Text2Teach bags top Asian CSR award for education

Text2Teach received the top award for education in the recently concluded Asian Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards held at the Crowne Plaza Galleria in Ortigas Center, Pasig.

Beating 50 other entries in the category from all over Asia, Text2Teach, a multimedia learning model which harnesses SMS technology, digital recording technology and digital broadcast systems, was cited as the best in the Support and Improvement of Education category. 

The project brings rich multimedia educational materials to public elementary schools with the aid of mobile communications technology.

The Text2Teach program is a partnership among Globe Telecom, Ayala Foundation, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO-Innotech), the Department of Education, PMSI-Dream Broadcasting, and Chikka Asia, working with international partners like Nokia, International Youth Foundation, Pearson and the United Nations Development Program.

Globe Telecom president and chief executive officer Gerardo Ablaza Jr., who received the award in behalf of the partners, said, "Text2Teach was made possible by a consortium of organizations who had the common aspiration of helping to enrich education in public schools. For Globe, this was one way of making mobile phone communications and SMS technology relevant to the upliftment of education in our country."

Nokia initiated the Text2Teach program in the Philippines as a pilot of BridgeIT, a global initiative that aims to make significant contribution to learning and teaching through mobile technologies. 

Text2Teach is currently available in more than 200 public schools in the country.

Nokia vice president for CSR and Community Involvement Martin Sandelin said, "This award is an excellent recognition of the power of cooperation between different sectors and innovative technological solutions."

The Asian CSR Awards concluded the fifth annual Asian Forum on CSR with the theme "Harnessing CSR for Development and Democracy."

Presented by the Asian Institute of Management, the awards recognize and honor Asian companies for outstanding, innovative and sustainable social responsibility programs.

Other categories are environmental excellence, poverty alleviation, and concern for health.

Special awards were also given by the judging committees, comprised of forum partners, together with selected experts from all over the region.