Wikimania 2016 bids/Manila/Meetings

Wikimania 2016 candidate cities:

Manila Wikimania 2016 candidate logo

Mabuhay! • Manila • The PICC • Program • Getting here • Accommodation • Local team • Budget • Self-evaluation

The information listed here contains details about the minutes of the meetings held before, during, and after the official bid of Wikimania Manila 2016 by the core bidding team.

First Meeting and Primary Ocular (October 29, 2014)

Attendees: Josh, Joel, Zach

9:30 am
- While in the vehicle (Josh's car), preliminary discussion of quotations and logistics began.
- Nearby hotels like Sofitel and Traders are expected to cost around 3 thousand a night for a 2 person bedroom; The final day of Wikimania may likely have tours destined for Taal, Binondo, Corregidor, and Intramurous as part of the post conference activities; the Opening Ceremony should be a fun filled Wikifiesta; ideal media coverage from GMA, ABS-CBN, TV5 and CNN Philippines; security detail that could be provided by the Philippine National Police; reallocation of the line item budget; preparing contingency plans in case of emergency, as well advanced preparation of the Visas Upon Arrival.
11:30 am
- Arrival at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) by car, later met up with Vianca Bocalan to discuss the logistics and availability of rooms with her.
- Purpose of visit was to perform an ocular of the venue that would allow us to get a rough estimation of the initial budget plan.
- To begin the primary ocular, Bocalan took us on a tour of the building itself, rather than the complex, and provided details on each room's capacity and also pointed out the major/minor differences between them. We visited the plenary hall, plenary hall, reception area, the eight Meeting Rooms, Delegates Lounge, function rooms, hallway, lobby, etcetera.
- By the end of the tour, the following was decided (unless plans change in the next meeting) that: the 3 banquet halls would suffice for the Hack-A-Thon, the function rooms would double as pre-conference activities rooms as well as board meetings, either the hallway or lobby would situate the chapter's village, delegates lounge is designated as a meet up for pre-conference attendees, the registration desk would be assiged t the secretariat, Meeting Rooms 2-8 would be used as speaking rooms and for other events, among other things. The cost of venue usage for several days (inclusive of the pre conference, conference, and post conference) amounted to 2 million pesos or so.
12:45 pm
- After bidding Bocalan our thanks and goodbyes, we headed off to the Via Mare office branch of the building to speak to Sheila Marcelo to discuss the amount of money to be spent for food. As Via Mare was the only authorized caterer for the PICC, dining options were limited to their menu. After further deliberation with Marcelo, we found out the total cost of food alone amounted to 4 million pesos or so.
1:40 pm
- We left the building after having concluded the primary ocular, and proceeded to Hot Star (a Thai restaurant famed for its large yet cheap fried chicken) to work on making the necessary updates to the bidding page of Wikimania Manila 2016 in between lunch and dinner.
9:02 pm
- The first meeting comes to its conclusion.

Second Meeting (November 6, 2014)

Attendees: Pao, Joel, Josh

7:30 pm
- Joel and Paolo meet up at Fratini's Restaurant to begin preliminary talks.
8:00 pm
- Josh arrives to join them and formally begins the meeting.
- Two main topics are on the agenda: timeline and budget.
- The progression of the timeline is deliberated upon and subsequently updated. The need to set up a social media presence if the bid is won becomes a priority. This also includes preparing a video presentation to show in Mexico during Wikimania 2015 and writing out a press release that indicates Manila's readiness to host Wikimania 2016.
- The outlook of the budget is reviewed. The currently estimated budget is expected to not go beyond 350,000 dollars pro tempore (in the worst case scenario, it will only be 400,000). This number may or may not change in future meetings.
11:03 pm
- The second meeting formally ends.

Third Meeting and Secondary Ocular (November 10, 2014)

Attendees: Josh and Zach

10:30 am
- On the way to the PICC, Zach and Josh review previous discussions over quotations and logistics in addition to on how the team can improve its chances of winning the bid.
- It is recommended by the foundation that instead of laptops as originally planned, local iPads would be rented out for use in the Registration Area. The local team is also thinking about having activities held throughout the conference be evenly placed all across the buildings as a way of encouraging the conference attendees to explore the entire venue.
11:30 am
- Shortly after our arrival, we meet up with Vianca Bocalan again and Dinah M. Gonzales (Assistant Director for the Marketing Division). After an exchange of pleasantries and an overview of our visit, the latter then informs us that the PICC will officially "support the bid", and later on the former proceeds to take us on another tour of the rooms we previously visited as well as a few other areas so that we could begin taking pictures for the secondary ocular.
- The order by which pictures of the rooms and areas (that may be used before/during/after the conference) were taken is as follows:
  - Delegates Lounge
  - Meeting Room 8
  - Meeting Rooms 2 and 3
  - Meeting Room 7
  - Meeting Room 6
  - Meeting Room 4
  - Meeting Room 5
  - Executive Lounge (sometimes called the Hallway)
  - Banquet Hall 2
  - Registration Area
  - Inner Rooms 1, 2, 3, and storage room of Registration Area
  - Courtyard
  - Plenary Hall
  - Reception Hall
  - Plenary Hall (2nd floor)
  - Lobby Area (adjacent to Plenary and Reception)
  - Registration Area (2nd floor)
  - Main Lobby Area (behind main entrance)
- After thanking Bocalan again, we depart from the PICC, thus concluding the secondary ocular.
1:00 pm
- We arrive at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and less than twenty minutes later we drop off a letter requesting support for Wikimania 2016 addressed to its president.
1:25 pm
- We arrive at the National Museum to drop of a similar letter addressed to its current director.
2:05 pm
- We arrive at the Manila City Hall to do the same thing for the mayor.
3:45 pm
- We head to Garage 88 (a nice Filipino restaurant that serves great burgers and fantastic bacon-in-ice cream) to eat a late lunch and begin making all the necessary updates to the bidding page. The remaining letters of request for support are expected to be dropped off before the coming weekend.
8:05 pm
- Having finished most of the work, we then switch to a nearby Starbucks cafe so as to finish up anything else that needs to get done.
11:30 pm
- The third meeting formally ends.

