Creative Futures will be a two-day digital gathering of and leaders and experts in the local creative industry with the goal of discussing the future of the Philippine creative industry.
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When the pandemic reached the Philippines in early 2020, it spared to corner of society. However, no sector was more affected than the creatives industry. With face-to-face interactions either being banned or done to a minimum, the local creative industry crated. Shoots were canceled or downsized. Concerts and live performances were canceled. Theaters were closed. Thousands of people employed by the local creative industry lost their jobs and continue to struggle to make ends meet. With the arrival of the vaccines, there is hope that the creative industry could see a rebound.
Creative Futures
Because of this, CREATE Philippines, an initiative to build the creative community, champion local talent, and promote the Philippine creative industries to the world, is holding a two-day special digital conference to discuss the future of the Philippine creative economy. Currently, on its fourth edition, Creative Futures will be held June 28 and 29. The conference will feature a variety of fields like Animation, Advertising, Communication Design, Game Development, Digitalized Creative Content, and Comics and Illustration, and leaders and experts as speakers from these fields. Furthermore, the event will serve as both a celebration of Filipino creatives and a jumping-off point for realizing the importance the local creative industry has on the Philippine economy and business.
Creative Futures is meant as a way for community-building between creatives and leaders in their respective fields. Writer, editor, and composer Erwin Romulo will serve as this year’s Program Director for Creative Futures. The event will be filled with a line-up of speakers, features, and panel discussions that will tackle the future of the creative industry. Notable industry champions in the public sector, business leaders, and key people in the creative industry will share their stories of navigating the “new normal” and offer insight into how they see their industries advancing in the coming years.
The Future Of The Philippine Creative Industry
The Creative Economy Council of the Philippines (CECP) named 2030 as the target year for the country to become the top creative economy in the ASEAN region. According to Erwin Romulo, the target year was a major factor in the selection of programs that shaped the conference. “We took that very seriously and started with the mindset of presenting case studies, presentations, and conversations that would help in creating an environment for that goal to be achieved,”
“Time is a big factor and we have less than a decade to go. Therefore, we started with initiatives that are already happening and existing. This way, we envisioned the conference as an avenue that will help push these remarkable projects a little further on. Either by forging partnerships or facilitating conversations with potential collaborators in the private and public sector,” he adds.
The Events
Day 1 events, activities, and speakers are as follows. There will be an Adobo Magazine-produced panel of local creatives, including Design Center of the Philippines Executive Director Rhea Matute, Intramuros Administrator Atty. Guiller Asido, Curiosity’s Kristine Layaoen, Design Advisory Council’s Architect Royal Pineda, and Plus63 Design Co. Founding Partner Dan Matutina. They will talk about the role of data and graphic design in enhancing Intramuros’ urban planning and user experience. Trese creators Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, and director/showrunner Jay Oliva will talk about the journey from komiks to Netflix adaptation. Filipino-American comic book writer and artist Whilce Portacio is set to appear and will share his insights on telling Filipino stories to a global audience.
The events for day 2 are as follows. Kiddo Cosio will present La Union’s The Great Northwest and talk about how they’ve managed their business and navigated the lockdowns during the pandemic. Kumu Philippines co-Founder and Social TV Chief of Content Angelo Mendez and Vice President for Marketing Vicky Herrera will have a presentation on how the company plans to make the country the region’s latest technology hub. There will be a panel discussion on eSports featuring Evident Communications CEO Cecile Yujuico, Tier One’s Tryke Gutierrez, Gariath Concepts’ Joebert Yu, and eSports caster Mara Aquino. Finally, National Artist for Cinema Kidlat Tahimik will have a screening of his short film about empowering communities in storytelling.
Other Activities
One of the highlights of Creative Futures will be the presentation of the Philippine Creative Industries Act. The bill was authored by Congressman Christopher “Toff” de Venecia and filed by the Arts and Culture, and Creative Industries Bloc of the 18th Congress (ACCIB). It aims to provide an enabling policy and governance framework that will shape the Philippine creative industry, make it globally competitive, and ensure a sustainable future for the country’s local talents.
There will also be a two-part curated program of short films on both day 1 and 2. The movies will be from different regions of the country.
Creative Futures will be streamed via Hopin. For more information about CREATE Philippines and the Creative Futures 2021 digital conference, you can register here.
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