For so long, social good events are mainly interactive, but the pandemic changed all that. Since last year, organizations thought of excellent ways to extend help despite restrictions on mobility and physical distancing, mostly through social media.
Here in the Philippines, two organizations looked for ways to do social good. One is SM Investments, known for its many “social good” advocacies, who used social media to communicate stories and inspire people. “We still do it on certain situations but we need to comply with health protocols like physical distancing,” says Victor Persius Chan, Assistant Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability of SM Investments Corporation.
For U! Happy Events, known for events focused on children since 2006, they tapped social media to make people aware of what’s happening around them, and created programs to make their volunteers still interested. “It’s about thinking out-of-the box to make us standout among others who are also doing similar fund-raising campaigns,” Harvard Uy de Baron, founder and chairman of U! Happy Events, said.
Chan and de Baron were the special guest speakers during the “People of Excellence: Achieving Socio-Digital Excellence” webinar, the last episode in a series of webinars organized by Taiwan Excellence on how groups started and successfully conducted social good campaigns through digital and social media platforms.
In organizing community events, Chan said what should be strengthened is internal communications so that social good events are communicated well to make it more engaging.
For those who may want to start their own social good campaign, Baron said anyone with the heart for others can do it. “It doesn’t have to be big. Even if you start small, the purpose will help sustain whatever you are doing, then aim for something bigger.”
Chan said that in social development, there should always be innovation because people need change, and improve every year, especially in communications tools. “Transparency in communications is important, especially in digital. It shows proof of commitment to make it sustainable. If the strategy is contextualized and authentic, there will be wider dialogue and many can join the cause and multiply the impact. It’s not just publishing press releases; it’s about sparking positive change and spreading hope.”
The “People of Excellence” webinar’s third episode generated positive comments from attendees. They were glad to hear the speakers’ stories about their programs, and found the Q&A “engaging” and one even shared information about #SharingIsCaring to a friend. One attendee said the event broadened perspectives about socio-digital excellence while one discovered there are still ways to help others despite the pandemic.
To promote the idea of creating more social good initiatives on a wider scale even amid a pandemic, Taiwan Excellence launched “Sharing is Caring,” a global competition on sustainability program proposals for social welfare and environmental protection. Entries shall include relevant activities for their respective community or country, and will compete with almost 60 participating countries worldwide.
A screening committee will choose the Top Three entries, where each stand to win US$10,000. The activities in the winning proposals will be conducted by Taiwan Excellence through a commissioned third party, while the winning proposers shall provide consultation and assistance.
For more details about “Sharing is Caring,” visit https://share-care.taiwanexcellence.org/.
