DOST-PTRI TELA Stakeholders’ Conference Goes Virtual
By: Sharmainne Rhey B. Caoili
Technology Transfer, Information and Promotions Staff
The Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) of the Department of Science and Technology is pleased to enjoin everyone to its Annual TELA Stakeholders’ Conference which will be held on January 27-28, 2021. Since 2015, the TELA Conferences have been a venue to share the latest textile innovations and programs in support of the industry. It takes on a two-fold significance: the 1st is of the Institute’s founding anniversary and the 2nd, of the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Month, the celebration of which the DOST-PTRI leads.
This year’s Conference with the theme, “Fashioning Philippine Textiles in the Now Normal and in the Year of the Creative Economy”, aims to inform key stakeholders, Filipino enterprises and consumers of the relevance of Philippine textiles as a stimulus for economic development. The pandemic highlighted the importance of self-sufficiency and has forced us to look into domestic capability, capacity, and sources of in-demand products like face masks, PPEs, etc. Add to the fact that textiles, clothing, mainly, is one of the three basic needs of society, the need to capacitate and strengthen the industry with the help of science and technology is evident now more than ever to spur economic activities as the nation works to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic.
In addition, anchored on the United Nations declaration of 2021 as the International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, this year’s event also put a focus on the Philippine creative industry, and its role in promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth as the country copes with the “now normal”.
In the two-day virtual conference with the participation of stakeholder-invitees from various sectors, the Institute hopes to learn from each other and find possible areas of collaboration towards a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient Philippine textile industry.
The TELA Conference on January 27 will be from 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM with the theme, “Fashioning Philippine Textiles Towards a Sustainable Creative Economy". It is clustered around three sub-themes: resiliency, sustainability, and inclusivity of Philippine textiles as an enabler to the Philippine creative industry.
On January 28, exciting activities include the launch of the PTRI TELA Gallery, the Design and Innovation Hub, and the re-launch of the Philippine Textiles e-Portal. In the afternoon, a virtual presser on Philippine Natural Textiles, research and development, and services, along with the plans moving forward will be shared with media friends and the public in attendance.
The two-day conference has limited slots and will be live-streamed on the DOST-PTRI Facebook page. For interested participants, kindly email and confirm your attendance at the virtual events at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Zoom room link, meeting ID, and password will be sent once your registration is confirmed. Follow the Institute’s Facebook page for the upcoming updates and live streaming at https://www.facebook.com/ptri.dost/.
