Philippine Tech Community Website Launched

The rise in the number of tech communities in the Philippines dates back in the early days of the WWW in the Philippines (circa 1995). From mailing lists to BBS (Bulletin Board System), which later evolved into online forums, tech communities in the country began conducting mini-EBs (Eye Balls or what we know now as meetups) to give faces behind the (user)names online.

For several months now, different technology-based community leaders in the Philippines had been meeting and coordinating with one another on a regular basis. What started out as a normal meeting of minds between representatives from Microsoft Philippines, Google Philippines, Mozilla Philippines and Developers Connect Philippines in April 2016 branched out to a more organized forum. Collectively known as the Philippine Tech Community Leads group, representatives from these organizations meet at least once a month to discuss issues around community growth, management, expanding linkages, and promote collaboration.

In an event hosted by QBO Innovation Hub in Makati City last 16 March 2018, representatives from local tech communities gathered to celebrate the formal launch of the Philippine Tech Community Website [https://www.phtechcommunity.org/]. The website aims to be the go-to online hub for people who wish to join or volunteer in any tech organization in the country. It will also serve as an online venue for technology businesses and corporations to meet tech non-profits for future endeavors and collaboration.

Representatives of different Philippine Tech Communities present during the website launch. [L-R, Front Row] Sophia Lucero (PWDO), Joie Sales (Serious Games Association PH), Anthea Elaine Bonifacio (DevCon PH), Michie Ang (Women Who Code Manila), and Steffi Tan (SwiftLadies). [L-R, Standing] Matt Lebrun (Python PH), Mac Valmores (Philippine Android Developers Community), Ralph Regalado (Google Developer Group PH), Bob Reyes (Mozilla PH), Andrew Garcia (WordPress User Group PH), Paul De Paula (Drupal Pilipinas), and Ruel Nopal (DigitalOcean)

"It's a way to show the world that we have an active tech communities not only in Manila but across the Philippines, thus increasing interest and reach to support the needs and growth of our local developers," said Ralph Vincent Regalado, Google Developer Group Philippines Community Manager.

Kit Valmadrid of PWDO said, “The tech community site was built mainly by the volunteers from Philippine Web Designers Organization (PWDO) and WordPress Users Group PH (WPUGPH). But its content will be a collaborative effort from the different tech organizations in the Philippines. The website is there not just to promote our skills or from which organization we came from but to volunteer and help the tech community in the Philippines. I hope that this will reach a lot of people and will open more collaborations between tech communities, schools, companies, and other organizations in the future.”

Visit the Philippine Tech Community website via [https://www.phtechcommunity.org/]. An application and vouching system will be in place to accommodate Philippine-based technology organizations and communities, who wish to have their entities listed on the website soon.