SEOUL, 25 June 2014 – Five Filipinos selected with 75 other culture and arts specialists from 40 different countries around the world as resident artists for this year’s five-month Cultural Partnership Initiative (CPI) program were introduced at a welcoming reception held in central Seoul on Wednesday, 25 June 2015.

Lino Matalang, Jr. of the Cultural Center of the Philippines; Sheila dela Paz of the Japan Foundation / ICOMOS Philippines; Nicky Juanite and Malou Matute, both of the UP College of Music; and Raymond Anthony Suba of St. Paul’s College were accepted as 2014 CPI fellows from the Philippines by their respective Korean host organizations. In a special greeting at the reception held at Ramada Seoul in Gangnam district, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez thanked the Korean government “for granting our experts and artists not only an outlet for creative expression but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to focus on improving their craft spirited away here in Korea, far from the burden and distraction of everyday concerns.” The CPI is a special project of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) to create a regular venue for cultural interchange among peers for specialists in the fields of culture, arts, industry, tourism, and physical education from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. Through this annual program, cultural fellows are hosted by one of 16 cultural organizations for five months to learn Korean language and experience Korean arts and traditions, and at the same time to introduce their culture for the purpose of enhancing cultural diversity and building cultural networks. Since its establishment in 2005, CPI has invited 56 Filipinos to Korea, a total that places the Philippines among the top five country recipients of the cultural residency grant. Their ranks include musicians, visual artists, museum curators, art managers, cultural workers, tourism specialists, librarians, professors, and media practitioners. “The CPI has served as the perfect venue for our two countries, the Philippines and Korea, to pursue people-to-people cooperation,” Ambassador Hernandez said, adding that this year’s fellows come at a special time – the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of PHL-ROK diplomatic relations. “Like our collaboration in 2009 for the 60th anniversary, I look forward to working together with CPI this year so that we may be able to give audiences a chance to get acquainted with Filipino culture and arts, he said. At the reception, Mr Park Jong-dal, Director of the MCST’s Cultural Affairs Division, and Mr Park Kwang-moo, President of the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute (KCTI), which hosts the CPI Secretariat, also gave welcoming speeches. Of the five Filipino 2014 CPI fellows, two will be hosted in Seoul: dela Paz who will be trained by the: Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation in the protection, conservation and transmission of cultural heritage; and Matute who will be taught in theory and practice of Korean traditional performing arts by the National Theater of Korea. Matalang will study local policies governing intangible culture through field work and conferences organized the Inter-City Intangible Cultural Network (ICCN) based in Gangneung in Gangwon Province. Juanite will be taught masked theater performance by the the Andong Maskdance and Music in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Arnis expert Suba will be trained in the Korean martial arts of taekkyeon by the World Martial Arts Union in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province. In order to promote cultural relations between Korea and the Philippines through participation in the CPI, the eight previous batches of Filipino CPI fellows formed in December 2013 the first and only CPI Alumni Organization, with 2012 alumna Tracey Santiago as president. The other 11 CPI host organizations are KCTI, Seoul Section of the International Dance Council (CID-UNESCO), Korea Institute of Sports Science (KISS), Kukkiwon, Korea Copyright Commission, International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP), National Library of Korea, National Folk Museum of Korea, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea, National Gugak Center, and the Korea National University of the Arts (K-Arts).