MANILA, PHILIPPINES– Three years into organizing the biggest gathering of influencers and content creators, BaiCon Infest almost did not happen were it not for a series of things coming together—production and creative lead Bea Alfar Evardone shares as much to their media partner, adobo magazine.
What started as a term tossed around lightly internally, digital space, came around as the theme for 2020. With pretty much everyone taking to digital for work, education, connecting to family and friends, everyone was entitled to being an invader of the space.
“I come from a team of super creative people and half the time we were unsure if it will work, but when we started writing the concept paper for everything, it all just lined up.”
Working with different time zones with creators from US, Australia, and New Zealand is just one challenge for her and the team, albeit skilled and digital savvy. One pride point for them is the opening production number which they shot in a physical studio, which required them to undergo the necessary process and requirements by the IATF.
A firm believer on the power of influence, Evardone expressed the importance of powering through the event especially for its purpose to promote the responsible use of social media.
“It’s easy for us to fall prey to the noise,” she shared.
But as much aspects of event production cannot be replicated in a digital realm such as the welcome dinners, after-parties, and airport pick-ups.
“there’s that heart-tugging nudge for everyone to come together”
For this year’s iteration, “influence” was also stretched by the production team to give back to one of the predominant influencers and shapers of minds: the educators.
“We have decided to partner with the Philippine Public School Teachers Association. We wanted to raise funds for them, because we regard them as influencers in their own rights, if not the most powerful influencers of the country, because they literally teach the next generation. We partnered with them because they’re having challenges with their online classes, and they’re also invading the digital space.”
She pointed out that as everyone comes together virtually, it is inevitable to weave it into people’s way of life. “The mindset should be that the digital space is a tool, let’s not cancel it.”
Because of this, it has become more important to think twice before putting anything out since it can easily have an impact on another person. She parted with a reminder to every social media user regardless of their following:
“Be kinder, have more empathy, be more patient, be smarter, and more responsible when you use social media.”
adobo magazine is the official media partner of BaiCon InFest 2020
