WordCamp Asia 2025 With Meher Bala and Dan Tabifranca  ## Metadata - Author: [[Open Channels FM]] - Full Title: WordCamp Asia 2025 With Meher Bala and Dan Tabifranca - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/d14ffc69-326b-4647-b039-616c49e76773 ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Meher's Last-Minute Bangkok Trip** - Meher Bala shared her quick last-minute trip to Bangkok for WordCamp 2023 after securing a visa in just one hour. - She attended as a novice and later became lead of the program team in 2025, showing rapid involvement growth. Transcript: Dan Tabifranca I wasn't able to go to WordCamp in Bangkok, WordCamp Asia in Bangkok because tickets got sold out pretty fast. So yeah, that's too bad. But I was able to attend WordCamp Asia this year in Taipei. But just as an attendee, I was having the final of my life as an attendee. Devin Now you've got a bit more responsibility this year or this coming year 2025 all right so my questions to you all just to sort of like make it fun and easy this is a really easy questions what Excites you most about webcam asia 2025 in manila maher do you huh you want to start first go ahead a new place visit meeting my friends ([Time 0:05:26](https://share.snipd.com/snip/3bf06591-b260-456f-9e6f-07afdc9db451)) - **Manila's Unique Appeal for WordCamp** - Dan Tabifranca highlighted Manila's rich culture and vibrant energy as a huge draw for WordCamp Asia 2025. - He emphasized Filipino hospitality and the united large local WordPress community as unique visitor experiences. Transcript: Dan Tabifranca Oh my, I'm excited about a lot of things actually. So first off, as a local, living here in Metro Manila, I'm super excited to welcome the global WordPress community to our home here in the Philippines. I can't wait for everyone to experience the incredible Filipino hospitality that we have here. Our vibrant culture and food. You've been here, Devin, before. So Manila has this amazing energy, kind of like a mix of the old and the new. And I know attendees are going to fall in love with it. Also, seeing all these passionate WordPress people come together right in the heart of the Philippines is just exciting. I'm also excited to showcase the growing WordPress community that we have here, our local WordPress community. We're like one big happy family here. So even though we live in cities hundreds of miles apart, we're all united as one big family. ([Time 0:06:53](https://share.snipd.com/snip/3792b2bd-7060-4009-9cad-7d6eaae64438)) - **Wide-Ranging Program Topics Planned** - Attendees can expect keynotes revealing WordPress's future, plus diverse topics including AI and headless CMS. - The program balances basics and trending subjects to ensure everyone finds something relevant and engaging. Transcript: Devin Invited speakers invited speakers all right and so we continue this year how big is the proportion like how many people so assuming that invited must be folks who are selected with deep Knowledge and probably a bit of more of like exposure in the global industry right how many are there how many invited in invited is not only based on experience but it's also based who People want to see. Meher Bala Okay. We did open a form. Like a lot of big names may not apply to WordCamp because they may not be knowing that the audience is interested in hearing them. We got a lot of feedback who they want to see people outside the WordPress industry as well. So currently for us, in our entire schedule, we get six to eight slots. That's quite many. Yeah. To the speakers, we didn't like, since we have three tracks, one workshop, we try to bifurcate to six to eight, but we've stuck to six so we're still getting a few things opened up and let's Devin See if finger cross yeah nice so is there any of them been published because i know that you've already our speakers for 2025. Is one of these invite speakers already been announced? Three have been announced. Can you mention probably the example? Meher Bala One is Matt. Okay, yes. ([Time 0:10:21](https://share.snipd.com/snip/38c17c42-d59e-4ed4-a5c1-73eaca1abaed)) - **Free Youth Camp for Kids** - WordCamp Asia 2025 introduces a free Youth Camp for kids aged 8 to 17 accompanying their guardians. - This inclusive activity expands engagement opportunities for families attending the event. Transcript: Devin Yeah. Dan, can you tell us about any special activities or features planned to improve the attendee experience? I mean, we're talking about this is the third WordCamp Asia, right? So probably there's some learning from the past that you iterate this year. So is there anything exciting that we can look forward to? Yeah. Dan Tabifranca So for Recap Asia 2025, Devin, we're actually planning a mix of classic activities from previous editions and some exciting new editions that we have. So we'll have fun activities like gamifying the conference. So with the help of Meher, the program team, and your team, Punter team. And we want everyone to experience everything WordCamp has to offer. So we want to keep our attendees engaged as much as possible. So gamifying the conference, you know, keeps attending like insightful sessions with our speakers, visiting sponsored booths, and collecting swag or hoarding swag, if you may. Because that's what I do. Hoarding swag. Don't lose the swag. Don't lose the swag. And just participating in workshops. So, yeah. We're also excited actually to introduce next year Youth Camp. Right. We do. Yeah. We're introducing Youth Camp. Yeah. For Youth Camp Asia 2025. So it's going to be open for kids aged 8 to 17. And the best part about it is that it's completely free. So as long as a parent or a guardian has a valid ticket, their child can join. Devin All right. So folks who've got kids age 8 to 17, please bring them along and they can have their own dedicated camp, right? Yes. They can have sessions. Dan Tabifranca Yes, heads on sessions. Devin Yeah. For them. Nice. Workshops. Dan Tabifranca Yeah. Devin Yeah, I actually never been to kids camp or youth camp in my life. ([Time 0:13:07](https://share.snipd.com/snip/051294a8-b7b0-4c0b-a0f2-bdae2b816442)) - **Rigorous Speaker Selection Process** - The program team vetted over 300 speaker applications and finalized 37 to ensure a diverse, high-quality lineup. - They balanced topics for beginners and veterans, avoiding redundancy to maintain engaging content variety. Transcript: Devin How is your team balance the expectation of these two in terms of providing content? And you mentioned about three tracks. What are they? What are these three tracks? Is there any specific sort of topic that