We're starting journey of DevRel/Asia 2020

Hi everyone. I’m Atsushi, the head of organizer at DevRel/Asia 2020. Thank you for your interest in DevRel/Asia 2020!

DevRel/Asia 2020 is the largest DevRel conference in Asia, and it’s a conference we’re working on right now with the organizers from 9 Asian countries/regions. With a rich variety of countries and regions, a wide range of people from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and India, and the whole of East Asia are participating in the operation of DevRel/Asia 2020, not to mention DevRel, developer marketing, developer experience, there will be a lot of insights shared about the community, evangelist and advocate experiences, APIs and documentation, and more.

Challenges in the Corona Disaster

Last year, Japanese organizers held a conference in Japan called DevRel/Japan 2019. It was attended by many people, and we believe it was very useful in raising the profile of DevRel in Japan. There were of course plans to continue that this year and hold DevRel/Japan 2020.

However, the coronavirus has caused the cancellation of all conferences. The DevRelCon Tokyo 2020 is conference that I was organizing had to be cancelled in February (although we did host a conference called DevRelCon Earth 2020 instead). I’m sure many of you have had to cancel the conferences or are planning an online conference.

Of course, it’s also hard to switch regular tech conference to online one. I’m sure there are many hardships that have not been experienced before. But I personally found that simply replacing it with online wasn’t enough for me. I wanted a newer, more unique challenge. That’s when I thought of an online conference that we could co-host with other Asian countries.

In a real conference, there’s not much benefits in having each country cooperate. If the dates of the conference overlap, there would be a split in participants, speakers, and even sponsorship budgets. It would be difficult to stagger the dates, and there is no advantage to holding a conference on own in a country or region where DevRel is not well established.

I felt that there is a possibility of solving such problems by using the online platform. Even if the number of attendees is low in a region, if the content is good, there is a chance that people from a large number of countries will come to the conference. The DevRel/Asia 2020 may even increase interest in DevRel in each region.

Asia, the global economic driver

Although my country (Japan) is still the world’s third largest economy, the situation is deteriorating rapidly due to the shrinking population and aging society. Against this backdrop, Asian countries are experiencing remarkable growth. Not only China, but also India, Vietnam and Indonesia are growing at a very high rate. There is no doubt that IT will be used in these countries, and there is no doubt that DevRel will be emphasized in order to support the developers who are building the future of these countries and grow alongside them.

In order to learn about the situation and characteristics of each country in Asia, I am personally benefiting from the connections I can make with the organizers of each region through DevRel/Asia 2020. I know that each country has its own set of problems, but it doesn’t have to be our individual relationships. The relationships between the diverse organizers will make for a great conference.

Attendees will be able to learn about community in their own region, learn about marketing differences, and take in information from other Asian countries in a single day of the conference.

Thoughts on the logo

　
The DevRel/Asia logo is designed as follows Designed by Taiji-san! 🎉🎉🎉

The flowery logo as a whole is inspired by Asia. The five petals have the following meanings.

• DevRel (Developer Relations)
• Developer Marketing
• Developer Community
• Developer Experience
• API/Document

The conference will have content shared that fits these themes.

How can you attend?

Well, as of the time of posting this article, tickets have not yet gone on sale. We are scheduled to start soon, so please wait for an update. Basically, the tickets are free, but we will have tickets with a nice souvenir. Stay tuned!

The deadline for CFPs (Contracted Speakers) is August 16th. The basic language is English, but you can also speak in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian and other languages. We’d love for you to share your great insights with us at DevRel/Asia 2020.

Stay tuned for November 14!

DevRel/Asia 2020 will take place on November 14. There will be some time differences, but the event will run from 10am-6pm in all regions, and I’m sure Asia will be awash in DevRel on November 14th. Just thinking about it makes me excited. The entire world has been sunk by the Corona disaster, and it’s been impossible to travel and meet your friends and families. The situation varies from country to country, but it may continue as it is now for the rest of the year.

However, time is not going back, nor is it stopping. As medical professionals still fight with all their might, medicines are being developed, and various technologies are being developed to combat and adapt to the coronavirus. DevRel must thank them, inspire them, encourage them, and help build a new world. Rather than giving in to the status quo, let’s do what we can do now. At DevRel/Asia 2020, we will be tackling on many new challenges that have never been seen before. We hope you will enjoy DevRel/Asia 2020!