(In photo: DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual and V&A Dundee Director of Operations Christian Moire)
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) led the Philippine Creative Industries Development Council (PCIDC) in a mission to forge partnerships with three of Scotland’s United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-designated Creative Cities: Dundee for Design, Perth for Crafts and Folk Arts, and Glasgow for Music.
The mission trip last week also included engaging with creative institutions to gain insights into the UK’s approach to leverage the cities’ unique strengths and creative talents and assets in driving socio-economic growth, enhancing cultural enrichment, and promoting social cohesion. This aligns with the DTI’s active efforts in supporting Philippine cities to become UNESCO-designated Creative Cities.
The Philippine Creative Industries Development Act mandates the PCIDC, which is chaired by the DTI, to establish the Philippine Creative Cities Network that aims to incubate and accelerate cities towards UNESCO Creative City accreditation.
Consistent with this mandate, DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual vowed during the meeting to expand the opportunities for synergies between the Philippines and the UK Creative Cities.
“By taking inspiration from the best practices and innovative approaches of our British counterparts, we can adapt and tailor our strategies to address the unique challenges and opportunities present in our own creative cities,” he said.
Currently, the Philippines has three UNESCO-designated Creative Cities: Baguio for Crafts and Folk Arts (2017), Cebu for Design (2019), and Iloilo for Gastronomy (2023).
To enable other Philippine cities to become UNESCO-designated Creative Cities, the DTI implements the Lunsod Lunsad Program which provides strategic support and financial resources to cities aspiring to establish themselves as vibrant creative hubs. The program empowers local governments and stakeholders by fostering collaborative initiatives, providing capacity-building initiatives, and facilitating access to funding, which enable them to harness the creative potential of their communities.
Meanwhile, key officials of Abertay University in Dundee shared with the delegation their innovative strategies for fostering industry-academe innovation partnerships, cultivating talent, and driving growth in the game development and digital animation industries.
The delegation also immersed themselves in the University’s state-of-the-art facilities, witnessing firsthand the cutting-edge resources and technology available to train game development and digital animation students and support firms in these sectors.
Building on the digital economy, the visit equipped the participants with practical insights into the UK’s support infrastructure valuable for these industries, which are among the DTI’s priority creative sectors.
The PCIDC delegation’s three-day visit to the UK was a mission organized by the British Council aimed at enabling government representatives to tap into the UK’s thriving creative ecosystem and forge partnerships with key UK institutions to advance the country’s creative economy agenda.
