The new head of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), gears up the Philippine creative industry as a key driver for economic growth in the upcoming CREATE Philippines 2018.
“Create Philippines serves as a development platform where Filipino artists, professionals, developers, and other content creators can showcase their innovative ideas, collaborate with other talents, and look for new business opportunities in the global creative market,” said CITEM Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan in a recently concluded media preview.
The line-up of activities includes masterclass and lecture sessions, portfolio exhibit, business consultation and networking event, and workshop and talks.
PH Creative Industry as Economic Driver
As a former editor-in-chief of Preview magazine for 15 years, Suaco-Juan emphasized the role of Philippine creative industry as an engine of economic growth, particularly in mobilizing innovation and job generation.
In 2014 alone, the Philippine creative industry has contributed over P660 billion to the economy based on a report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This is equivalent to about 7.34 percent of the country’s growth domestic product (GDP) on that same year.
In terms of employment, the contribution of Philippine creative industry to the economy is among the highest in the world. Filipino workers in the advertising, film, and video, music, performing arts, publishing, broadcasting, visual, game development, and graphic arts make up around 11 percent of our labor force as of 2014.
However, Filipino creatives only ranked 22nd in their contribution to the country’s GDP despite taking up a big portion of the labor market based on the same WIPO report.
“There is a significant disconnect between how much we depend on the creative industries for employment and how much we value their contributions to the economy,”Suaco-Juan said.
“That is why there is a strong need to advance the Philippine creative industry. While relatively in its infancy development stage, the sector continues to demonstrate its economic potential and viability largely thanks to Filipino talents who are recognized worldwide,” she added.
2018 Theme: Communication Design
With an aim to develop the new emerging creative industries, CITEM has decided to focus on a sector for the next editions of CREATE Philippines. Communication Design was chosen for 2018 which led to a renewed partnership with the Communication Design Association of the Philippines (CDAP).
Suaco-Juan said focus allows CREATE Philippines to “highlight the capabilities of creatives in their particular specialization.”
Communication Design is the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content. The form it takes can be physical or virtual and can include images, words, or graphics.
CDAP President and TeamManila co-founder Jowee Alviar said that the focus on Communication Design has inspired their sector to “organize everyone in terms of design standards, training, and education up to engagement with the government to support the development of the industry.”
“CREATE Philippines serves as a great opportunity for Filipino creatives to really explore their passion and be in an environment where they can thrive and ideate,” said Alviar.
“With these kind of events, I can say that the future looks good for the next generation of creatives since we can count on the government to support us.”
Launched last 2017, CREATE Philippines is the country’s first international creative industry trade platform that promotes continued learning, knowledge exchange, and business networking. Its second edition will be held on September 22-23 at the basement 1 of the Globe Tower, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
For those interested in joining CREATE Philippines 2018, kindly visit www.citem.com/createphilippines and register now.