these tracks is focusing on? Or what should we expect? Meher Bala The tracks are not focused on a topic. It's a mix. For new attendees, we have inspiring stories from people who just began as a freelancer, who've grown their agency, who've grown their who've grown very big using WordPress. So inspiring stories, inspiring examples of what is possible for you as a freelancer or for you as an individual who's looking to use WordPress. And for seasonal and experienced, learn from people who have your same experience, but a different way of doing stuff. A lot of people have different ideas to do one particular problem, solving one particular problem. So we have a mix and my team made sure that we're trying to cover as much as possible. We can't cover everything, obviously, but we tried to cover as much as possible. And my team has done a fantastic work in vetting 300 plus applications. Wow. Devin How many again did you receive these applications? Yeah. I think 280 or 300 plus. Yeah. Oh, wow. And then how many that you have filtered out? Right now, we finalized around 37. ([Time 0:17:51](https://share.snipd.com/snip/69e24fb6-6177-4dbe-9292-f27d8b3936f7)) - **Accessibility and Inclusivity in Venue** - The venue was selected for accessibility features like easy navigation, accessible restrooms, and gender-neutral options. - Food accommodations include halal, vegan, vegetarian, and kosher to cater to all dietary needs. Transcript: Devin Is there anything that you can share with us about that? Dan Tabifranca Very accessible to everyone. So we've chosen the PICC, the Philippine International Convention Center, because it's designed with accessibility in mind. So think easy to navigate spaces, accessible entrances, exit, restrooms, and we even have gender neutral restrooms. So yeah, and overall, just plenty of room to move around comfortably for all our attendees. Also, we'll have our hardworking volunteers throughout the event to provide attendees with extra assistance if needed. And food-wise, we'll even be accommodating different food preferences. So complete with halal, vegan, vegetarian. We even have kosher meals available. So yeah, our team has really been focusing on creating just a welcoming and, you know, an inclusive environment for everyone so that, you know, everyone can just fully participate And just enjoy the event overall. ([Time 0:22:36](https://share.snipd.com/snip/44cce6fd-64e7-49aa-afca-509df8bc4479)) - **Manila's Cultural and Culinary Fusion** - Dan Tabifranca described Manila's cultural fusion in architecture, people, and cuisine including Spanish, Chinese, and Malay influences. - He mentioned local delicacies like adobo, pancit, kare-kare, and the adventurous balut for attendees to try. Transcript: Devin And will there be any opportunity to learn about Manila experience Manila at the after party because usually that's what we expect you know as there's a bit of the culture night or something About the Philippines that we can feel and see during the after party is that is there any point is there any plan for that? Dan Tabifranca Yes. I won't say what the theme is for the after party, but yes, we will definitely incorporate a lot of what the Philippines is in the after party. So, yes. Devin Okay, I failed to actually try to dig more information from you. That's obvious. Dan Tabifranca But I can tell you what makes Manila an exciting place yeah okay all right so manila is manila is actually a fitting destination for our camp asia because it's a it's a city that's very Rich in history so it's a melting pot of different cultures so it's you'll find influences from sp, China, America, and of course, the indigenous Filipino cultures that we have here. So all those are blended, everything, and reflected in everything. So from the architecture to the people and the food, especially the food, speaking of food, to those attending, we can't next year prepare yourself for a culinary adventure. Yeah, Filipino cuisine is a delicious fusion of many flavors. So again, you'll find Spanish influences in different dishes like adobo, which is our favorite stew. I was just going to mention adobo. Yeah, adobo, paella, if you know paella, traditional Spanish rice dish. We also have Chinese influences in pancit, which is our version of noodles. And even Malay influences in dishes like kare-kare, which is my favorite. Kare-kare is an oxtail stew with peanut sauce. And one more thing. If you're feeling a little adventurous, why not try the balut? Yes. The balut. We'll have that here. Devin We'll have that somewhere during the event. Oh, wow. Surprise. Surprise. Get ready, folks. If you don't know what balut is, you can Google it up. But it's an interesting experience for me. I'm from Jakarta, Indonesia. So we have also very unique culinary, but we don't have such thing as Balut. And so there's a lot of similarities between the Indonesian and the Filipinos. We even share some languages, but with this, we don't share. ([Time 0:30:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/512dcf43-aec8-4b58-9ef1-bff119100648)) - **Advice for First-Time Attendees** - First-time WordCamp attendees should plan their schedule to balance sessions, workshops, and sponsor visits. - They should network openly and not feel intimidated as the event fosters a friendly, welcoming community. Transcript: Dan Tabifranca I just want to talk to the first timers, our first time WordCamp attendees. So if this is your first WordCamp, I just want to say that you shouldn't feel overwhelmed by the event. My advice is try to plan your schedule in advance. You know, take a look at the wonderful program that Meher and her team built for us and see what sessions, workshops and activities you're interested in and which sponsors you want to Talk to. But honestly, once you're there, it's just going to be pure fun. You know, you'll want to go everywhere and do everything all at once. You know, WordCamps are like that. So it's not really your typical conferences. WordCamps have a very strong networking aspect to it. And you can just put yourself out there, meet new people, open up opportunities. And yeah, also, don't be afraid to ask questions and connect with other attendees. I, myself, I used to go to WordCamps alone. So my very first WordCamp, I went solo. My second WordCamp, I also went solo. But I came home with a lot of new friends and new connections. So that's what WordCamps are all about. So it's all about community. Just come as you are. Don't feel nervous because that's how I felt. But don't. Don't feel nervous or intimidated. 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