DTI to profile biz for Creative Cities
DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya lauded the recent citation of Baguio as part of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network.
“We now have the realization that Baguio has been recognized, let us not waste that opportunity, let us see how we can pursue it further,” Magalaya said
Baguio is now among 64 cities in the world recognized in the field of craft and folk arts and proclaimed part of the exclusive club of 180 cities in 72 countries.
Previously, Maglaya lamented creative industries here like weaving and carving are on the verge of vanishing.
Magalaya who heads the Regional Operations Group said a new generation of carvers and weavers are needed to sustain these industries.
Weaving is endemic to the region with looms varying depending on area and ethnic group, while carving has been an ancient trade among ancestors.
The DTI USec said packaging and training for business owners is needed to have the proper mindset to continue the industries.
The most popular of weavers is the late Narda Capuyan who started in 1972 in La Trinidad, weaving blankets from recycled acrylic yarns. The brand is known worldwide to have led the revival of the Cordillera ‘Ikat’, a traditional design of dying threads in vibrant colors to suit contemporary taste.
‘Ikat’ is a very old tradition of tying and dyeing segments of threads before actual weaving.
DTI assistant regional director Grace Baluyan said a profiling of existing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is needed to assess how the city will be packaged for its new moniker under the creative cities network of the UNESCO.
DTI converged over 500 MSME’s in a twoday summit with the theme “7M’s towards shared prosperity in the ASEAN, aimed to share best practices among successful entrepreneurs from Abra, Apayao, BaguioBenguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and the Mountain Province.
DTI aims to strengthen the role of MSME’s to catapult the economy to ASEAN standards with the 7M’s; Mindset, Mastery, Mentoring, Money, Machine, Market Access and Models of Business.