Globe Partners with Disney for "Time Please" Volunteering Program

Leading telecommunications company, Globe Telecom and The Walt Disney Company, Philippines, announced a major collaboration to promote volunteerism among Filipinos.

Time Please

The two companies partnered to launch “Time Please” - a nationwide volunteering program that encourages and empowers Filipinos including companies, organizations, employees, families, and friends to organize volunteer activities or participate in existing volunteer programs.  Time Please supports Globe's commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and appeals to the Filipino strong culture of volunteerism rooted in the bayanihan spirit to collectively contribute to social development.

Through the volunteer portal www.timeplease.ph, developed by Globe Future Maker iVolunteer Philippines and the volunteer portal of Gawad Kalinga, Time Please strives to match individuals or groups of volunteers with various volunteering opportunities around the country. Companies, organizations or groups with existing volunteer programs can also enlist their volunteer activities in the platform and get their volunteer hours registered in this initiative.

Mahesh Samat, EVP & Managing Director The Walt Disney Company South Asia and Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO

“We look at Time Please to extend Globe Telecom’s purpose-led culture to our customers. With the help of technology, we wish to make volunteering more accessible to many Filipinos, thereby, making it easier for our partners and customers to contribute to nation building,” said Ernest Cu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Globe Telecom.

“Disney VoluntEARS are committed to supporting and inspiring communities by dedicating our time and skills to help kids and families in need. Time Please is a unique platform that allows kids and families to spend meaningful time together for social good,” shared Veronica Cabalinan, Country Manager of The Walt Disney Company, Philippines. “We believe that it is our collective responsibility to be at the service of the community where we live.”

Mahesh Samat, EVP & Managing Director The Walt Disney Company South Asia and Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO together with Micky and Minnie Mouse

Globally, the Philippines ranked 7th for the highest number of people volunteering their time with 25 million Filipinos volunteering in 2016 (Charities Aid Foundation [CAF] World Giving Index 2017). Volunteer activities are mobilized by various sectors, such as non-government organizations (NGOs), government agencies, companies usually through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) departments or corporate foundations, the academe via school activities such as Brigada Eskwela, and the private sector.

Volunteer with Partner Communities

Time Please provides a robust menu of volunteering activities and unites the volunteering ecosystem by connecting the volunteers to volunteer organizations using a simple, convenient and easy to understand web platform. Through any device with online access, individuals from all regions in the Philippines can now sign up for free and form groups to join volunteer activities enrolled in Time Please.

The Program will run from May 25 to August 19, 2018 and is open to Individuals and Groups willing and capable to do volunteer work. Each group should have a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of four (4) individuals to be able to join. The group should also nominate a Team Leader who is at least 18 years of age with an active Globe or TM number to register the group.

The group with the most number of volunteer hour credits at the end of the program will Win an All-Expense paid Trip for 4 to Hong Kong Disneyland.

Globe customers, partners, and other organizations are invited to register and volunteer at  www.timeplease.ph and at the volunteer portal of Gawad Kalinga.

So what about it Geeks? Time to Volunteer? Lend a helping hand and let's build a better world...

Read More »

2nd Manila Mini Maker Faire this June 23-24, 2018 at The Mind Museum!

The Mind Museum, Make Magazine, and co-presenter 3M Philippines, organize the second year Manila Mini Maker Faire (MMMF) on June 23-24, 2018 at The Mind Museum!

A Maker Faire is “a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. It’s a venue for makers to show examples of their work and interact with others about it. Many makers say they have no other place to share what they do. DIY (Do-It-Yourself) is often invisible in our communities, taking place in shops, garages and on kitchen tables. It’s typically out of the spotlight of traditional art or science or craft events. Maker Faire makes visible these projects and ideas that we don’t encounter every day.”  

Get the kids and join the fun as Manila Mini Maker Faire 2018 will have over 70 Makers from all over the Philippines, including Visayas and Mindanao! They can enjoy and learn a variety of projects from artistic or with science! Projects like paper crafts, upcycled furniture, electronic beatboxes, and a lightweight car body made from abaca will be showcased as well as robotics, 3D printing, STEAM education, and so much more! They can also sign up for a variety of FREE and ticketed Workshops such as - paper engineering, clay and pottery-making, 3D design, and more will be available for everyone interested to learn new things.

