18 SEPTEMBER 2025, ZAGREB – The Philippines highlighted its perspectives on migration and soft power during the Creative Future Insights 2025 Conference in Zagreb—the 3rd international scientific conference in the Croatian capital about the creative industry under the theme “Creativity of Othering in the Age of Migration”.

Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General Zoilo Velasco of the Philippine Embassy in Vienna, which covers Croatia, delivered a keynote address at the conference on the vital role of soft power in an era of intensified global migration.  He discussed how the Filipino diaspora is both a driver of development and a source of goodwill for the Philippines’ international image.

He also emphasized the Philippines’ commitment to a people-centered, rights-based approach to migration governance, shaped by its long-standing global migration experience, which has become a model for the global community.  He likewise stressed the importance of partnerships between origin and host countries to ensure the successful integration of migrants.

Concluding his remarks, Consul General Velasco urged policymakers, scholars, and practitioners to view migration and culture not as sources of division, but as dynamic forces for unity, innovation, and mutual understanding. END.