ (FSO) Cadetship Course – Batch XXIII.

As part of the training, seventeen (17) FSO cadets were asked to write and deliver mock speeches for various scenarios, including a United Nations plenary address and a film screening for the Filipino Community in Singapore. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. attended the speech delivery and gave a short speech on the importance of public speaking in the work of an effective diplomat.