Telco advocates use of mobile tech in sustainable dev’t via photo tilt

CEBU, Philippines - Globe Telecom gave out special awards to three young men who best captured how mobile technology is used in initiatives for sustainable development.

The winners were among the participants to the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) Ten Photos to Shake the World contest.

First place winner of the Globe Mobile Technology for Sustainable Development award is Noel Ubaldo who received an iPad4 for his work entitled “It’s never too late for technology.”  The photo shows a group of elderly tribal members using a tablet computer. Ubaldo also bagged ASSIST’s People’s Choice Award.

Second place went to Bryan Taguduar for his black and white piece “Taking the challenge of trend” where two fishermen in an outrigger boat hold a cellphone and a solar panel. Taguduar also won 9th place in ASSIST for another entry.  Klienne Eco’s “Light up my future,” a photo of a boy studying with the use of a tablet computer, won third.  Incidentally, the same entry was adjudged second in the ASSIST photo competition.  Taguduar and Eco received an HTC One SV and Samsung Galaxy Y mobile phones from Globe, respectively.

“We were only supposed to give one special award but we found the other two entries also very significant to our theme.  As an ICT company which advocates sustainable development, Globe believes this competition is an excellent venue to advocate the use of mobile technology in sustainable initiatives,” said Yoly Crisanto, head of Globe Corporate Communications.  

ASSIST is an international non-government organization which seeks to promote sustainable practices to address social problems in the developing world with focus on Asia and Africa. Its goal is to empower its target groups to make them resilient to social, economic and environmental challenges.

For the competition, ASSIST has chosen ten compelling photos that chronicle the journey towards sustainable development — showing poverty, climate change, global recession and other challenges, as well as the innovation and cooperation that result from them. 

The photos also captured sustainable inventions, human partnerships, cooperation for a sustainable economic development, inspirational and empowering activities/scenarios/innovations, under the overarching theme: “A showcase of Empowerment, Partnership, and Innovations for Sustainable and Inclusive Development.”  (FREEMAN)