This year’s MMMF also aims to establish a stronger maker community through networking and collaboration with makers from different parts of the country. A special innovation tour, hosted by 3M Philippines, will be held before the faire to help inspire makers to continue making. This will be followed by a Maker’s Networking Night to give an extraordinary chance for participants to interact with their fellow makers.

Convergence of Art and Science

What is revolutionary about the Manila Mini Maker Faire and the Maker movement in general is that they actively explore the cross-overs among the fields of science, engineering, art, performance and craft. It is no longer about isolated but about how one field can inform the other and produce innovative things! Technologies that are birthed in these junctions are extremely interesting and many of them could become breakthroughs. The key is experimentation and collaboration not just with the specialists in your field but with others working on other kinds of materials, processes and knowledge. 

"The Mind Museum continues to push for the Filipino public to be part not just of the conversations in science and engineering around the world but also in making and doing. This second MMMF in a row that The Mind Museum is hosting is a salute to the makers in our local community who not only affirm but persist, despite the odds, to breed and raise the bar of creativity in the way technology can be at the service of human lives," says Maribel Garcia, curator of The Mind Museum. 

"3M Philippines has been behind The Mind Museum since its beginning as a founding donor. We are pleased to support the Manila Mini Maker Faire on its second run this 2018. Innovation is at the heart of 3M. We never stop being curious because there is a value in asking what if. In wondering. Wonder leads to improving the world around us,” shares Ariel Lacsamana, President & Managing Director of 3M Philippines. 

The original Maker Faire event was held in San Mateo, CA in 2006 and in 2017 celebrated its twelfth annual show with some 1,250 makers and 150,000 people in attendance. World Maker Faire New York, the other flagship event, has grown in five years to 900+ makers and 90,000 attendees. Twenty-three other larger scale Maker Faires occur in cities around the world—Detroit, Atlanta, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and Shenzhen to name a few— and over 120 community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires are now being produced around the world.

The Manila Mini Maker Faire is made possible by 3M Philippines and also supported by Norde International Distributors, PCBWay, and Lush.

So better set your calendars for a family trip and visit Manila Makers Faire! You and your kids might learn a thing or two or maybe be a next maker and innovator! Happening this June 23-24, 2018, at The Mind Museum. Personally experience what local passion and ingenuity can conjure up. Be inspired by the various Filipino makers that manage to make their mark through DIY!

Be sure to register via http://manila.makerfaire.com/! See you there!

Read More »

Microsoft Celebrates International Women’s Month with #MakeWhatsNext Campaign

To celebrate the International Women’s Month, Microsoft launched the #MakeWhatsNext campaign that aims to encourage young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

“We want to change the way young women view STEM by letting them envision how technology, science, engineering can be tools used to solve global challenges; how their interests today could turn into a job of the future. We’re inviting girls to explore their passions further and gain insights from LinkedIn on how to make their dream job a reality. To make it happen, we are introducing all girls, including those from underserved communities, to female role models from different industries as well as hands-on, purpose-driven experiences where STEM concepts are linked to real-life situations,” said Dr. Daiana Beitler, Philanthropies Director, Microsoft Asia.

DigiGirlz 2018

In the Philippines, Microsoft gathered over 200 female learners from various schools for DigiGirlz 2018 -- an initiative to inspire young women to pursue careers in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

“The Philippines is one of the most gender equal countries in the world and is in fact the only Asian country in the top ten of the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report in 2017. With DigiGirlz, Microsoft seeks not just to further improve gender equality in the country, but also to empower women to do and achieve more with technology,” said Hans Bayaborda, Managing Director, Microsoft Philippines.

The program seeks to Increase Awareness, Influence and Empower. Increase awareness about what we, together with our partners, are doing to reduce the gender gap in STEM. Influence audience to believe that STEM can lead to exciting and meaningful career paths, by enabling them to tackle big challenges impacting people and the world. Empower audience with resources to learn about computer science and STEM career paths.

