Talk

Japan, UNICEF provide educational tablets to learners in Region VIII for learning recovery

The Government of Japan and UNICEF Philippines turned over 400 educational tablets containing digital learning materials in select mother tongues of Eastern Visayas to support at least 800 Samar and Norther Samar learners classified as non-readers and struggling readers. As young children learn most effectively in their mother tongue, the tablets will be provided to Grades 1 to 3 learners of 30 schools to support the development of their foundational skills in early literacy. This is part of the UNICEF-supported Learning Recovery Programme being rolled out by the Department of Education (DepEd) Region VIII, which aims to mitigate learning loss caused by school closures during the lockdowns in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from the digital learning materials, Japan and UNICEF are also supporting the development of the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment in Mother Tongue and the training needed to effectively utilize the tool. This is a crucial intervention,

READ MORE...

Shopee, Shopee Xpress partner with Whisper and World Vision to empower young women

Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, recently launched the #ShareTheConfidence campaign in partnership with Whisper and World Vision, to educate Filipinos on the importance of menstrual hygiene management. This initiative is part of Shopee Bayanihan, the company's umbrella CSR arm that seeks to provide support for communities in need through partnerships with various humanitarian organizations. As part of the campaign, Whisper pledged to match and donate sanitary products for every Whisper product sold on Shopee from May 28 to June 30. Almost 130,000 young women from World Vision’s partner communities all over the Philippines benefitted from the initiative and received sanitary products through the delivery efforts of Shopee Xpress, Shopee’s logistics arm. Apart from raising awareness on proper menstrual hygiene management, the #ShareTheConfidence campaign also aimed to break the stigma around menstrual health and address the issue of period poverty in

READ MORE...

Enstack and DTI, through the Negosyo Centers, work together to empower MSMEs to go digital

Southeast Asia’s first SME Superapp, Enstack announced that it will be working together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Negosyo Centers to develop programs that will boost the digitization of MSMEs in the country. In the DTI Roadmap, e-commerce plays a major role in inducing faster Philippine GDP growth. In efforts to contribute to the agency's target, Enstack will be providing MSMEs with free mentorship and digital skills training, including education on its SME Superapp. “We’ve seen the majority of small businesses have difficulty in today’s digital-first environment. Many are hesitant to digitize due to the perceived cost of tools, lack of time to implement them, and insufficient knowledge. By merging DTI's local expertise and Enstack's digital tools, we hope to equip these MSMEs with all the free resources they need to grow sustainably,” said Macy Castillo, Co-Founder, and CEO of Enstack. “The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly transformed the way Filipinos

READ MORE...

UnionBank discusses how open banking will drive the digital economy

Open banking and open finance are two models that are now slowly taking over the financial sector, with the promise of revolutionizing banking and financial services like never before and acting as "a catalyst for the new wave in financial innovation." This was the main point of discussion during the 14th edition of Union Bank of the Philippines' (UnionBank) virtual roundtable series E-TalkTales, which took place last June 28 via Zoom. The event was led by UnionBank's Fintech Business Group Head Erika Dizon as its main speaker. In her presentation, Dizon explained that while open banking and open finance may differ slightly from each other—the former promotes data sharing on banking services, while the latter promotes data and capability sharing across the financial sector—the goal is the same, which is the creation of an open ecosystem. An open ecosystem, she said, provides numerous benefits, including seamless data access and sharing, more opportunities for cooperation and collabo

READ MORE...

Samsung, renowned filmmakers showcase movies shot entirely with Galaxy S22 Ultra

Samsung recently staged a one-of-its-kind mobile filmmaking festival dubbed “Untold Stories at Night.” The event showcased short films shot entirely with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. The movies premiered on June 17 at the Globe Auditorium at the BGC Arts Center in Taguig City. Featuring Nightography, the Galaxy S22 Ultra brings game-changing technology that captures more light, motion, and detail than ever before, redefining the quality of content that users can now capture in the dark. Nightography is anchored on the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s pro-grade cameras. Its 108MP Wide-angle lens takes category-leading high-resolution content with a wider view of the scene. The 12MP Ultra-Wide camera further expands the view, seeing almost as much as the eyes can. These are joined by the 10MP Telephoto lenses with 3x Optical Zoom and 10x Optical Zoom for long-range photography. Even selfies are upgraded with the 40MP Front camera. The Untold Stories at Night short films are helmed by some of the c

READ MORE...

