I thought of sharing with you a short piece on the local association community from the perspective of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (Pcaae).
The Philippines was colonized by Spain for over 350 years and by the United States for 48 years, with a brief 3-year occupation by Japan during World War II.
The association we know today has its roots over a century ago but gained more presence and prominence after the war. The La Cámara de Comercio de las Islas Filipinas (Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands) was founded in 1886, considered the oldest trade association in the country. Associations are listed as non-profit organizations under the corporation law of the country.
The Pcaae is a young “association of associations,” having been launched in November 2013 as an advocacy organization to advance the association management profession, as well as to make associations better governed and sustainable. The Pcaae, which has 60 member-associations (including over 150 individuals), is supported by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) and the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (Adfiap). It is currently the secretariat of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organizations. Based on anecdotal and on-the-ground accounts of the Pcaae, the following is the situation of associations here.
Before the Covid-19 global pandemic, associations in the country were vibrant and thriving in terms of running regular meetings, training programs and annual conferences and exhibitions. There was also an increasing trend of associations hosting international events in the country, especially those affiliated with international associations. Associations were big players in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry.
However, when the pandemic unfolded, many associations were unprepared to cope with the ensuing lockdowns, travel restrictions and quarantines. The early adopters of technology and have reserve funds were quick to adjust to the new environment by engaging closely with their members and staff through video conferencing platforms while working from home. Webinars and e-meetings became commonplace in such a short time.
On the other hand, those that lagged behind in digitalization and were slow in adapting to the changes in their midst struggled due to loss of revenue stemming from a decrease in membership dues and the postponement or cancellation of events. This resulted in their inability to adequately engage with and provide needed services to members.
A crosscutting and pleasant development, however, is in the area of collaboration and in responding to the call by the government to help in combating the pandemic. For instance, associations of engineers and architects worked together to design and develop quarantine facilities while associations of the different branches of the medical field banded together to provide response, relief and rescue operations.
Overall, the resilience and adaptability of associations in the country during the pandemic is something to be proud of. Going forward and armed with lessons learned from the pandemic, associations here are not looking to return to where they were. Instead, they are tweaking their membership models and innovating their internal structures and processes to create more and better services to their members, to be more receptive to the needs of their staff, to collaborate with others, to reach out to the government and contribute more to nation building.
Octavio Peralta is the founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives, the “association of associations.” E-mail: obp@adfiap.org