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Manila: The government is working very hard to make Philippine designers globally competitive, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Friday.
The exhibit, which runs from Oct. 17 to 19, invites international buyers, exhibitors, visitors and guests to explore a diverse selection of offerings.
‘The government is able to put you now into not just the local space but the digital space so that you are now working in the world market,’ Marcos said at the Manila FAME 2024 at World Trade Center in Pasay City.
FAME, which started in 1983, is the country’s premier trade show for home, fashion and lifestyle products, promoting local designers, micro, small and medium enterprises, and artisan communities through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions.
‘And it’s just up to us to scale up. It’s just up to us to keep the progress going because it’s very important that you’re continuously creative. But I don’t think that that’s a problem for Filipinos,’ Marcos added.
Marcos acknowledged that the cou
ntry’s design industry accounts for 7.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
‘When you translate that into pesos, that’s trillions of pesos. So, it’s not a small thing. So, all of the reasons for us to do this and to do it properly are there for the government, for the country, for all of our practitioners. And we will do everything that we can so that the world will know even better how good Filipinos are,’ he said.
The creative economy in 2023 amounted to PHP1.72 trillion, contributing 7.1 percent to GDP, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. This represents an increase of 6.9 percent from the PHP1.61 trillion logged in 2022.
The exhibit, open until Oct. 19, invites international buyers, exhibitors, visitors and guests to explore a diverse selection of offerings.
This year’s showcase features exceptional creations from local enterprises, craftsmen and artisans, highlighting their skill in transforming the Philippines’ abundant raw materials into functional and vis
ually captivating pieces that characterize Filipino design.
Marcos expressed confidence that Filipino designs will thrive in the world market, saying that they are ‘charming, amusing, and entertaining.’
He said he is impressed that the design community in the Philippines becomes ‘better and better and better’ and is ‘approaching world-class [quality].’
‘Sometimes they are very serious. Sometimes they’re not,’ he said.
‘You know, because there is always a touch of humor, there is a touch of charm, there’s always a touch of softness and gentleness. And it’s something that I’m sure anyone who is in a market for these designs whether it be furniture or fashion, everything else that we’ve seen today, I’m so confident that we will do well in the world market,’ Marcos added.
Source: Philippines News agency
