A First-Timer’s Experience at ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025

I participated in the ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025, a three-day summit for Wikimedians from all throughout the ESEAP region. ESEAP stands for the Wikimedia East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Regional Cooperation. ESEAP is an underrepresented region in the Wikimedia movement. I’ve been a Wikimedian for almost four years now. However, this was my first time joining an international Wikimedia event. I was selected as one of the event volunteers.

Picking up attendees from the airport was not easy. My fellow volunteer and roommate Gaspé Gonzalez Umbac and I often had to wait for hours at the airport. We were assigned to pick up attendees from NAIA Terminal 3. It was always a joy when the attendees finally saw us in the crowd, though. We were tasked with booking them transport from the airport to the hotel.

At the summit itself, there were interesting discussions. I participated in several of those discussions. My favorites include the HUB, Action! Designing Governance and Strategy Together and the GLAM-Wiki Meet-up. GLAM, which stands for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums, is a topic I’m greatly interested in. I am currently a member of Pilipinas Panorama Community, a thematic organization based in Metro Manila. GLAM is one of PPC’s advocacies. We often organize GLAM meet-ups in Metro Manila.
Among the participants was John Paul Antes, a fellow Wikimedian and the current chairperson of PPC I met at the Manila 30 meet-up three months prior. I was the youngest participant in the summit.

At the photo sessions, I chatted and became friends with Eugene Ormandy, an organizer of Toumon Wikimedia Club Japan and an alumnus of Waseda University.
At dinner, I also had the opportunity to speak with Yuriko Kadokura, a member of the Wikimedians of Japan User Group and an author from Japan. She gave me a bookmark as a keepsake. I also spoke to Masaki Murakami, another member of the user group. I tried to speak to them in my limited but still understandable Japanese.

After the closing session of the summit, we had an excursion. I helped prepare for this excursion. I was assigned to group A. Two tour buses brought us to the National Museum Complex.
We toured the National Museum of Anthropology, then the National Museum of Natural History. I’ve been to both museums countless times already.
After the National Museum tour, we had a quick stopover at the Manila Cathedral. Inside the cathedral, a wedding was going on. As we were returning to the bus, the bells of the Manila Cathedral rang. It was beautiful.

The bus brought us to The Bayleaf, where we would have our dinner. The rooftop had a beautiful panoramic view of Metro Manila. The participants also saw the clock tower of the Manila City Hall, where the logo of the ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025 was based on.

At dinner, I spoke to Charrie Anne Nacor, a friend of mine and the current secretary of PPC. We both love stargazing and astrophotography. She showed me a picture of herself with the Milky Way. I lamented that I could never see a view like it from Metro Manila because of the light pollution. Also, I could not believe that she participated as a volunteer even though her thesis defense was to be held the following day.

Overall, for a young Wikimedian like me, this summit was a great learning experience. I would like to express my gratitude to all of the participants, to the core organizing team, to my fellow volunteers, to the hotel staff, and to all the people who made this summit possible. Thank you.
I look forward to seeing everyone again at the ESEAP Conference 2026, to be held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.