Making Herstory
The 200 female learners in attendance had the chance to hear the stories of prominent female figures in various fields at the Asia Pacific College. Among the invited speakers were Deputy Speaker of the House of Representative Sharon Garin and Isabel Sieh, founder of Girls Will Code.

DS Sharon Garin enlightened and inspired young girls as she shared her experiences working in a male-dominated environment. She reminded the students to be brave, to talk louder, study harder and never let gender become a barrier in achieving more. “Education is the key to make women free,” she said.

Isabel Sieh

Isabel Sieh, at 15 years old is considered as the youngest programmer of the country, and is already proficient in Java, C++ and is starting out Python. She shared the story of how she founded her company at 11 and how her love for coding opened the door for more young girls to break the barrier and pursuit a career in STEM. Her company, Girls Will Code, is one that encourages young women to code, while debunking most of the myths surrounding the field.

Women from Microsoft also shared their own personal stories of empowerment. Microsoft Philippines’ OCP director Eileen Ong encouraged more girls to not be bound by gender stereotypes and pursue a career in STEM. Clarissa Segismundo, Microsoft Education Programs Lead, shared the value of taking risks, of the difference between learning-it-all and knowing-it all, and of the importance of finding your purpose.

The plenary also covered the importance of inclusion and diversity; how technology is making waves to equalize people with disability. The message? DigiGirlz of today who will become the women of tech tomorrow, will carry the torch to invent something that will eventually benefit the world.

Hour of Code

In addition to the plenary, the young women were invited to envision their careers, acquire new skills, and see the jobs of tomorrow related to STEM through coding sessions, soft skill workshops, and interactive demos on AI, Coding, and HoloLens. They experienced hands on coding by doing Minecraft’s Hour of Code with most learners finishing the coding session in less than hour!

“The stereotype that only men can excel in the tech and engineering industries is wrong. In this digital age, the future career opportunities will be in STEM, and we have a responsibility to encourage and support young women to follow this path. By choosing a career in STEM, young women and men will achieve their true potential and help change the world.” said Wendy Johnstone, Microsoft General Manager, Marketing and Operations. 

To learn more about #MakeWhatsNext, visit http://www.makewhatsnext.com/. To find out more about Microsoft Philanthropies’ initiatives in the Philippines, visit https://news.microsoft.com/apac/tag/microsoft-philanthropies/.

Read More »

Microsoft and Gawad Kalinga for Barangay Walang Iwanan

The Philippines is a country undergoing rapid transformation as it navigates the 4th industrial revolution. Today, digital technologies are transforming the lives of many Filipinos. However even as the country progresses to new age, we mustn’t forget that approximately 21.6% of the Philippine population still live below the poverty line and have limited resources.

Hans Bayaborda, Managing Director of Microsoft Philippines reiterated their commitment to serving the underserved. “Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Through advances in technology like cloud computing and IOT, we enable people and organizations to reach those that the market may not be able to reach.” 

Through partnerships with several organizations, Microsoft continues to transform industries through four key pillars: engaging users, empowering employees, optimizing operations, and transforming institutions. 

(L to R) Jose Luis Oquinena, Executive Director of Gawad Kalinga, Irwin Lee, CEO of Rustans Supercenters Inc., Hans Bayaborda, Managing Director of Microsoft PH, Mayor Joan Lorenzano-Aquende of Castilla, Sorsogon, Tony del Rosario, Gawad Kalinga Trustee, Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, President, HARI Foundation, Inc. Cong. Karlo Nograles, Chairman, 2018 Budget & Committee, Fr. Ben Nebres S.J., Former President of ADMU

In the recent Social Business Summit 2018 in Angat, Bulacan, Gawad Kalinga (GK) launched “Barangay Walang Iwanan” (BWI), an enabling and empowering technology-based platform and ecosystem developed in partnership with Microsoft to help end poverty.

“There was a need to harness technology for effective and cost-efficient communication, timely reporting, data consolidation and storage, transparency, accountability, and sustainability,” said Bayaborda.

