The winner of the 2024 Dr G.K. Harinath OAM Sports Medal is Manuel Bermejo Castillo OAM.
This award recognises the achievements of an individual or sporting code who has promoted cultural understanding and sporting endeavours within or between communities of different cultural and/or linguistic backgrounds.
Manuel has spent the last 40 years organising sports festivals in the Filipino community. He has been involved in competitive multicultural sports in Australia and the Philippines as a sportsman, coach and events manager since 1973.
He is a role model for the Filipino community across charitable, education and scholarship projects.
Manuel worked within the NSW Department of Education for 27 years. After retiring from public service, he continued as a part-time educator in the Catholic education sector. In 2001, Manuel received the NSW Department of Education’s 25 Years of Service Award for meritorious service.
From 1977-2015, Manuel served as the former President of the Philippine Australian Sports and Culture (PASC) where he pioneered the integration of multicultural sports into cultural festivals whilst raising a young family. The PASC positively impacted the lives of many people under Manuel’s leadership.
The Philippine Community Council of NSW (est. 1990) and the Fiesta Kultura (PASC) have led various groups in organising multicultural sports and Filipino-Australian cultural festivals under Manuel’s stewardship.
For his dedicated service to the community for over 40 years, Manuel has been a recipient of numerous prestigious Awards and Citations, both in Australia and the Philippines.
His achievements in Australia have included, the 1992 NSW Multicultural Marketing Award, the 2000 Australia Sports Medal, 2011 Premier’s Filipino Community Award for Arts and Culture and the most prestigious, the Order of Australia Medal in 2009 for his work in education, civic, multicultural sports and welfare, both in Australia and the Philippines.
His international honours have included the 1991 President’s Linkapil Award (Philippines), an award conferred on overseas Filipino individuals or organisations for their significant contributions to the development of a particular sector/local community.
Manuel also received a Presidential Citation (Banaag Award) for his significant contributions in a host country that have benefited and advanced the cause and interest of the Filipino diaspora/overseas Filipino community. In 2006, he was also a recipient of the Manila Special Citation, 2006 Ten Most Outstanding Manilans.
Manuel is a strong proponent of the unifying power of sports.
He has served as a Community Ambassador during international football tournaments, including the Asian Football Federation Cup, and the Women’s World Football Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
“When I was a young athlete, and even more so now as someone who is young at heart, I have seen that sport is the great equaliser,” Manuel says.
“We may not speak the same language, but we understand and learn from each other through sport. In my experience, a simple chessboard or football field can be a place where new friendships can grow,” he says.
Manuel hopes the Filipino youth will be inspired to continue his legacy into the future.
