A PROGRAM that encourages young Filipinos to promote their hometowns as tourist destinations using digital multimedia materials has bagged its first international award in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Doon Po Sa Amin (DPSA) Learning Challenge of Smart Communications Inc. was recognized as the best communications program in the community relations category of the Golden World
Awards (GWA) for Excellence, which is considered the world’s most prestigious awards program for public relations. The GWA has been organized since 1990 by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), the leading global network for PR professionals.
DPSA is one of only 50 entries that were recognized at the GWA, out of the 447 entries from all over the world.
“This year the competition was fierce with an impressively high standard of entries. The judges were sometimes struggling to pick the winners,” said IPRA president Amybel Sánchez de Walther.
Launched in 2008, Smart’s DPSA involves a community mapping competition, where students from primary and secondary schools all over the country are encouraged to produce an online presentation, digital flipbook, or video featuring unique hometown stories. These are pinned on an online map in the DPSA website.
Stories can be about a town’s history, traditions, festivals, places to visit, notable people, unique plants and animals, special delicacies and local products.