SHS-AdC with their app-based platform “Mana” during the ICIA. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Young innovators from Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) made waves on the international stage after clinching a gold medal at the prestigious International Creativity and Innovation Awards (ICIA) held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from April 25 to 27.
The SHS-AdC students competed under their school’s innovation team, Blue Innovision, and were recognized for two standout projects. Their invention, “Project PortaVoice,” earned a gold medal in the Innovation Awards category, while another creation, an app-based platform called “Mana,” brought home a silver medal in the Innovation Challenge category.
Organized annually, the ICIA gathers young minds from more than a dozen countries to present over 30 projects that tackle pressing global issues through technology, design, and creativity.
Giving a voice to the voiceless
The team behind Project PortaVoice—Paola Zyrene Cosido, Avery De la Cruz, and John Reymund Areglo—stood out for their compassionate and forward-thinking invention: a portable assistive device designed to give a voice to people with speech impairments.
Their invention takes the form of a wearable glove that detects hand gestures and finger movements to input letters into a system. These inputs are then displayed on a 1-inch OLED screen that shows the spelled word in real time. A speaker strapped around the user’s waist adds a text-to-speech feature, allowing them to communicate verbally using hand and wrist gestures through their finger-curling system.
“We decided to create an assistive device aimed at addressing the needs of a marginalized group—those with mutism and speech disorders. Our goal was to help build a more inclusive world by giving a voice to those who cannot speak in a world that relies heavily on talking and social interaction. We wanted them to feel included and to ease their struggles through a budget-friendly and accessible glove,” said De la Cruz.
Using precise sensors that measure the angles, rotations, and movements of the user’s hand, the glove can interpret up to ten letters at a time, allowing the user to “spell” out words with their fingers. Though still in its prototype stage, the project has already impressed judges for its accessibility and thoughtful design.
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“As of now, PortaVoice is still in its prototype stage. The project still requires further improvement, such as finding a more comfortable glove and improving the schematics of the project,” said Areglo.
Cosido added, “In the long run, we also dream of adding features like real-time sign-to-speech translation using AI, and maybe even support for different languages to help break communication barriers. Of course, that’s still far from what we have now, but we believe that with enough support and time, we can keep improving it little by little.”
Fighting food waste
Their second project, Mana, was equally impactful. Developed by Clair Princess Jamzelle D. Elizalde, Pierre Ellyce L. Lim, and Princess Anne T. Auditor, Mana is an app-based platform that facilitates the donation of surplus food to minimize waste and help communities in need.
The idea behind Mana is simple yet powerful: connect individuals, restaurants, or businesses with leftover but edible food to people or charities who can use it, all through a user-friendly mobile application.
These achievements are not just wins for SHS-AdC or the students themselves—they are beacons of hope and inspiration for others, proving that age is no barrier to innovation and empathy.
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“This award isn’t just a win for our team—it’s also a win for the people who will be using PortaVoice. It shows that their voices matter, even if they don’t speak the way most people do. And that just makes us even more motivated to keep improving the device and pushing the project forward,” Cosido concluded.
“We are proud to partner with Philippine Airlines as they expand international access through Cebu,” said Athanasios Titonis, CEO of Aboitiz InfraCapital Cebu Airport Corporation. “This route reflects our vision of a more connected, globally competitive MCIA.”
Other MCIA officials also noted that the Cebu–Ho Chi Minh route reaffirms MCIA’s growing role as a strategic regional hub and creates exciting opportunities for tourism and cultural exchange between Vietnam and the Philippines. /clorenciana
