Manila, Philippies [7 May 2021]—The Philippines’ largest and fully integrated telco PLDT and its mobile unit Smart recently won four major awards, including Gold at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

Garnering the Gold Stevie for Innovation in Public Relations Videos is Connected by Hope: PLDT and Smart's thematic AVP. When COVID-19 spread, reunions, vacations, and all forms of get-togethers that made Filipinos feel connected with each other virtually disappeared. Such isolation threatened to rip the very fabric of Pinoy society as it trapped people—rich and poor—in the confines of their own homes. PLDT and Smart realized that it has a responsibility to keep hope alive, and the 60-second video showed how the group's world-class connectivity solutions kept Filipinos #ConnectedByHope.

Silver Stevie Winner for Most Valuable Corporate Response is #StayHome, #StaySmart omnibus PLDT and Smart COVID-19 response. The omnibus program covered group-wide efforts to keep customers, partners, and frontliners safe and connected amid the global pandemic, through a future-proofed network infrastructure, an array of relevant services, communication-as-aid initiatives, and more.

One of the two Bronze Winners is the #NoLearnerLeftBehind: PLDT and Smart Group-wide education initiatives, under the category for Innovation in Community Relations and Public Service Communications.

Among the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, PLDT and Smart deem SDG #4: Quality Education as a foundation in improving people’s lives and obtaining sustainable development.

The group’s tech-based education programs include:

• Gabay Guro, an advocacy program for teachers;

• PLDT Infoteach, digital literacy training programs for students and teachers;

• CyberSmart, Cyber Security Beyond Digital trainings for students and teachers;

• the Central Visayan Institute Foundation-Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF-DLP), a Smart-backed disaster resilient education strategy;

• LearnSmart eStorytelling Sessions, aimed to “bring the magic of stories to thousands of homes” at the onset of heavy lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic;

• School-in-a-Bag, a portable digital classroom designed to support distance learning even in remote areas without electricity and internet connectivity;

• and Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) which empowers colleges and universities to produce industry-ready engineering and IT graduates through extensive trainings by employees under PLDT and Smart’s Technology Group.

School-in-a-Bag, a portable digital classroom designed to support distance learning even in remote areas without electricity and internet connectivity; and Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) which empowers colleges and universities to produce industry-ready engineering and IT graduates through extensive trainings by employees under PLDT and Smart’s Technology Group.

Bronze Winner for Innovation in Events is IMPACT: Philippine Digital Convention 2020, a thought leadership gathering of C-level executives, business owners, and key decision makers from companies of all sizes to discuss the latest and emerging technologies. On its sixth year, the convention carried the theme “IMPACT” which is particularly relevant during this time as it presented innovative technological solutions to address the challenges enterprises face today in the New Future of Work.

“Grateful for these citations from Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards,” said Smart Communications President and CEO and PLDT Chief Revenue Officer Alfredo S. Panlilio. “These campaigns are part of the broad program of PLDT and Smart that intends to create lasting value in the lives of our customers and the communities where we operate, through programs and campaigns that are relevant, timely, and customer-focused,” Panlilio added

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are an international business award competition, focusing on recognizing innovation in all its forms, and are open to all organizations in the 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.

Winners will be celebrated in a virtual awards ceremony on July 14.