Creative sector to tackle challenges in forum

Creative sector to tackle challenges in forum (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

ONE of the many challenges that the creative industry in Cebu faces is that many of the talents do not recognize themselves as such and shy away from the spotlight.

Nelia Flores-Navarro, Department of Trade and Industry Cebu provincial director, encouraged more creatives to surface so that they can be assisted with funding and in entering the bigger market.

“To me, culture and arts is the fastest way [to integrate with Asean], and this is what we’re doing in Asia Creative Cities Network and in the forum,” she said during a press conference yesterday on the  Southeast Asian Creative Cities Network Forum.

“Cebu is floating because of Cebuanos’ creativity. But these creatives like to hide. Hopefully with this forum, I’d like other countries to see who these creative Cebuanos are,” she added.

Navarro said they hope to get the support of WIPO, the British Council and ASEF in terms of funding for Cebu’s creative industry. At present, the industry has a grant of around P2.7 million from SB Corp.  Zen Pastoriza, former president of Creative Cebu Council, said they aim to “make everyone realize that being in the creative business is good value for everybody.”

He said younger people who feel like they have the creative talent should learn how to become business people and entrepreneurs to be able to run their own creative businesses.

Majority of the creative people in the industry are freelancers, said council vice president Ian Zafra.

“To put it bluntly, they are non-taxpayers. These are creative people who could have contributed to the economy more, if we are able to identify them,” he said.

Access to financing and knowing how to price their products are two other key challenges of the Cebu creative industry.

Pastoriza said these challenges will be tackled during the forum on June 25 to 26. It will be held in partnership with three creative contemporaries in Bandung (Indonesia), Chiang Mai (Thailand) and Penang (Malaysia).

With the theme “Authenti-Cities: Identity and Unity in Diversity,” the forum aims to encourage the creative industries in Cebu and in the three other cities to collaborate and cooperate in preparation for the Asean integration.

The speakers will tackle the strengths of each of the four creative cities. Among the speakers are Martin Venzky-Stalling and Dr. Kasemak Uthaichana from Chiang Mai; Dr. Neil Khor from Penang; Debbie Palao from Cebu; Dwinita Larasati from Bandung; and experts from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the British Council – Easy Asia Arts and Creative Industries.

Aside from the forum, the council will also hold two other events as part of the Cebu Business Month. These are Music in Your Business Forum with FILSCAP and ARTIST KO Cooperative (June 23); and the third VISPOP Competition (June 26).