Other
The Social Contribution Award
WINNER
Smart Communications
School-in-a-Bag
Smart Communications developed School-in-a-Bag, a portable digital classroom, to make educational materials and 21st-century teaching accessible in remote communities in the Philippines, where close to 6,000 schools do not have electricity, meaning that more than 1 million students effectively have no access to digital content that could help bridge the divide between those in rural and urban communities. School-in-a-Bag brings together mobile technology, innovative teaching methods and K+12 (national education programme) content to enable learning. Amongst other things, it contains a solar panel for charging devices, an LED television for showing educational videos, a two-in-one laptop/tablet, five student tablets, a smartphone for the teacher and a portable hotspot.
A real market need for the School-in-a-Bag meant that Smart Communications received overwhelming support from partners, donors and volunteers, and exceeded its rollout and funding targets by some margin.
JUDGES’ COMMENTS
"An excellent initiative that brings crucial digital connectivity to school children in remote areas, helping to transform their educational experience."
"A well-designed portable educational digital classroom enabling remote schools to become part of the global knowledge economy. A successful launch…Hopefully this project can be rapidly extended."
FINALISTS
Indosat Ooredoo – Cyber School Program (Highly Commended)
Sri Lanka Telecom – Traditional Rice of Sri Lanka programme
