Destiny is calling us to be something in this universe. It is preparing us to be a light of this world. We only need to answer the call.
Last January, Dean Trixie Sison of the College of Education of Miriam College, messaged me and my fellow scholars of MADE (Master of Arts in Designing Education). She was asking for volunteer mentors for a hackathon. I gladly said yes, as I want to experience how to be part of a hackathon. This is the first hackathon that I entered. I have some of my friends who were part of different hackathons, some of them even organized the event, so I thought it was the time for me to join the ride.
I don't even know where to start as I do not know what hackathon event we were being part of. Not until my co-faculty and classmate Mon Bacero, who was also mentoring another team, asked me if I already met my teammates. I have not yet! Immediately I checked my email inbox and learned that we were being part of the 1st ASEAN - India Hackathon. It was a 36-hour event initiated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi.
The problem statement assigned to us was “Quantification of Marine Litter using Image Processing”. When I learned about the topic, I was overjoyed as it was my advocacy for 25 years. I believe time has prepared me for this matter. I was an environmentalist during my college years in UST (University of Santo Tomas), and was part of Haribon UST. When I went back to teach in the same university, they got me as an adviser of the same organization, now called EARTH UST. My fellow members of the organization pursued our advocacy and became part of Greenpeace, EcoWaste Coalition, and other advocacy movements. Until now, we continually supported each other’s campaigns. When I created the documentary “Plastic Eaters (Halamang-singaw)”, they guided me to the right people to talk to. The documentary was a collaboration with UST Science and Music students, together with some professors. I still continue to advocate for the environment as an individual, being a vegetarian, and with different civic organizations such as Gawad Pinoy, JCI Quezon City Capitol, and Think Green Initiative.
ASEAN - India Hackathon consists of 744 participants from 11 countries, forming 54 teams to solve 11 problems based on Blue Economy. I was part of Team 23, a phenomenal group that consisted of Meet Soni, Yun Jie Lim, Rahul Bera, Kanokpan Wongsa & Natthawan Suepakdee, with my fellow mentor Phyu Phyu Tar and team manager Pankaj Pandey. I love the composition of the team that came from different nations, fields & time zones; from Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India.
Two weeks before the main event, there were seminars and workshops for all the participants. We then created a communication channel for our group in WhatsApp and Discord, to get to understand each other and have an open conversation about each concern and queries. We call the app that we’re going to develop “litterally”, a wordplay and combination of ‘literally’ and ‘litter’, which can have a meaning ‘actual trash’ when combined. I personally share with them my knowledge about marine litter, which I learned while campaigning “I Say No to Plastic Bags! (Ayoko ng Plastik!)” with the EcoWaste Coalition. Aside from the heart of saving the environment, as an Industrial Designer, I also shared with them my knowledge in different material and innovations in technology, especially the advancement in photography. They also consulted me with the business and marketing strategy, and shared with them the best approach for a technology-based product.
During the three-day main event, it was fun and exciting, everyone was panicking. I smell fear so I continually encourage them to keep calm and stay focused. During the final consultation, I still saw a lot of glitches in the idea, development, and presentation. But I believe in the team and love how each of them contribute through each assigned task.
It was a big surprise when they announced the winners. Our team won! I was grinning the whole night, so happy for my team. After the event, we scheduled a video meeting. This meeting was more personal as we got to know each other more and enjoyed sharing each other’s experience during the competition. It was also a start of a deep friendship. We are all excited to see each other in the future, to have a reunion and actually meet everyone in person.
What is next? I do not know but I am excited for the next call of destiny.
