Intramuros Learning Sessions episode no. 65 – Impacts of the Designation of Baguio as a UNESCO Creative City



Overview

The City of Baguio was designated by UNESCO as a Creative City for Crafts and Folk Arts on 31 October 2017 – the FIRST Philippine City to be vested with the distinct honor of being part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network’s (UCCN) whose mission is to raise awareness on the power of creativity and innovation in building sustainable cities. In April 2019, the City Government of Baguio organized a multi-stakeholder participatory planning workshop to map out in more detail the commitments and plans of the City as UNESCO Creative City. The workshop participants collectively identified six (6) Key Result Areas (KRAs). This presentation aims to identify and discuss the outcomes, as of the present, more than three (3) years after the designation, even amidst the pandemic, based on the identified KRAs, the impact of these outcomes on the fostering of creativity as a driver for sustainable development and economic resiliency.


  • Guest Speaker: Aloysius Mapalo
  • Panel Discussants: Christopher de Venecia and Sheena Anjeli Miles Botiwey
  • Moderator: Rancho Arcilla

About the Speaker: Aloysius Mapalo

Aloysius Mapalo is a tourism professional, educator, administrator, and engineer. He is currently the Supervising Tourism Operations Officer at the City of Baguio. At the University of the Cordilleras he teaches engineering, and has served previously as Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications, Dean of Engineering and Architecture, Dean of Student Affairs and Services, as well as Director for the Center of Creative Productions. He has a Certificate in Management of Urban Environmental Infrastructure from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. Aloysius also has an BS and MS in Civil Engineering from the University of the Cordilleras.


Panel Discussants

Christopher de Venecia
Representative, 4th District of Pangasinan
House of Representatives of the Philippines

Ms. Sheena Botiwey
Supervising Historic Sites Development Officer
Intramuros Administration


About the moderator: Rancho Arcilla

John Paul Escandor Arcilla, known professionally as Rancho Arcilla, is the author of the Intramuros Register of Styles (2021). He served as Chairperson of the Intramuros Technical Committee on Architectural Standards (TCAS) from June 2022 to May 2024. As TCAS Chairperson, Arcilla oversaw the review of all development, including new constructions, in the Walled City.

Arcilla was also the first Archivist of the Intramuros Administration. With a mandate from Atty. Guiller Asido, Administrator of Intramuros from 2017 to 2022, Arcilla established the Administration’s Archives and Central Records Section, serving as its first Section Head from July 2019 to June 2024.

He has an MA in Philippine Studies from UP Diliman and a BA in Asian Studies from the University of Santo Tomas. Arcilla specializes on colonial architecture.

In 2021, Arcilla was instrumental in the development of the Revised 2021 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Presidential Decree No. 1616, the main framework and legal instrument in the management of Intramuros District. The architectural provisions of the IRR and the Intramuros Register of Styles (2021) is based on his MA thesis Walls within Walls: The Architecture of Intramuros (2021).


About the Intramuros Learning Sessions

The Intramuros Learning Sessions (ILS) is the educational lecture series of the Intramuros Administration (IA). The IA is an attached national government agency under the Department of Tourism. 

Topics are interdisciplinary and cover themes related to Intramuros and Manila studies, Philippine studies, as well as cultural heritage studies. Pursuant to IA’s charter, the ILS aims to contribute to the strengthening of the Filipino’s national identity and sense of belonging and pride.

For inquiries contact us at [email protected]


See Previous ILS Episode
A Community-Centric Model for Cultural Sustainability
See Next ILS Episode
Mi Amada Ciudad Murada: The Literary Landscape of Intramuros

Check out our previous ILS episodes here


For more information contact the Center for Intramuros Studies via [email protected]
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