KARACHI ( TAHIR REPORT )
Mobilink won top honors at the 8th Annual CSR Excellence Awards 2014, which were conducted by the CSR Association of Pakistan. The telco received the award under the ‘Innovation’ category for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities which were greatly endorsed as one that leverage business strengths to offer high impact social solutions.
The judges were particularly impressed by Mobilink’s mLiteracy program that provides good quality education to the rural females of Pakistan. The telco uses its business model to provide education over cell phones to learners not served by traditional education channels in association with UNESCO and other reputable international partners. In so far, the m Literacy program has empowered 6,150 learners in its initial stage. Apart from global accreditation, this initiative won the GSMA Award at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona.
Omar Manzur, Head of Corporate Communications, Mobilink said, “An educated and healthy society is Pakistan’s key to ensuring a better future for Pakistan. This award is a recognition of the efforts that we have made under the pillar of Education as part of our Corporate Responsibility initiatives. As the most trusted telecom operator of Pakistan, Mobilink is committed and will continue to invest in to making every day better for the communities it operates in.”
Representatives from Mobilink also spoke at the award ceremony about the company’s planned Child Helpline Initiative, which is a part of VimpelCom’s, Mobilink’s parent company, partnership with GSMA. Under the initiative, Mobilink plans to provide a countrywide helpline to provide support to vulnerable children. The service will see Mobilink partner with institution(s) that have the thematic expertise in the area. Mobilink will also work to advocate the service and the cause with an aim to raise awareness amongst communities.
Mobilink’s CR portfolio concentrates work and resources on 4 key areas of distress: Education, Health, Environment and Emergency Relief. The telco has won numerous awards commending these initiatives in the past as well.