MANILA, Philippines — Get discovered for TV, movies, and commercials at Road to Fame Season 4, the annual Philippine talent and fashion congress mounted by interactive modeling communication platform My Fame and Fortune (http://www.myfameandfortune.com) at the Festival Supermall, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Attended by 6,000 participants annually, Road to Fame is the only event of its kind that connects aspiring models with legitimate talent agencies, casting agencies, advertising agencies, and advertisers.

Success stories of Road to Fame products are aplenty: Louise Abuel went on to star as Kevin in “100 Days to Heaven” and Edison in “Ikaw ang Pag-ibig,” while Dale Baldillo recently appeared as the young Gerald Anderson in “Budoy” and starred in the “Gising Na, Omar!” episode of “Wansapanataym.” Countless other models have also been cast in fashion shows, print ads, and TV commercials.

Don Alonso, administrator of My Fame and Fortune, notes that touching base with these agencies is important for those who want to break into the industry.

“Road to Fame allows models to meet agencies in a more convenient location, to ‘get their foot into the door,’ so to speak, as opposed to trying their luck door to door,” Alonso notes. “The more agencies they meet, the better their chances of getting booked, and the better they can decide who they want to work with.”

This year, Festival Supermall is also casting its own image models from the pool of talents in Road to Fame. There will also be castings lined up for Philippine Fashion Racks, Multiply.com, and Mossimo, with director and starmaker Fritz Ynfante heading the panel for the casting calls.

For a minimum purchase of P500 single or cumulative receipt from any participating Festival Supermall store until March 3, a customer can claim from the Customer Service counter (Level 2) a certificate which entitles the user to participate in Road to Fame. The certificate contains an access PIN that entitles the user to open a profile on My Fame and Fortune, create his/her own downloadable and printable set card, and send this set card to casting agencies.

Within the congress area, for P100, participants can also get professional hair and makeup done, and get professional photos taken. The certificate also entitles the customer to attend the go-see and casting on the following dates: Philippine Fashion Racks open casting: Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and 11; Multiply.com casting – Feb. 18 and 25, March 11; Mossimo and Mossimo Kids open casting: Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and 11; Mossimo and Mossimo Kids Fashion Show – Jan. 29, Feb. 26, and Mar. 4.

UE Caloocan holds lecture on climate change

THE University of the East in Caloocan will hold a lecture on environmental awareness, titled “Population, Environment and Climate Change: Are We Ready for Another Sendong?” on Jan. 30, 9 a.m., at the UE Multipurpose Hall.

Dr. Rogelio V. Paglomutan, dean of the UE College of Business Administration and an economist will deliver the lecture. He is also a former assistant secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and a former deputy national treasurer of the Philippines.

The forum, organized by the Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (JPIA) aims to increase the environmental awareness among students and rally for the climate change adaptation and mitigation.

For details, call 362-2907 or log on to UE web site: www.ue.edu.ph

Australia ’s ‘Brain Man ’ here for lecture

THE Beacon School, will host a series of free lectures by educator John Joseph Dip. T., B. Ed., M.Ed, touted as Australia’s “Brain Man” on Feb. 2 and 3.

Lectures on “International Best Practices for Learning in the Early Years” will be held on Feb. 2 from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. while “Parenting with the Brain in Mind” will be from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Palm Grove in Rockwell Club, Makati. His lecture on “Focus on Learning, the Early Years,” for teachers and students will take place on Feb. 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Beacon School Auditorium.

Parents and teachers alike will gain a deeper insight into the processes involved in learning and development through his lectures that identify individual talents and strengths and growing quality lives; encourage critical and creative thinking in the early years; create the conditions for engaging learners; teach ways of using explicit levels of memory and stages of learning and benefits of developing habits of inquiry. The second day of his lectures explores the conditions for creating harmonious families; weighted elements in supporting children to engage with school; Allostasis in managing family stress; motivation and confidence in developing ‘I can do it’ concepts with the child; the power of positive thinking; harnessing the critical role of sleep in learning and behavior; emotional intelligence in learning and relationships; learning styles in assessing child’s strengths and career interests; and engaging kids in the classroom.

Joseph is an experienced classroom practitioner, university educator, and professional speaker, with expertise in the field of contemporary learning theories and practices. He engages parents and teachers to understand how children best learn given current brain research.

For more information and to register, call 02.840- 5040 local 101, or email studentservices@beaconschool.ph.