DFA Conducts Second Part of Cultural Diplomacy Partners Consultation Conference

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conduct the second part of the Cultural Diplomacy Partners Consultation Conference (CDPCC) at the Foreign Service Institiute – Carlos P. Romulo Library, DFA on 21 January 2020. (DFA photo by Jef Mendoza)

PASAY CITY 10 February 2020 –– The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conducted the second part of the Cultural Diplomacy Partners Consultation Conference (CDPCC) at the Foreign Service Institute – Carlos P. Romulo Library, DFA on 21 January 2020. Academics, artists, cultural leaders and workers, and government partners of the DFA took part in the milestone event. 

The conference is an initiative of the Cultural Diplomacy Division of the Office of Strategic Communications and Research (OSCR) in pursuit of a more all-encompassing, quantifiable, and efficient cultural diplomacy strategic plan of the DFA which will be enforced on all of its 88 Embassies, Missions, and Consulates General. This will be achieved through learning and consulting from professionals and experts in the field of culture and arts in the Philippines. 

“The event aims to examine and survey the state of Philippine culture, identify areas of opportunities, and discuss ways to move forward in harnessing our cultural assets to assert our soft power in the international fora,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research Ernesto C. Abella said during his opening remarks.

The conference included the presentation of the participants’ previous outputs with regards to cultural mapping, cultural calendar, and the state of Philippine culture and arts from the first part of the CDPCC, which was held at the Manila Diamond Hotel from 06 to 07 November last year. The participants also discussed the cultural diplomacy plans for the future of the nation as a whole and the DFA’s Cultural Plan for 2020.

Cultural Diplomacy Division Director Khrystina Corpuz-Popov led the discussion on Cultural Diplomacy Strategic Plan 2020-2022. The said plan’s strategic goal is to achieve by 2022 a comprehensive, coordinated, integrated, and adequately-funded program to promote Philippine culture and arts abroad, and foster cultural relations with other countries. Government partners and private institutions were invited to commit their partnership and collaboration on the identified programs of the DFA.

”This is just the beginning – our purpose is really to create a backbone or a template of what we want to fulfill within the next three years”, Director Corpuz-Popov said during her closing remarks. At the end of the conference, the body adopted the Cultural Diplomacy Strategic Plan that the DFA proposed for implementation until 2020. END

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research Ernesto C. Abella during the opening remarks of the Cultural Diplomacy Partners Consultation Conference (CDPCC) at the Foreign Service Institiute – Carlos P. Romulo Library, DFA on 21 January 2020. (DFA photo by Jef Mendoza)

Cultural Diplomacy Division Director Khrystina Corpuz-Popov during the opening remarks of the Cultural Diplomacy Partners Consultation Conference (CDPCC) at the Foreign Service Institiute – Carlos P. Romulo Library, DFA on 21 January 2020. (DFA photo by Jef Mendoza)

Cultural Diplomacy Partners Consultation Conference (CDPCC) at the Foreign Service Institiute – Carlos P. Romulo Library, DFA on 21 January 2020. (DFA photo by Jef Mendoza)