(photo by Ace Reston)

Did you attend the very first Drupal Camp Cebu this 2014? Then I don't need to tell you that it was fun and packed with up-to-date trends + techniques in Drupal. IT IS ALSO THE MOST INTERNATIONAL Drupal event in the Philippines attended by -[almost a hundred]- 130 participants.

MOST INTERNATIONAL

Japan. Korea. France. Poland. Australia. United States. Speakers & guests of different nationalities celebrated this event at University of San Carlos in the town of Talamban, Cebu island. It's the first Philippine Drupal Camp outside the capital of the country (MANILA, major Luzon island)

As Drupal and OPEN SOURCE is getting more important to local developers (young and old) the Philippines is slowly becoming a tech-hub of international talents in Asia.

By the way - the lead organizer of #DrupalCampCebu2014 is Luc Bezier. He's French, and he's been living in the Philippines for a while now - deserving to be called "Kuya" (Filipino slang for "elder brother") in the Cebuano software community. Together with his partner (Mary Casis) and a team of volunteers (from PrometSource, lead by Jinky Suarez) - IT WAS A SUCCESS!

Check out Luc's cool interview with Jeffrey A. McGuire at DrupalCon Amsterdam (via Acquia Podcast).

NO Andy! It's not a fork

Andrew Kucharski (gold sponsor & CEO of PrometSource) and I were having beer somewhere in the middle of the city suddenly asked me if this is a fork of the local community effort. My answer was simple: "HINDI PO" (it's not)

"DRUPAL PHILIPPINES is stronger than ever."

I further explained that due to our country's 7,100+ islands it is impossible to organize an event that can be attended and supported by all community members. The demand for more Drupal events has multiplied intensely in the last 3 years. Having local events in major islands are expected to happen more than ever.

Manila. Cebu. Iloilo. Boracay. Davao. General Santos. Baguio. Can you predict where the next big Drupal Philippines event will happen? Stay tuned ...

Everyone's happy to ride a JEEPNEY (or a Cebu multicab) ~ Just look at Andy!

They're Hiring

And as usual, entrepeneurs looking for local talents to hire or train (and steal haha! You know what I mean) find themselves roaming around furiously to find their next employee.

My advice to one of the local shop owners (John Piechnick)? Concentrate on finding trainable candidates instead of hiring senior developers. More on this in my next entry.

#itsMoreFunInThePhilippines

If you've never visited our country - it's difficult to explain how diverse the culture is. Want to know more about what you can do here in your next visit to Asia? Check out www.ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines.com ... and GOOD LUCK choosing a local tourist destination.

WTF ... FILIPINO and TAGALOG are NOT EQUAL?

IMPORTANT NOTE: "Filipino" vs "Tagalog". Filipino (national language) is based on Tagalog (a local dialect). Filipino language can borrow words from other local dialects/languages. Tagalog adhere to its own collection of words.

Much to the surprise of the foreign guests ... the attempt to utter basic Tagalog failed to impress (haha!). We remind you to stick with English because the language spoken widely in CEBU is "CEBUANO". We have 100+ dialects in the Republic of the Philippines so remember - people talk to each other using the dominating lingua franca in the island. BUT HEY ~ good job trying! ;-)

Heck sometimes we cannot understand each other! This is why we switch between Filipino, English and (un poquito) Spanish when we talk. And to be more polite, we just use our faces combine with hands + facial gestures to communicate our thoughts.

FILIPINOS embrace being emotional, JFYI

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Cebuanos (locals in Cebu) can understand or speak multiple dialects (3-5 on average!) including English AND their additional international language of choice (usually Mandarin, Spanish, French).

People who were born Manila? Tagalog. American English. And some dialect or foreign language inherited from parents.

Where is the Philippine Drupal community headed next?

Kuya Marcky's suggestions for future local camps or events

As one of your local elders in our community, here are some ideas for your next Drupal event in the Philippines.

LOGISTICS:
[ ] Offer good internet handled by a captive portal
[ ] Unlimited brewed coffee (or tea!) so no one is sleepy
[ ] Printing kiosk for people who need a certificate

CAMPUS EVENTS:
[ ] Encourage the hosting university to have a session delivered by student(s)
[ ] Have culinary students handle food & catering
[ ] Get CHED-certification so other schools can easily justify & join the event
[ ] Offer a tour of the campus

FOR SPEAKERS:
[ ] a "speaker day" before the event for preparations & testing
[ ] offer an optional slide template
[ ] an open forum so sponsors, speakers, and participants can engage with each other

How was your experience at #DrupalCampCebu ?

Did you find anything (or someone) interesting in Cebu's first Drupal Camp? Do you also think it's a successful event? Don't be shy to tell anyone in the community. WHERE'S YOUR REVIEW?? ;-)

If you need to pick my brain on anything - feel free to throw me a message on Google+, Twitter, Facebook ... or email!

Updated: November 18, 2014 - this blog entry is still actively being edited. Marcky is currently traveling.