GK works on the frontlines of disaster preparedness and response in the Philippines. One of the applications of the BWI platform is during disasters when GK’s global network of volunteers is mobilized to bring help where it’s needed the most. Important information on the local population such as household composition, income, and livelihood provide GK with insights for better-informed and quicker decision-making. 

In addition, GK helps members of the community get back on their feet by linking them to sustainable livelihoods via BWI. Through data gathered on the ground, BWI can shorten supply chains -- from manpower to food resources -- effectively cutting the middle layers and increasing profit at the lowest level.

“Barangay Walang Iwanan is a testament to GK’s mission of ending poverty, as well as Microsoft’s commitment to empowering everyone. We’ve been working with GK for more than 9 years now, and this ambitious project is a product of that strong relationship,” added Bayaborda.

Microsoft has a long history of supporting GK on technology and programs that aim to equip all youth to be future ready. Projects such as Raising Social Innovators, WeSpeakCode, and Innovate have provided underserved Filipino youth with access to digital skills which will be critical for their future. 

Through BWI, GK and Microsoft hope to create a culture of caring within the community and to build solidarity by connecting resources where they are needed so that no one is left behind. 

“BWI is a great step forward to ending poverty in the Philippines. Microsoft will continue to work with GK towards this mission of inclusion. Through technology, data can be used to drive value, development, and economics transition to more communities across the Philippines and ensure that nobody gets left behind, walang iwanan,” added Bayaborda.

To learn more about how Microsoft Philanthropies is advancing a future for everyone, visit www.microsoft.com/philanthropies. 

Read More »

IP Converge Data Services, Inc. Partners with PIA for Scholarship for Underprivileged Youth

IPC (IP Converge Data Services, Inc.), a pioneer in local cloud and data center services, announces its partnership with Philippine International Aid (PIA), a U.S.-based charity providing health and educational assistance to underprivileged youth.

One of the PIA’s core initiatives is the “Off the Streets-Off to School” scholarship, a program that helps parents and teachers to keep kids in school. Administered in partnership with the Phil-Asia Assistance Foundation, the Off the Streets–Off to School program provides scholarships annually to more than 1,000 children in Metro Manila.

Together with their partners, PIA helps students go through primary education onwards to college. The student's academic progress is monitored throughout the academic year and are encouraged to correspond with their respective benefactors.

Heading the organization is Mona Lisa Yuchengco, the founder and publisher of PositivelyFilipino.com, an online magazine on the Filipino diaspora. She also serves on the board of the Women’s Media Center, a non-profit progressive women's media organization. Working with her at PIA are successful Filipino-American business executives living in the Bay Area such as Executive Director James T. Lim, the current General Manager of the Omni Hotel, Secretary Sonia T. Delen, a Senior Vice-President at Bank of America Leasing, and France M. Viana, a strategic marketing consultant who currently heads the marketing department of the San Francisco World Affairs Council.

“PIA started out as a scholarship fund to send street children to school, to take them away from the streets where they were being recruited by pimps, and to place them in schools where they belong. Since then, thousands of children have gone through the program. Many of them have graduated college and gotten jobs, and are now able to help support their families,” said Yuchengco.

Under the program, IPC will fund the school expenses of 5 students of the Eulogio Rodriguez Integrated School in Mandaluyong City. The funds provided will take care of tuition fees, books, supplies, field trip costs, uniforms, shoes, and allowances for meals and transportation.

“Supporting the Off the Streets-Off to School program was an easy decision for us because IPC is always looking for ways to use its resources and expertise to give back to the community,” said Reynaldo Huergas, President of IPC. “Everyone of us is very excited to be part of this amazing project. We know that a lot of students are forced to drop out of school because of money and hopefully with our partnership with PIA, we can help those students stay and learn so that they can have a better future.”

This is the second time that IPC has teamed up with a charity dedicated to help improve education. In 2014, they lent their cloud technology services to assist the Teachers for the Philippines in documenting and tracking the effectivity of their teaching programs.

“We are always eager to lend a helping a hand to those in need, especially when it comes to education. We firmly believe that everyone should have access to education and IPC is happy to help schools and students alike in any way we can,” added Huergas.

Read More »