Introduction:
The DBuzz Team, representing Hive in Davao City, Philippines, participated in the recently concluded Solana Ecosystem Call IRL event as part of our commitment to collaborate with the crypto community in Mindanao. The event was held at the Biz Hub Cafe on the Ground Floor of Lanang Business Park on JP Laurel Avenue, Davao City.
The community crypto event was organized by the volunteer group Davao DeFi Community, a non-profit organization in Davao City, where I also volunteer as an independent journalist alongside John Carlo Rafael, my partner photojournalist and drone pilot. Aside from myself and John Carlo, joining our DBuzz and Hive Team were Chris Rice (
The Attendees and organizers
I arrived around 4:20 in the afternoon because I was on the volunteer committee. The event was scheduled to start at 5:00 PM, but due to some circumstances, it was already 6:00 PM when it began. The Solana Ecosystem Call event was sponsored by the Solana Ecosystem, the Superteam Philippines, and organized by the Davao DeFi Community (DDC) volunteer group.
Before the event started, we took some photos of the venue, and John Carlo Rafael took some drone footage, which will be included in the official video release of the organizers. I tried to have some conversations with my fellow volunteer members of the DDC to get some ideas on how the event works because this is my first time volunteering for a crypto event.
Arriving early to support the organizers as a committee member of the DDC
The Solana Ecosystem Call, also held in different parts of the country such as Bicol, Bacolod, Cebu, and Manila, brought together a diverse group of blockchain enthusiasts, investors, technologists, developers, students, founders, and the crypto communities. Some familiar faces were present, as this was not the first time I was invited to attend a crypto event in Davao City. I again met DevCon Davao, Davao Interschool Computer Enthusiasts (DICE) leaders and fellow DBuzz users Jam (
Event Proper
The Solana Ecosystem Call was hosted by Ma'am Mary Palima, who introduced the organizers of the event, the main sponsors, partner groups, and communities that include the Hive, DBuzz, and Retzark teams. DDC President Mr. Ruben Lacumba welcomed all the attendees and introduced the guest speaker and Ambassador from Solana Australia, Mr. John Forfar. Still, before that, the DDC co-founder, Mr. Rod Albores, presented about Web3 as part of the education segment of the event.
Mr. John Forfar, the Solana Ambassador from Australia, shared his knowledge about the Solana blockchain and the challenges the ecosystem faces. During his presentation's question and answer portion, DBuzz founder Chris Rice asked an interesting question about the possibilities of Solana helping DBuzz and the Hive ecosystem reach its full potential.
Chris Rice asked about the possibility of the Solana blockchain helping the DBuzz micro-blogging platform to reach a billion users and be the first to do so in the Philippines. John Forfar recommended and suggested to the developer's of the DBuzz team to look for the Solana ecosystem code for a possible integration of the open-source DBuzz code to the Solana blockchain.
He also talked about the possibilities of inviting the DBuzz team to attend some hackathons organized by Solana and, if possible, to submit a proposal for funding once DBuzz coders could integrate Solana into the existing codes of DBuzz.
Chris Rice, a member of the Panel Discussion
As a recognized member of the blockchain community here in Davao City, the DDC Team invited Chris Rice to be part of the panel discussion involving Web3, decentralized applications, business and entrepreneurial insight, and blockchain discussion. He was joined by Solana Ambassador from Australia, John Forfar, DevCon's Mariza Ocoy, Kave Guild founder Mark Dave Manansala, and Waste2Earn developer and founder Ed Labores.
(L-R) Ruben Lacumba, Chris Rice, Ed Labores, Mark Dave Manansala, Mariza Ocoy, John Forfar, and Arthur Agullana
Chris Rice shared his journey in investing in penny stocks in the United States when he was still 18 years old. His investing experience in penny stocks became a foundation for learning the intricacies of the crypto industry.
The DBuzz founder shared his crypto journey here in the Philippines as he recognized one of the attendees, Jan Charles 
Chris Rice reiterated that founding DBuzz is more about the movement of changing society, especially in social media. The mission statement of DBuzz is about providing new products and services and promoting social media to a better Web3 product than the existing Web2 social media.
The other panel members also shared their insights on the challenges they faced in the blockchain industry, the products they created, and the communities they started, and of course, the guest speaker from Australia, Mr. John Forfar, gave his advice to all the founders, community leaders, crypto enthusiasts, and the general audience about the possibility of integrating their projects with Solana and learning more about the ecosystem.
The Solana Ecosystem Call event was held successfully. After the panel discussions, games, and giving away of merchandise, the attendees participated in discussions and networked with fellow blockchain enthusiasts and community members for plans, projects, and activities to improve our knowledge in Web3 and for us to participate in future crypto events here in Davao City, Philippines.
We departed from the venue and went home at around 11:00 PM, and we had a very good and productive day. It was another successful collaboration and meet-up with our fellow Hive users and blockchain community members, which was an opportunity to connect and learn more from fellow Web3 enthusiasts.
Photo Ops and Networking
Nathan Senn, Kuya Ferdz, Chris Rice & Solana Australia Ambassador John Forfar
The working committee members of the DDC
Note: All Photos are provided by the Davao DeFi Working Committee, our friend Ma'am Marites, and posted with permission. Video credit belongs to the 
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