[Press Release] Philippines as an “OBSERVER NATION” for the World Cosplay Summit

MANILA, Philippines. What seemed to be a dream to most Filipino cosplayers is about to come into reality as the World Cosplay Summit (WCS) executive committee accredits Philippine-based organization Anime Alliance Philippines to be the caretakers and rights holder of the WCS name in the country.
The World Cosplay Summit is a gathering of outstanding cosplayers from 20 countries in 5 continents vying for the title of World Cosplay Champion. This is an annual event held in Nagoya, Japan by TV Aichi, the founding company of the World Cosplay Summit.
“It wasn’t easy. It took us 2-3 years to get this spot, and I’m so honored and excited to work on a project as big as this” said by Mr. Michael Ramas, operations manager of Anime Alliance. “We’ve always wanted to take things further, and that’s what we’ve been doing every year.” he added.
Getting to be a part of this prestigious competition that convenes all the best cosplayers in the world was not an easy task as officials in Anime Alliance explained. “We continued to work round the clock to make this happen. It’s exhausting but it’s rewarding” said Futomi Nomura, assistant project manager of the-now WCS Philippines Committee. “As always, we strive to provide the best possible service and innovation for the community we work in, and that’s what we’re doing now” he finished.
An online-based organization founded back in 2006, Anime Alliance is now considered to be the only organization authorized in the Philippines to transact in behalf of the WCS and to hold its annual preliminaries and regionals in the country. When asked about when the competition will be held, Ms. Tessa Villareal, project coordinator of WCS Philippines replied “We’ll be bringing it first with the events that made this possible, with the events that placed their trust with us for all the years”. Revealing some information about probable events, HERO FACE OFF is the number one event in their list where a possible 2013 preliminaries is on the way. “But of course, we’re more than willing to share this with any event that’s willing to share the same principles our organization has, the same principles that got us in this position. Passionate and committed individuals who has the culture and drive for excellence” she ended.
“We just want to be clear, we’re just on observer status so we’re not yet competing in the actual competition. But we’re definitely getting represented in the world cosplay stage now” Michael clarified when asked what’s next for WCS Philippines. “We still have to prove ourselves that we’re capable of imposing international standards on our local competitions to be able to compete, which is why we’re making drastic changes in our internal operations to match this.” he finished. Currently the organization is finalizing its new set of standard rules and regulations including their weapons and props policy to match the WCS standards.
With the Philippines now as an observer nation, it’s the country’s first step into getting full membership in the WCS where the country could possibly join and compete with the actual competition. With Anime Alliance having its foot inside the door of the international cosplay stage, they’re moving forward to gather more support as they try to produce the very first faces that’ll make their country proud.

Anime Alliance Asia is a non-stock and non-profit organization that provides capacity-building services to Japanese culture groups in Asia, such as costume play hobby groups, bands, manga artists, animators, and toy creators. We do this by providing result-driven consultancy, technical and skills training services.

source:http://www.cosplay.ph/2013/03/press-release-philippines-as-an-observer-nation-for-the-world-cosplay-summit/#.UXZ749KdnC4