The need for a centralised body

August 22, 2008 by linkinstreet

You guys might remember the ACGC Final Event and the conterversy surrounding the date of it being held. The fact that it was held two days before Hari Raya shows some incompetant planning. Not only some part of the Muslim anime fans felt they are being ignored, but also non muslims who had planned to go home for the holidays at the time. We just hope that it was a silly mistake, but if it was not, well, let us not go there…

But this incident shows that how the anime community and clubs need a centralised body to govern all the event that will be held in a year. With a centralised body, where the board comprised of people from all organisation, it could have easily avoided a mistake like this as one of them should realised if the date clashes with a certain holiday or event. Granted, there might be some issues but really, if we could create something like this, the benefits can be enjoyed by all. For example, with a centralised body you can:

Agree on a date for event by members
There was some events this year that overlap with one another. With this some clubs can be certain that they won’t do an event that can overshadow another one, and be certain that they can get the maximum amount of people without worrying that the crowd will attend the other event that is being held at the same day. I remember some happening last year and also this year, which lead to less the satisfactory crowd at both event as people has to choose on which one they want to go.

Help with promotion
It can’t be helped, but some clubs ARE more famous than others, thus why not help each other? Clubs can inter-promote events, thus creating much more atmosphere and fans going. The Animax Youth Festival failed to get people to come because it has no promotion. Something like this could have helped it more.

Grand Events
At the end of the year, the members can do one big major event where all the members pitch in and help. Instead of an event that focuses on just one thing (IE: Just cosplaying), grand events encompass all. People from other clubs can mingle with one another, and promote each other. This will also benefit the public as they can see what we are doing in a bigger picture, not just some small event.

Resolving issues
This is one of the most important thing that can be done with a centralised body. Some member might have issues or problems that they can’t handle on their own. They can use the body to voice their problems or even dissatisfaction and let the board give out their verdict.

We should have started with this earlier, but still nothing is too late. Emina’s Anime Circles List Project is one example of what our vision of this is. We don’t need to have all the bodies joining us. Start small, with one or two members, then after that we try to rope in others. In the long run, it will benefit everyone. We don’t need another blunder like the ACGC one to happen again do we?

P/S: If you have any ideas on how this can benefit everyone, just leave a comment and I will certainly add it :3

Posted in Editorial