Yo! MC: The Next Jam!

03.02.2011 - In preserving our heritage through the arts, film, and any form of media that makes us known in Asia we should also catch up on today's technology. Our cultural heritage won't be preserved forever if we don't have it saved, through the means of current innovation in storage devices. EMC Corporation, the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has announced the launch of a nationwide digitization porject to convert and integrate CCP's entire audio-visual collection of Philippine arts and culture into digital and emergent forms, for the preservation of the nation's treasures for the use of future genrations to come. (Please CLICK on the title for the full article)

Its great news that EMC is pursuing this digitization project, which will involve storing, protecting, managing and making CCP Library's vast collection of national, cultural and historical materials available online.

Currently the library consists approximately 40,000 hours of audio, 30,000 hours of tapes from its film archive, 6,500 photos, 28,000 photographic slides and at least 56,000 manuscripts of literary works. Part of its program is to also digitally capture 1,500 art and 1,500 historical pieces for future content migration.








“Poetry, film, music, visual art and expressions of humanity are all part of a country’s national, cultural and historical heritage and, yet, many of these critical documents and cultural artifacts are at risk of disappearing without the right information infrastructure systems,” say David Webster, President of EMC in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. “EMC recognizes and supports the protection of such important heritage of the Philippines for the enjoyment and appreciation of future generations of Filipinos.”

Indeed this supports CCP's vision and far-sightedness on the importance of preserving the nation’s heritage. EMC has been closely collaborating with the CCP team and providing the necessary EMC products and technologies, including training support, to start the project.

So far they only have accomplished 1% percent migration, which equvalent to 1000+ hours of what has been done to covert the library's archive to digital formats. The 32 terabite storage space is currently set to allocate all these.

”EMC’s collaboration with CCP is a natural fit with our core business and expertise around storing, protecting and managing critical digital information assets,” say Ronnie Latinazo, Country Manager of EMC Philippines. “It has been a rewarding challenge to help CCP create a virtual and interactive environment to make information on Philippines’ rich cultural past available and accessible to everyone. This is EMC’s way of giving back to the community after having operated in the Philippines for the past 10 years.”








The event in the day started with the announcement and visual presentation. Then CCP toured the media to the library, where they gave a glimpse of the archives currently being converted to its digital storage facility.

The CCP was established by the late President Ferdinand Marcos in 1969 through Executive Order No. 30 to preserve Filipino arts and culture, as well as promote the development and appreciation of national arts and culture. Over the years, the documentation of cultural performances and growing repository of materials from other art forms were accumulated to provide entertainment and educational materials to the public.


“We commend EMC’s generosity and dedication as a responsible corporate citizen. CCP is honored to be a beneficiary of this digital preservation initiative. It shows EMC's spirit and vision of making technology a vital tool in building a better Philippines and outstanding Filipinos. This partnership will benefit not only this generation but the youth of the future as well,” said Dr. Raul Sunico, President, Cultural Center of the Philippines.

After the day festivities in announcing its plans with the digitization project, we where invited to return at night time for a special coverage turn-over ceremonies. The opening perfomance by the Philippine Harmonic Orchestra and The Company captivated in closing the event.