HAMM, GERMANY —Davao born Arline Ascaño Rüther, was elected new President of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) Alumni Association Germany. She joined Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity and Sorority while studying Chemical Engineering at the Ateneo de Davao University in the ‘80s.
APO which is known for its services in developing students as leaders and active players in campus and community development and has a membership of about 500,000 in the USA, Canada, and the Philippines, has practically influenced Arline Rüther’s dedication to becoming active in development work.
Way back in the Philippines, Arline Rüther worked in several Davao-based development organizations like the Mindanao Youth Center, Mindanao Interfaith People’s Conference (MIPC), Mindanao Coalition of Development NGOs (MinCode), and the Women Initiative for Food and Environment (WIFE) before she went to Germany in 2001 to do her Master’s in Development Policy at the University of Bremen.
Today, she lives with her husband and three children in the city of Hamm in North Rhine-Westphalia where she runs a language school and teaches as well.
In 2009 she founded the International Women’s Forum in Hamm and has served as Chairman of the Board since then. Last year, she was elected as one of the deputy Chairpersons of the Integration Council of the City of Hamm.
With her new added task as president of the APO Alumni Association in Germany, Arline Rüther sees herself leading the organization in advising, counseling, and supporting the Filipino diaspora in Germany and informing the German public about the developments in the Philippines.
Arline Rüther represents the German Section at the European level and vis-à-vis the parent organization in the Philippines in the next two years. –Otmar
