Cebu Design Week is a week-long celebration that aims to promote the circular ecosystem and to connect, create and cultivate Cebu’s creative sectors.
Cebu has a long, vibrant history and heritage as a creative center in the Philippines. We have experienced waves of innovation throughout the years, with Cebu fondly called “the best kept secret” and the “Milan of Asia” due to its top quality & design furniture, furnishings & jewelry exported around the world for generations.
Cebu today is sprawling with creative businesses in many fields, traditional and new. There are pop-up events showing these: Slam poetry recitations, VisPop, animation, gastronomic restaurants, digital innovations, hobbyists doing calligraphy and photography- IT IS A VERY EXCITING AGE IN CEBU! The new airport has been inaugurated, tourism is booming, conservation is much talked about, sustainability is a focus! More people are talking about pride of place more than any other time in the post-colonial age. The only thing lacking is an event that connects all of these things together: business, art, and a love for Cebu and country.
The Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation held a series of strategic planning and focused group discussions in 2016 and 2017, and voila! The Cebu Design Week is conceived.
People often ask, why is CFIF, a furniture organization spearheading this project? The answer is simple, CFIF is guided by the values of social responsibility, collaboration, and innovation. As one of Cebu’s leading business support organizations, we want to take the initiative of bringing everyone together to create a platform that will market Cebu as more than just a beach destination.
All these capabilities, talents, and creative energy that thrive in the island should not end in themselves. They should be propagated and promoted to the world.
Before, we were called the Milan of Asia. However, knowledge of who we are and pride of our heritage pushes us to reclaim our identity. We are not the Milan of Asia. We are Cebu.
Thank you to our partners and participants who made the first ever Cebu Design Week a success.
