DEL CARMEN, SIARGAO – Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Maria Belen S. Acosta underscored the key role of digital nomads (DiNos) in promoting Mindanao during the opening ceremony of the Barefoot I.T. Siargao: The 1st Philippine Digital Nomad Summit on 05 October 2023 at Del Carmen municipal gymnasium.
“Everybody here is part of a new breed of storytellers that will impart to the world that Mindanao is peaceful, beautiful, bountiful, and ready for more investments,” she stressed.
Acosta added that the Summit is one concrete way to ‘further overall digitalization and innovation initiatives for Mindanao,' which is also one of the priorities identified in the Mindanao Peace and Development Agenda 2023-2028.
“This event is a historic and clear declaration to the world that we are ready for business, that we are the prime destination for global digital nomads,” shared DICT Secretary Ivan John E. Uy in his keynote message.
Meanwhile, Summit Lead Convenor and Abakada Studios CEO Lei Bautista said that activity was conceived to promote digital nomad culture and attract global digital employment for Filipino DiNos, particularly Mindanawons.
To support the DiNos sector, Surigao del Norte 1st District Representative Cong. Francisco Jose “Bingo” Matugas has filed the Digital Nomad Bill, which aims to facilitate digital nomad visas and promote the tourism, technology, and creative industries sectors of Siargao, and in the entire Philippines.
The Summit gathered more than 300 participants composed of local and global digital nomads, key ICT leaders and innovators, creative industry drivers and players, local start-up hubs, and government representatives.
This is also the first-ever national convention where critical issues, challenges, trends, and opportunities about the emerging digital nomads (DiNos) profession and culture were discussed.
The summit is organized by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Abakada Studios, in partnership with Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), SIKAP - Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines, Inc., Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), and local government units of Del Carmen and General Luna.
Siargao Island, particularly municipalities of Del Carmen and General Luna, are also beneficiary areas and partners of VolunTurismo Project, a MinDA post-pandemic tourism recovery initiative aimed at assisting the whole island through tourism-volunteerism activities such as mangrove planting, psychosocial intervention for children, and coastal clean-up, which was launched on 16 August 2022. (MinDA/PIA-Caraga)
