Ladies and gentlemen, a great day to all of you!
I am pleased to be part of today’s momentous occasion where we celebrate the 10th year of Design Week Philippines (DWP). Spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Design Center of the Philippines (DCP), our celebration this year marks a decade of showcasing the unique creativity and design capability of the Filipino manufacturers and design professionals.
Through DCP, we have been organizing fitting activities that create local and global awareness about our local designs to bring in opportunities for economic development towards viable trade benefits. And in line with the new mandate of DCP, we revamped DWP to also become a creative hub-activation platform where new matchups among businesses, hubs, and sectors are fostered and nurtured.
Part of our celebration today is also the launching of the Philippine Design Economy Mapping study and the first-ever National Design Policy. This new policy highlights the key role of design in transforming the Filipino way of life as well as cultivates and promotes design culture nationwide.
It is our priority at DTI to support our creative industries. That is why I am delighted to share with you our successful participation at the Expo 2020 Dubai, where we showcased to the world the Philippine Pavilion. What we did in Dubai was not just merely about setting a stage for Filipino creativity and culture, but also about bringing in trade and investment opportunities into the country that will help us in our economic recovery efforts due to the ongoing pandemic.
If there’s one important thing this global crisis has revealed to us, it is that one’s creativity is crucial to survival. It is our creativity that keeps us productive and prompts us to be innovative. And as you know, for me, creativity and innovation is the one that will make the difference, one that will set us apart, and the one that will add higher value to all your creations, to all your products.
So, I hope through each of our unique creative capabilities, we design a better and brighter future for one another.
I would like to congratulate DCP and all our partners behind this year’s Design Week Philippines! Let us support our local art manufacturers and designers, and continue empowering our design industry.
Maraming salamat po, at mabuhay tayong lahat! ♦
Date of Release: 19 October 2021