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Asian Festival of Children’s Content
23–26 May 2024

Step into the vibrant streets of the Philippines with our interactive storytelling tour right smack in the middle of the Singapore National Library.

This unforgettable journey through the heart and soul of our enchanting archipelago will be told one book and one icon at a time.

Open for families and young children.

storytelling narratives curiosity cultural representation identity regional languages free free programmes southeast asia literary landscape creativity book development

Charisse Aquino-Tugade

Charisse Aquino-Tugade (Philippines)

Charisse Aquino-Tugade is the Executive Director of the National Book Development Board (NBDB). She is a cultural worker, primary mover for CulturAid, founder of The Manila Collectible Co., and founding Director of Museo ng Muntinlupa. As the NBDB Executive Director, she is working on the National Book Database to standardize publishing industry metadata and bibliographic information of Filipino-authored publications. She also envisioned and spearheaded The Book Nook, which are storytelling and reading communities that provide Pinoy books for kids and kids-at-heart from Ifugao to Tawi-Tawi. Charisse has a B.A. in Anthropology and Marketing from San Francisco State University and is pursuing her graduate studies in Museum Studies at Harvard.

Noesis Marquez

Noesis Marquez (Philippines)

Marc Noesis Marquez is a theatre and film artist who graduated from Arellano University-Manila. Currently taking up his master's in Theatre Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Noesis is currently the Executive Assistant II for the Office of the Executive Director of the National Book Development Board (NBDB)-Philippines. 

Virgie Nicodemus

Virgie Nicodemus (Philippines)

Currently working as a Project Development Officer at the National Book Development Board (NBDB), a national agency that provides technical and developmental assistance to the whole book publishing industry, Virgie handles and coordinates for both local and international exhibitions of NBDB. She is a founding member of The Manila Collectible Co. and Culturaid, a non-profit organisation that documents, safeguards, revitalises and promotes the practice and relevance of Philippine cultural heritage.

Programme dates and times are subject to change.

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