The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), representatives from the Senate and Congress, and World Design Organization, along with top global designers discussed how the Philippines could be globally competitive through design innovation at the International Design Conference in Manila.  

The Philippines’ biggest design forum was hosted by the Design Center of the Philippines at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP Black Box Theater, CCP Complex late this week, Sept. 14 and 15.   

To celebrate the Philippine Creative Industries Month, Design Consciousness Week, and the 50th anniversary of the Design Center of the Philippines, the Design Center is holding the 7th edition of the International Design Conference with disruptive design ideas, immersive experience, and top-tier speakers hailing from the UK, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, and the Philippines. 

DTI undersecretary and chief of staff Ana Carolina Sanchez and World Design Organization board member Pradyumna Vyas started the conversation on Design-Led Renaissance, this year’s theme, examining the significant shifts happening in today’s world and how design is reshaping economies and societies. 

Award-winning design critic and Design Emergency & Design as an Attitude author Alice Rawsthorn and independent curator, institutional critic and TAOINC founder Marian Pastor-Roces talked about how Filipinos could reframe their traditional perceptions of design and mindfully apply them to solve global challenges.   

Pangasinan 4th District Representative and chairperson of the house special committee on creative industries Christopher De Venecia and Bureau of European Design Associations and Danish Design Centre Program director Christina Melander explored the possible solutions on how design skills could drive economic development and create inclusive and sustainable growth in the country. 

Expounding on the topic of design-driven leadership and purpose revolution, Sustainability Design pioneer in automotive design and professor at Umeä Institute of Design Daniela Bohlinger, together with Hacienda Crafts Company managing director Christina Gaston, weighed in on ways to build a rewarding career that would contribute to enhancing the wellbeing of people and the planet.  

On Sept 15, Senator Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate committee on finance, led the discourse on design, data, and digital, along with Rafaelita Aldaba, DTI undersecretary of competitiveness.  

The second day also featured PDR-Cardiff Metropolitan University’s (Wales, UK) head of design and policy Anna Whicher, Liveable Cities Philippines chairman Guillermo Luz, and Singapore-based founding director of desire lines and co-author of Flourish: Design Paradigms for our Planetary Emergency Sarah Mineko Ichioka.  

“By unveiling the transformative possibilities unfolding within nations, cities, businesses, and individuals, we have curated this year’s conference to elevate the Philippines’ design industry to a more prominent position and to challenge the participants to push the boundaries to what they thought was impossible,” said Matute.