Shopee bags Overall Brand Champion at the 2022 Marketing-Interactive PR Awards

As the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, Shopee continues to connect buyers and sellers within one community through impactful campaigns and initiatives. The recent Marketing-Interactive PR Awards in Singapore recognized Shopee’s efforts to create a lasting positive impact on both sellers and consumers across the region, with a total of 10 awards, including Overall Brand Champion and PR Team of the Year. In the Philippines, Shopee’s Consumer Protection Campaign was awarded silver under the Best Crisis Management category. The Marketing-Interactive PR awards recognizes the top-performing campaigns and companies in the public relations and communications industry across 42 different categories. Entries are sought from across Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the ANZ regions. Each entry is meticulously judged by well-seasoned public relations and communications professionals from all over the region. Created to combat the rising number of fraudulent cases by helpin

READ MORE...

SM Cares plastic waste collection drive now in SM Telabastagan and SM Pampanga

SM Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Supermalls, recently added SM Telabastagan and SM Pampanga to the growing list of SM malls that are part of its Plastic Waste Collection Program. Customers from nearby communities may now drop off their clean and dry plastic waste at Parking D, near the SM Store Entrance in SM Telabastagan, or near the steel deck parking in SM Pampanga, every day from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Plastic materials such as PET bottles, grocery bags, e-commerce pouches, food containers, dishware, plastic utensils, and alike are accepted, except for PVC pipes. Launched in 2021 in partnership with Plastic Credit Exchange (PCEx), SM Cares' Plastic Waste Collection Program promotes responsible and proper plastic waste disposal by making plastic waste collection points accessible for everyone. With this, SM continuously expands its plastic waste collection to more SM malls nationwide. Since its launch, the program so far has collected 14,436.25 kgs of plastic

READ MORE...

Del Rosario, Tulfo, and Eleazar gain strong support from Isabela province

Senatorial candidates Monsour Del Rosario, Raffy Tulfo, and Gen. Guillermo Eleazar have joined forces in their campaign, championing their common goal to serve the Filipino people. Dubbed the “New Idols of the Senate,” the trio appeared together in a grand held on May 5 in Cauayan, Isabela – Tulfo's hometown. Although considered newbies in the Senate, Del Rosario, Tulfo, and Eleazar have all made huge contributions to society. Each carrying an impressive track record, credibility, and incorruptible image. Monsour Del Rosario has been in public service for nine years. After leaving showbiz in the late ‘90s, he served as a councilor in District 1 of Makati City for six years, until becoming a congressman from 2016 to 2018. During his three-year-term in the 17th Congress, he passed 292 house bills and resolutions, including the Telecommuting Act, better known as Work From Home Law, which became very useful to many Filipinos workers when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in 2020. “Monsour g

READ MORE...

Huawei: Attracting world-class talent with world-class challenges

Huawei kicked off its 19th annual Global Analyst Summit in Shenzhen. Huawei's Rotating Chairman Ken Hu said that the company will continue to boost investment in innovation to build new products and enhance and accelerate new technologies. "At Huawei, when we talk about innovation, the first thing we think is people. We hope to attract world-class talent with world-class challenges, and work together to push the limits of science and technology," said Hu, referring to the Top Minds recruitment program that the company launched on its website.   "We don't care where you’re from, where you graduated, or what you studied,” he continued. “As long as you have a dream for the future and believe you can make it happen, we want you to come and join us. We provide world-class challenges, a powerful platform, and all the resources you need to explore the unknown." Moving forward, Huawei is taking active steps to boost its business resilience and ensure steady development. "We have to keep th

READ MORE...

Skyforge elevates pre-registration with USD 20,000 cosplay contest

PlayPark Inc. is proud to announce that action MMORPG Skyforge is indeed coming to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Players can look forward to going god mode in Skyforge during the Closed Beta Test this April. To celebrate the coming of Skyforge, PlayPark has kicked off the biggest cosplay competition in the region. Dubbed “Cosplay SEAGods”, the event has the biggest prize pool of any gaming cosplay competition at USD 20,000 with different categories. You can join the TikTok Transformation category if you have a knack for putting together eye-popping short videos to complement your cosplay. Interested parties can sign up here. And of course, the #SEAGODS Battle category pulls out all the stops! This is where you’ll see literal gods and goddesses walking the land! If you think you have what it takes to be the ultimate cosplay god or goddess, sign up here. A pantheon of well-known cosplayers from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malays

READ MORE...