Prim Paypon talks about creativity in impact at the Likha: Creative Entrepreneurship Summit
Prim Paypon is a Filipino dreamagineer. He founded The Dream Project PH, a non-profit, volunteer-based organization. Together with the organization, he helps build the nation by shaping and enabling collective Filipino dreams among underserved and underprivileged communities. They do this through creative education, social design innovation, youth voluntraining, and community collaboration.
Prim Paypon talks about creativity in impact at the Likha: Creative Entrepreneurship Summit
Creativity in Impact
The Dream Project PH
Prim started The Dream Project PH with a question, “How can we talk about dreams in an economically-challenged community?”
Paypon found out that seven out of ten Filipino youth don’t have dreams in life. This is due to discouraging words, lack of self-esteem, lack of passion, lack of opportunities, and poverty. So, in 2014, The Dream Project PH evolved. It became a volunteer organization that builds innovations, technologies, and enterprises with underprivileged and underserved communities.
These AIM-DBI startups represent 173 founders, 40% of those are women and created more than 526 direct job opportunities.
Five years since he put up The Dream Project PH, the Asian Institute of Management asked Prim if he could build a business school-based startup incubator. Then, in 2022, AIM-DBI incubated 56 startups that garnered 86 international and national awards. It also created thirteen COVID-19 technologies and disaster-risk initiatives and received multi-million peso and dollar investments.
Curious Curator
In 2016, Paypon co-founded Curious Curator. It’s an art incubator and accelerator aiming to enable budding artists, specifically from outside Metro Manila. It reaches a wider audience by staging collaborative exhibitions with socially relevant themes. Meanwhile, it also makes contemporary art more accessible. During its inaugural year, Curious Curator has conceptualized and curated four exhibits that focused on women, children, indigenous community, and Word War II; and published two storybooks.
Emergency Quarantine Facility
At the start of the pandemic, Prim started a temporary structure meant to augment and increase the capacity of our hospitals, house PUIs, and frontliners. That way, it would keep them from spreading the infection, and help flatten the curve of the pandemic growth.
William Ti is the Principal Architect of WTA Architecture + Design Studio, and Dr. Glenn Angeles collaborated to mobilize the construction of the Emergency Quarantine Facility. The facility was constructed of basic materials such as wood pallets, wood frames, insulation foam, and polyethylene sheets. Prim admitted that it took 28 Viber groups to create such a facility.
Gaan
Gaan is a startup driven by care, connectedness, and community that aims to be a thriving and progressive ecosystem of scientists, enthusiasts, artists, and entrepreneurs. They have passions that involve growing, making, and curating beautiful things from the natural soil.
Paypon shared that it was created from its beautiful definition in Hiligaynon which means to give and from the Tagalog word which means ease and comfort. Prim also acknowledged that started finding natural comfort in different kinds of plants — from growing them in their private spaces to gifting them to friends.
They also restored broken terracotta pieces to help boost local community livelihood. They have also elevated contemporary spaces with local art and pottery natural materials. It builds a community of diverse but like-minded individuals. Meanwhile, they have stories of profession, passion, and impact that are inspiring.
Prim Paypon ended the talk with a very compelling quote:
“This is what we do. Because we owe it to the young people to do something now for the betterment of their future… Dreams are more powerful than poverty… Service is never an act of sacrifice, but always a privilege… No dream is greater than a dream for the country.”
Prim Paypon is only one of the five speakers that spoke during the Likha: Creative Entrepreneurship Summit. Other speakers included Kia Abrera, Lyqa Maravilla, AJ Dimarucot, and the one and only Chris Do. The summit aimed to help out freelancers, agencies, and Filipino creatives. This happened last weekend from September 17 to 18, 2022. It also brought Filipino creative talents to a global scale and pursued community-driven growth and impact as one.
