Timor-Leste joins Anak TV’s Southeast Asia Video Festival for Children
What if the next powerful story from Southeast Asia comes from a child in Timor-Leste?
That question stayed with us as we flew to Dili to invite media partners and educators to take part in the Southeast Asia Video Festival for Children (SEAVFC), an annual initiative of Anak TV that brings together stories about children across the region — guided each year by a common theme and told by both professional and young storytellers.
Launched in 2017 in Manila, SEAVFC has since been held in Cambodia, Malaysia and most recently, Thailand. It is participated in by the 10-member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). With Timor-Leste now the newest member of ASEAN, it felt like the right time to help bring its storytellers into this growing regional festival.
Our delegation was led by Anak TV president Elvira Yap Go, together with former ambassador Minda Cruz, myself as Anak TV vice president and Rechilda Estores. We arrived in Dili after a long journey via Kuala Lumpur.
We were welcomed at the Timor Plaza Hotel by Philippine Ambassador Mary Anne Padua, whose support proved crucial throughout the visit. More than hosting us, Ambassador Padua and her team helped connect Anak TV with key partners in Timor-Leste’s media and education sectors, opening doors for Anak TV and reflecting the Philippines’ contribution to strengthening ASEAN’s people-to-people ties.
Our first meeting was held at the headquarters of GMN, a television station in Timor-Leste, where we met with Director General Levi da Costa Serrano and his team.
Elvira, who has a deep passion for child-friendly media, shared what Anak TV has been doing and how SEAVFC has brought together storytellers from ASEAN countries to tell stories about their children. Her leadership, conviction, and sincerity resonated. By the end of the meeting, Serrano accepted our invitation to join the SEAVFC governing board.
With us was Ambassador Minda Cruz, who is widely respected in diplomatic circles. Her participation and endorsement lent credibility to Anak TV. She had previously served as Philippine ambassador to the UK, China, Singapore, Australia, among others.
From there, we headed to the newly built Palm Springs Hotel for lunch with Philippine consul Norman Padalhin. We ate Indonesian, Vietnamese and Chinese food while conversing about the Philippine community in Timor-Leste and the relationship between the two countries.
After lunch, we went straight to the Philippine Embassy. They have a beautiful mural. As is customary in Timor-Leste, Ambassador Padua greeted us with tais placed over our shoulders. We met with the Casa de Producao Audiovisual (CPA) and representatives from various schools. CPA, which has also been training Timorese youth and producing documentaries for many years, expressed interest in helping train students for the festival. School representatives were equally enthusiastic and assured that their students could tell good stories.
In all three meetings, we felt the enthusiasm. There was genuine excitement.
We capped the day with a visit to the Cristo Rei of Dili, a 27-meter-high statue of Jesus Christ overlooking the sea. It was a fitting way to end a full day.
The following morning, we began the long journey home, flying from Dili to Bali, then Kuala Lumpur, and finally back to Manila. It was tiring, but it was all worth it.
As preparations begin for the 6th Southeast Asia Video Festival for Children, which will be hosted by Indonesia in 2027, we look forward to the day when stories from Timor-Leste are told alongside those from the rest of Southeast Asia.
And when that happens, we can say that somewhere in Dili, those stories began.
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