Bohol Hosts OCEAN 16 Summit

The Province of Bohol hosted the Open Collaboration of East Asia New Champions 2016 Summit (OCEAN 16) on November 24-26, 2016 at the Be Grand Resort in Panglao, Bohol. Thought leaders and movers from the Philippines, the ASEAN, the US and the UK joined the summit which tackled breakthroughs in technology that are fundamentally transforming whole systems of production, management, and governance. These transformations aid societies overcome challenges from business and energy, to transportation and climate change.

The so called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” or “Industry 4.0,” was the main theme of the summit and this presents an opportunity for the Philippines not only to keep up with more advanced nations, but also solve urgent problems plaguing the country. This revolution is the fusion of electrical and digital systems with physical and biological systems and is made possible by the proliferation of the Internet and mobile devices.

In various panels during the summit, the topic of the startup ecosystem in the Philippines was discussed. The issues on connectivity and access to funding was also tackled. Winston Damarillo, chief organizer of the event, said that the Philippines should not try to become the next Silicon Valley but instead tackle the unique issues in the country and create businesses that solve these issues.

The event kicked off with a discussion on “Understanding the Future of Cybersecurity” and a Sunset Welcome Cocktail Event on November 24. On the second day, November 25, Damarillo delivered the opening keynote and facilitated teh opening plenary session with the moderators of the various panels. There were two tracks of the panels and the topics include “Sustainability at the Heart of Business”, “Powering Small Businesses”, “The Future of Talent”, “The Disruption of Industries”, “Innovation for All” and “Data is the New Oil”. The second day closed with the panel on Collaborative Governance and the Next Economic Power which covers the ASEAN and the state of collaboration between nations, between the government and private sector. A case study for collaboration in Bohol where multi-sectoral participation in various initiatives is common and has reaped important results in prioritization of infrastructure investment and in the relief effort immediately after the October 2013 earthquake and in the rehabilitation programs.

The participants were entertained during the gala dinner hosted by the province of Bohol. Gov. Edgar Chatto and the First Lady of the province, Mayor Maria Pureza Chatto graced the event. Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell Yap and the First Lady of the City, Ms. Jane Yap also graced the event.

The last day of the event included a plenary session on “Preparing for the Digital Future”. This was followed by a Closing Plenary with the Summit Co-Chairs Winston Damarillo, Karen Davilla, Sen. Bam Aquino, Richard Dacalos and Analisa Balares. In the afternoon, a workshop about the “Deep Globality” and the Youth was held. This was followed by a public filming of the new TV show for Indiepreneurs called “I’m In”. The show features entrepreneurs pitching in front of angel investors with the goal of getting investment commitments from the investors.