REINVENTING FAME

“A story that we need to keep telling” is how Pauline Suaco-Juan, current executive director of the Centre for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), describes the biannual Manila FAME. Given Suaco-Juan’s background as a seasoned lifestyle journalist, the analogy seems amusingly apt on the surface—but it is also an analogy built upon the well-founded truth that Manila FAME is a way of telling the story of the ingenuity, creativity, and tenacity of Filipino small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) making their way into the global market.

Held twice a year, in April and October, since 1983, Manila FAME has served a number of purposes for the Philippine design community: a springboard for launching new talents; an active gauge for up and coming trends; a prime showcase for the best local artisans; and a way of promoting small and medium businesses centred on expert craftsmanship. Small wonder, then, that it is considered one of the longest running trade events within the