ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025/Report/Bernadette

It was a great opportunity for me to attend the ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025 which was held 23-25 May 2025 in the City of Manila, Philippines. I came to the Summit as one of two representatives from our user group mainly because of my involvement on planning sessions, governance and my role in helping organize activities and projects.

Things I learned at the strategy summit

I learned that the Wikimedia movement is indeed a strong force in the global community when it comes to advancing open knowledge. I also realized that the organization has a vast resource of manpower composed of volunteers and leaders who are driven by a common advocacy. I saw them in action in the summit as I met and interacted with many of them. In the desire to improve on its governance system, the movement is finding ways to introduce novel ideas. The summit put forward a refined version of the proposal for an ESEAP Hub, a governing system designed to streamline operations that would shape a better Wikimedia in the East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. The proposal was discussed and inputs were gathered and processed in order to make it an even better version. These were done through workshops, panel discussions, and sharing of experiences so that all ideas could be shared and considered. It was obvious that there are various regional challenges and the summit was an opportunity to collaborate, share experiences, and find solution to these challenges.

Things I contributed or participated in before and during the strategy summit

Prior to the summit, I participated in the discussions of the board and one time joined an online meet up with the proponents toward understanding better the proposed ESEAP Hub, assessing its expected governance functions, and studying the advantages and disadvantages of the proposal. This helped me prepare to actively participate in the summit discussions. During the summit, I got interested in joining the governance group in the breakout sessions. There were sessions on affiliate health criteria and landscaping global and ESEAP regulatory trends. Experiences were shared by the participants on how their governance is affected by current affairs and how they are tackling these issues. I had the opportunity to share our local political situation and found out that such issue also affects the other projects in their own countries. The ideas were recorded, classified and the facilitators summarized and reported the results of the discussion. These experiences and sharing of ideas are now helping guide our way of dealing with the new administration just now starting its term and how to better effectively work with the government and foster a healthy relationship with it.

Plans after the strategy summit

As the ESEAP Hub starts and progresses, we intend to study it, how it may be integrated into our strategic direction and linked to our local governance system. If needed, we would be willing to help in even better refining it for efficiency and sustainability. If this ESEAP Hub is to thrive efficiently and effectively, it is very important to collaborate with each other, between user groups and affiliates across country borders, not only within the region but even beyond. Within our user group, I look forward to make active contributions through discussions within the organization and dealing with other agencies and groups as we expand our activities and increase awareness of Wikimedia and its advocacies.

End note and show of gratitude

My gratitude goes to the Wikimedia Foundation, the organizers this year, and the Philippine Wikimedia Community User Group to which I belong, for giving me the chance to have this experience, share my ideas and learn with the community as we shape the future of the ESEAP region and its important role in the bigger global community.