The Port Moresby PNG Fashion & Design Week received a second sponsorship of K10,000 from the National Cultural Commission for its inaugural Virtual Runway 2021. National Cultural Commission Executive Director, Steven Kilanda said it was the fulfillment of the financial commitment announced when the National Cultural Commission signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the PNGFDW on 18 March 2021. “PNGFDW is already at the community connecting with the people through its fashion and design training program and is promoting our culture in the form of design and fashion and always promoting our women & girls and promoting SMEs as well as empowering youths”, said Mr Kilanda. He added that the fashion industry in Papua New Guinea is a sleeping giant and we really need to develop this industry. Our gold, copper or other mineral resources will run out, but this industry is here to stay. “I would like to commend people like Janet Sios for working very hard and for being so committed”, said Kilanda. Kilanda thanked Sios for setting the stage and raising the bar in the fashion industry for the people of this country, especially our women. “On behalf of the Minister for Tourism, Arts & Culture, the Board and the Management of the National Cultural Commission, I congratulate you for taking this industry forward,” Kilanda said. PNGFDW Director, Mrs Janet Sios acknowledged NCC for its commitment and said that the virtual filming will start on Tuesday here in Port Moresby. “This donation is timely and will greatly help to support the biggest cost on the logistics and production side of this event”, said Mrs Sios. She said that the commitment would go directly in filming 14 designers selected and a lot of these designers are well-known designers in PNG like Anna Amos, Elizabeth Omeri, Tabu Warupi, Wandid Amini, Natasha Tamanabae just to name a few. Sios said the COVID-19 pandemic has really challenged her and the team to look outside of the normal way of doing things to be innovative and creative to still deliver its programs. Sios said that the culture and tradition of PNG would be captured on these designs and the stories are all about preserving our culture and tradition through clothing translations.