DAVAO Region is gearing up for a new tourism campaign called "Davao Culture, Arts, and Nature: Creatively Abundant," or simply "Davao CAN: Creatively Abundant," which focuses on celebrating the region's rich cultural and artistic heritage.
The tagline, introduced as part of the 2024 Davao Region Creative Industries Roadmap, debuted during the inaugural FiestaKucha Kadayawan 2023: Mugna! The 1st Davao Region Creative Innovation Summit was held Tuesday morning, September 26, at Philippine Women’s College (PWC) University Avenue in Davao City.
The event was hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through its regional agency in Davao, marking the second edition of FiestaKucha.
Davao is the second area in Mindanao, following the Cebu region, to organize an innovation summit to address creative sectors' strengths, challenges, weaknesses, and current dynamics.
During a 30-minute presentation, Professor Arvin Manuel Villavalon, Chief Researcher, NEDA-Davao Region Research and Development (R&D) Creative Industries Project and a consultant and commissioner at the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), underscored that the tagline aims to showcase Davao Region's abundance in various aspects, including eco-tourism destinations, culinary delights, breathtaking landscapes, and cultural heritage.
He also said that the people of Davao Region should coexist with nature, highlighting their interdependence.
“We are abundant. We are like in a huge basket where it is all there. Hindi mo pwede maihawalay ang tao at ang kalikasan kasi ito yung ang pinagmumulan ng lahat (You cannot separate man and nature because both are the source of everything)," he said.
In a post-event press conference, the NCCA official revisited DTI Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba's speech about the competitiveness and innovation of the Philippines' creative industry on a global scale, especially within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“It is a challenge to become a force in the creative industry. As the DTI Undersecretary said, if you want to become the best in Asia, because in Asean we are on top, so Davao CAN because we have shown these outputs that we are known even in our designs and talents,” Villavalon added.
The branding of "Davao CAN" emerged from multiple proposals and contributions from nine different creative industry domains, including creative services, visual arts, performing arts, audio and audio-visual media, design, digital interactive media, cultural sites, books, publishing, printed media, traditional cultural media, and other sectors.
The 2024 Davao Region Creative Industries Roadmap represents the first and only roadmap of its kind in the country, demonstrating the region's commitment to fostering creativity and innovation across various domains. DEF
