Celebrating Family Connections through Records Preservation 

FamilySearch Philippines gathered Filipino genealogists, archivists, historians, government leaders, and the interfaith community in a VIP event dubbed "Celebrating Family Connections Through Records Preservation," held at the Garden Ballroom of EDSA Shangri-La, Manila, on Thursday, October 27, 2022.

Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International, Fr. Carlos Reyes, Minister for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs in Archdiocese of Manila, and Genealogist and Social Media Educator Mona Magno-Veluz were the keynote speakers on topics about family connections and preserving stories.

The occasion included a mini-exhibit outside the grand ballroom that showed FamilySearch's milestones in microfilming, digitization and relationship-building over the last five decades. It also showcased family trees connecting Philippine presidents, vice presidents, and Jose Rizal's lineage.

Among those who graced the celebration were National Commission for Culture and the Arts chairperson Rene Escalante, historian Prof. Xiao Chua, and documentarist Howie Severino of GMA 7.

"One of the takeaways I have from this particular event is that there are many stakeholders to history preservation and access to the documents. All of them need to work together in order to achieve success," Mona Magno-Veluz, also known as Mighty Magulang to her TikTok followers, mentioned in a post-event interview.

The event concluded with inspiring messages from Elder Yoon Hwan Choi of the Area Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Philippines and Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, Area Seventy, and Chairman of the Board of FamilySearch International.

FamilySearch aims to continue its preservation efforts in the Philippines in the coming years, especially in the face of ever-worsening calamities that affect records. As more thought leaders and decision-makers are aware of the urgency, future generations of Filipinos will significantly benefit from the information and stories found in historical materials FamilySearch can save.

What is FamilySearch?

FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization offering access to its genealogical record collections via its website, FamilySearch.org. It is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the Philippines, it has been providing access to records of genealogical significance since 1973 and has preserved over 126 million images through its microfilm and digital image capture activities. Of these images, more than 20 million records have been made searchable on FamilySearch.org.

Create an account for free to enjoy all FamilySearch features: https://bit.ly/3EMEmu5.