Fourth Meeting (November 12, 2014)

Attendees: Josh, Joel, Zach

6:04 pm
- Josh and Zach arrive at Balkan (a restaurant specializing in Yugoslavian dishes) to make reservations for the working dinner then head to Fully Booked for a bit of book browsing to pass the time. About an hour later, they meet up with Joel and all three head back to Balkan.
7:10 pm
- We begin work on the bidding page and remaining letters of support while waiting for representatives of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) to arrive.
- The discussion with Raquel Tria and Charisse Fajardo of the TPB commences not long after their arrival. After ordering food, we begin by introducing them to the basics of Wikimedia Philippines and some of its activities.
- They question us on why we are interested in hosting the event in Manila and also broach upon other issues such as the food to be served, total cost of the venue, freebies that could be given away, among other things, and we respond accordingly.
- Officially, we are being waitlisted by the PICC for 2016 until we get the contracts signed (which can only happen if the bid is won). To enable us a better chance of accomplishing that goal, we are taking advantage of the fact that the foundation is handling most of the logistics for us, leaving the team to handle the program (this will include following up on the letters of support to potential sponsors that have been sent beforehand or will be sent).
- The TPB can provide airport facilitation, coordinate with the DFA to provide Visas Upon Arrival, handle the production of souvenirs for the delegates, request security personnel from a special taskforce in the PNP, mitigate other possible travel issues with the Bureau of Customs, among other things.
- One major factor that the local team is looking to consider is a means of procuring shuttle buses for the conference attendees and save them from any inconvenience that may arise out of public transport. This will be done through advanced coordination with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to prevent any transportation related problems.
- Another big factor the local team is checking out is getting help from the Philippine Red Cross to provide medical assistance, but if the TPB can do that for the local team it will make the job easier.
- We then explained to Tria and Jafardo that when it comes to the general bids, the Philippines has two main advantages: one of the most liberal visa policies (making it a very accessible travel destination, especially for our Asian neighbors) in the world and as its availability (in terms of destination and affordable costs).
- There is expected to be some difficulty in gaining traction in the wake of the 2016 Philippine general elections. However, since Wikimania 2016 will be held at the onset of a new administration (shortly after the inauguration of a new president), the local team believes this may provide the chapter with an opportunity to turn Manila into a very attractive proposition.
- The local team is also looking into the possibility of having foreign attendees to the conference possibly take part in the educational projects of Wikimedia Philippines (like having them go to schools and teaching children how to evaluate and edit Wikipedia articles) in addition to getting them to participate in Gawad Kalinga.
- Conference bags can be provided by the TPB (depending on the budget, they may or may not contain freebies like woven bracelets, customized keychains, notebooks, pens, bookmarks, other common Philippine souvenirs, etcetera). TPB wants the event to be fun and trendy, not dull or traditional. Wikimania 2016 in Manila will be like a coming out party for Filipino Wikipedians, shedding light on the accomplishments of the Philippine editing community.
- On the subject of promoting the event, there is the matter of the video presentation. Near the end of the working dinner, we showed Trias and Fajardo the video presentation of Mexico City for their ultimately successful Wikimania 2015 bid a few years back. That particular chapter's organizing team is currently composed of five determined individuals, around the same number as the Manila bidding team. The TPB is willing to provide promotional videos that can be incorporated into the team's video presentation.
- Shortly before the end of the working dinner, the local team discussed with Trias and Fajardo the idea of TPB using WikiVoyage as a means of helping out attendees coming to the Philippines.
9:30 pm
- After footing the bill and bidding farewell to the the representatives of the Tourism Promotions Board, the local team proceed to a different Starbucks cafe three streets away to begin making new updates on the bidding page as well as the budget itself.
11:45 pm
- The fourth meeting effectively wraps up with high hopes for the bid.

Fifth Meeting (November 26, 2014)

Attendees: Zach, Josh, Paolo

2:30 pm
- Josh and Zach meet up at Kabisera restaurant
3:00 pm
- Paolo arrives to formally begin the meeting.
- Plans are made to include a fifth core member of the local team by late December 2014.
5:10 pm
- It was decided that certain responsibilities would be delegated to the following core members:
  - program and scholarships - Josh Lim (also doubles as Project Head of the Local Team)
  - logistics - Paolo Barazon
  - communications and volunteer engagement - Zach Pagkalinawan
  - technicals - TBD
  - finance and sponsorships and creatives - Joel Aldor
  - operations - TBD
  - other possible areas of responsibilities to be listed down eventually
7:30 pm
- The team left Starbucks and headed over to Zach's house to continue hashing out details.
10:20 pm
- The fifth meeting concludes.

more details to be added...

Sixth Meeting (December 2014)

Attendees:

Letters of Support

The following names are individuals who we have sent or will send a letter requesting any kind of support (such as funding, endorsement, freebies, facilitation, etcetera) for our bid:

CCP President Sunico (delivered on November 10, 2014)
Manila City Mayor Estrada (delivered on November 10, 2014)
National Museum Director Barns (delivered November 10, 2014)
Tourism Promotions Board Chairman Jimenez (delivered on November 12, 2014 through Raquel Trias)
Pasay City Mayor Calixto (not yet delivered)
Philippine President Aquino (not yet delivered)
Philippine Senator Defensor-Santiago (not yet delivered)

More names may or may not be added in the near future.