User:Filipinayzd/Thoughts about ESEAP Conference 2018

Closing ceremony

The inaugural ESEAP Conference 2018 last May 5-6 was finally realized after years of discussions and mainly through the efforts of Wikimedia Indonesia which initiated the hosting. The region is among the most under represented communities in the Wikimedia Movement and becoming part of the conference is a privilege. At the 2017 Wikimedia Conference, East and Southeast Asian Wikimedians and some participants from Australia responded to a call for a meet-up. It was my first attendance to an international meet-up with fellow ASEANs and East Asians. Being one of the representatives of PhilWiki Community which began sending representatives to Berlin in 2016, I was not yet familiar of the dynamics of people of different cultural backgrounds in meetings. We had two meet-ups during WMCON 2018 and during those occasions, Beeyanto (WMID), who happened to be the roommate of Ringer (PH-WC) when he attended WMCON in 2016 as PhilWiki Community's first delegate, was among the attendees who stood out during the discussion. He has a command of a good leader who is not dominating and somebody who listens to and values everyone's ideas. Among the Wikimedia affiliates, everyone knew Wikimedia Indonesia has the capacity and the most prepared to host the first conference. I was glad to be included in the Communication Team of the organizers of the first regional conference in the Far East.