My Takeaway from the event "Malikhaing Pinoy Expo 2025"

The event I attended was “Malikhaing Pinoy Expo 2025,” held on September 6, 2025, The DTI Malikhaing Pinoy Creative Expo is a five-day national event celebrating Filipino creativity, innovation, and cultural identity—showcasing the country’s nine creative domains. The expo was held from September 3-7, 2025, 10:00am-8:00pm, at SMX Aura, Taguig City, and it will serve as the main highlight of the Philippine Creative Industries Month (PCIM) 2025. It aims to affirm the creative economy’s role in driving inclusive growth and national development. I specifically choose the Day 4 where it discusses the creative education and entrepreneurship by featured speaker Maria Luisa B. Gatchalian, a country deputy director of UNESCO APEID EE Net.

From the talk and open discussion, I learned the struggle of the artist here in the Philippines. The laws developed to support and protect the culture and tradition of the artist. It also talked about our cultural festival with a business plan to revive tradition through creative entrepreneurship in Lucban, Quezon. Second, crafting a sustainable future where traditional handwoven textiles come from Iloilo Province. I realized also how we  are sustainable from traditional weaving and creating and designing “Kiping” from colorful rice wafers.

The third topic was the digital arts surge—turning creativity into business. The case study was assigned to us and we need to highlighted how digital platforms empower young creatives, strategies to stand out, and balancing passion with sustainability. From the discussion, I learned the importance of building a brand, promoting myself online, and using my skills not just for showcasing but also for earning commissions as a young entrepreneur.

There are also nine key domains of the Philippine creative industry, namely audiovisual media, visual arts, digital interactive media, design, performing arts, publishing, traditional cultural expressions, creative services, and cultural sites. And we all visited and interacted with the creators from that domain. I really got to learn a lot, especially when talking to creators such as one of the developers of the game at Buko Studios, where I got to play their game and talk a about the process of game development, and I got also to talk to the CEO.

Overall, the experiences and learnings from this event were great and eye-opening for me in terms of the fact that there are studios, centers, events, and exhibits that exist. I become aware and knowledgeable about their journey and goal from literature, sculpture, and craftsmanship to digital art. I really appreciate all Filipino artists and felt the eagerness to show more of this to a larger audience to showcase all skills, talents, and opportunities. To really introduced the Filipino creatives that we have this great art and potential to strengthen and promote the community, to be able to be recognized and create more opportunities. Because it is right, that now is the right time to really start something big for Filipino creatives and be recognized all over the world. Lastly, my main takeaway from this event was that we do this not just to earn, but also to share our culture.