Post Dee-Day Breakdown

With just over a week since Dee-Con 2012, we figured this would be a good time to reflect upon the event, address some current affairs, and talk about what the future holds for Dee-Con.

First thing's first, thank you to all the people who helped us organise an entire days worth of events. The DUSA staff were a pleasure to work with throughout the entire process, and their help was invaluable. Another big shout out to all the individuals who contributed to the event, all our artists, staff, guest speakers, photographers, DJs, live acts, film distributors, video game organisers, the Kendo club,  NEO Magazine... we appreciate the amount of effort and commitment from all of you. 11 weeks is a short time to organise a Con of this scale, and you all made it as easy as possible. 

Secondly, the biggest thank you to everybody who attended, you made it a success. We received the final numbers from the venue last week, and we had a peak of 1,200 people in the building at one point, with an estimated 1,500 attendees throughout the day. According to DUSA's statistics, this makes it the biggest convention ever held at The Union, and it's all down to you guys. 

On top of that, you helped fund the Animation degree show at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. Dee-Con was run by animation students, not only as a celebration of what we live and breathe, but also as an opportunity to raise funds to help support the course. You all directly contributed towards that, and we are extremely grateful. You can visit the degree show from the 19th-25th of May at DJCAD if anybody is interested. 

All in all, the feedback we've received about the event has been overwhelmingly positive. I think we can all agree that the event was a success. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing so many people enjoyed it, and we enjoyed hosting it. The amount of fans we've gathered and their continued support is humbling... which leads me onto the next point.

We are aware of the current "drama" spreading via Facebook, Tumblr and 4chan etc. concerning the public (and not so public) attempts of slandering Dee-Con. We've remained entirely silent on the subject, as we don't want to contribute to any kind of childish name bashing, regardless of what has been spread about us.

That said, we were surprised and overwhelmed by the amount of support we received from the Anime/Cosplay community. Our intentions with Dee-Con have only ever been honourable, and we're glad 

people realise and appreciate that. All we ask is that our supporters follow our example and not aggressively engage or respond to the petty tactics we've witnessed over the past few days. 

The most important thing we've come to realise, is that it's really all about the community. It's not about boosting ego, it's not about glory, it's not about money, it's not about management, it's about putting on an event that benefits you... because without you, none of this would be possible.

On that note, the future of Dee-Con is at this point uncertain. It's our hope and intention that Dee-Con will continue to be organised by final year Animation students, in order to benefit both the anime community and the course. This means that each year the committee will be comprised of entirely new people, which will ensure a complete lack of ownership. We firmly believe Dee-Con doesn't belong to any individual, if anything it belongs to you, the community. 

We are in discussions about next year, but nothing has been confirmed. However I can assure you, as soon as we know... you'll know.

Thanks again, and stay classy,

Team Dee-Con 2012.