We have been working alongside each other; why not work with each other? This is the realization that came to several Wikimedians from East Asia and Southeast Asia during the Wikimania 2014. At the time, apart from the larger Wikimedia Asia-Oceania Project, there wasn’t much or any collaboration or dialogue between Wikimedia communities in the ESEAP (East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific) region despite having similar struggles.
Recognizing that joining forces will take us further, Wikimedians in ESEAP initiated regional collaboration that would enable communities to share their experiences, both challenges and success, in order to learn from each other and build strong and lasting partnerships.
More than a decade later, what started as meetups has led to regular regional conferences to connect and increase mutual understanding; and finally into an ESEAP Hub. There is much to celebrate and even more to come.
A more structured collaboration
Before the ESEAP Hub settled in its current form, there had been a few iterations and experiments. As the collaboration takes shape, it constantly seeks to have better communication among the community as the bedrock of good cooperation. In the beginning, the community initiated meetups within Wikimania and Wikimedia Summit (previously Wikimedia Conference) to get to know each other better.
The meetups eventually graduated into an online space which serves as a way to communicate better and more regularly, compared to once or twice a year in bigger conferences. The ESEA Hub was then set up on Meta Wikimedia in 2015 to learn more about what each other is doing, share ideas, and to find collaboration opportunities with others.
In 2018, the cooperation in this region was cemented with its first regional conference in Bali, Indonesia, officially declaring the name East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific (ESEAP). From then on, regional conferences are held annually, alternating between ESEAP Conference (a gathering and celebration of ESEAP Wikimedians) and ESEAP Summit (a strategic meeting to discuss and shape the future of the Wikimedia Movement in the region).
The next important milestone for the community resulted from the ESEAP Conference in Sydney, 2022. It was the creation of the Interim Hub Committee whose mandate was to craft a declaration statement of the creation of the ESEAP Hub. This declaration sets out the mission and vision of the ESEAP Hub along with its strategic direction.
The Interim Hub Committee then handed over the baton to the ESEAP Preparatory Council to continue the ground work to set up the ESEAP Hub, which includes defining roles and responsibilities, developing a Theory of Change, and preparing a funding application.
Building an ESEAP Hub
The idea of Hubs evolved further as a result of the 2030 Movement Strategy recommendation “Ensure Equity in Decision Making”. Hubs were envisioned to empower communities to collaborate on capacity building, knowledge transfer, and coordination.
As the movement grows, ESEAP Hub tackles more complex regional challenges. The community faces limited access and representation in the region and wider Movement so the Hub is committed to provide services and support in order to increase their capacity and representation.
Based on several community consultations, the Hub has translated their major challenges into five key goals as reflected in the ESEAP Hub Theory of Change, which are:
- Improving engagement by diverse community languages and projects through translation
- Enhancing communication in ways that address language differences, time zones, culture and distance
- Empowering community capacity through knowledge, experience and resources sharing
- Building trustworthy, transparent and equitable regional community decision making mechanism
- Advocating the representation of ESEAP point of views in the global WMF movement
Achieving these big goals requires a long-term commitment and dedicated resources. But the journey starts with a single, bold step. That bold step involves launching a first-year pilot hub to experiment, gather insights, and learn from the experience.
The future of ESEAP Hub
The ESEAP Hub is celebrating a big milestone as they received a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation to kickstart their one-year pilot project.
“This grant will be a transformative milestone for the ESEAP Hub – enabling tailored training, strengthening regional collaboration, and amplifying diverse voices to empower our communities in sharing and accessing knowledge.”
– ESEAP Hub Preparatory Council
During the pilot, the focus will be on two key areas that the ESEAP community has determined and clearly indicated are the priority:
- Empowering Community Capacity, and
- Representation of ESEAP (Advocacy)
To empower the community and increase their capacity, the Hub plans several key activities such as community skill mapping across ESEAP, developing specific training programs based on the needs, providing community support through monthly office hours, and publishing a Newbie Handbook.
As for the issue of advocacy and representation of ESEAP in the wider movement, the Hub will facilitate partnerships and opportunities for ESEAP members at a global level and start mapping the ESEAP perspective on wider issues critical in the region.
Marking the start of this new initiative is the ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025 in Manila, Philippines this May where representatives from community members and affiliates will gather, connect, and discuss strategic issues in the region.
As the ESEAP Hub enters a new phase, there is a lot of work to be done in strengthening collaboration, building capacity, and shaping future initiatives. This journey will require collective effort from the community to take part in building the future of ESEAP. They are ready and excited for what comes next. Watch this space!
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