The Ateneo de Manila University (Admu) Rizal Library, in partnership with Areté, will host the Philippine launch of “Culturally Intelligent Storytelling for Southeast Asian Creators” by author, educator and speaker Ned Legaspi on July 23 at 10–11:30 a.m.
The launch to be held at Areté (The Loft) is by invitation but will be live-streamed to the public on the Admu Rizal Library Facebook page. It will bring together voices from the media, writing, directing, talent management, education, and the social sciences for a series of personal reflections on how Filipino stories can remain culturally rooted while reaching wider audiences.
The program will be hosted by Jervi Wrightson aka KaladKaren, actor, television host, and media personality; and Galvin Radley Ngo, director of the Ateneo Institute for the Science and Art of Learning and Teaching. The featured voices include Mark Nepomuceno of ABS-CBN; John Kenneth “Ken” De Leon, head writer of GMA Network; Ruel S. Bayani, director and creative executive and board member of the Directors’ Guild of the Philippines; Noel Ferrer, producer, talent manager, and Metro Manila Film Festival executive committee member; Dr. Christine Cox, chair of the Admu Department of Communication; and Dr. Maria Regina Hechanova-Alampay, dean of the Admu School of Social Sciences.
“Culturally Intelligent Storytelling for Southeast Asian Creators” was first introduced internationally at the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Fellows Retreat in Santa Monica, California, in November 2025. At its core is the CIS Bamboo Framework, a four-stage approach consisting of StoryRoot, StoryCraft, StoryPulse, and StoryLeaf, that helps creators develop narratives that stay culturally grounded while resonating across audiences and contexts.
Legaspi spent three decades in international media, most recently as head of content and creative services at ABS-CBN Global (The Filipino Channel). He is a Ph.D. candidate in Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman, part-time faculty at the Admu Department of Communication, and a CQ Fellow, one of 20 practitioners selected worldwide from 377 applicants for the program led by Dr. David Livermore.
The CIS Bamboo Framework is the first full application of Legaspi’s broader, still-developing approach to culture, communication, and connection that looks at what happens when stories, people, and nations cross cultures.—CONTRIBUTED
