LAHORE (MEDIA)
Omar Manzur, Head of Corporate Communications, Mobilink (R), receives the Shaukat Khanum Social
Responsibility Award 2012 on behalf of the Mobilink Foundation.
Earlier Mobilink Foundation’s ‘SMS Based Literacy’ program has won the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards 2013. Mobilink Foundation was amongst 158 nominees across thirty seven (37) categories, selected from over 600 high-quality entries from across the global mobile ecosystem.
Mobilink Foundation’s ‘SMS Based Literacy’ program won in the inaugural ‘Connected Life Awards’ category, and was acknowledged as the ‘Best Mobile Education or Learning Product or Service’. The program, which is Mobilink Foundation’s flagship corporate responsibility project aimed at educating rural Pakistan was highlighted by the competition’s jury as an “Excellent and needed mobile initiative with an explicit educational ideology that opens up new learning opportunities for a disadvantaged, rural group.”
Rashid Khan, President & CEO, Mobilink, emphasized, “This award by the GSMA has highlighted Mobilink’s dedication to Pakistan over the course of nearly two decades, and is a testament to our commitment to the country. I feel honored to have received this award on behalf of Mobilink and the people of Pakistan and am grateful for the encouraging feedback received from our peers in the global mobile industry. The award recognizes Pakistan’s capacity to innovate in the pursuit of education as a means of improving lives across the country.”
John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA, added, “Through these awards, we are proud to shine the light on the mobile industry’s many innovators and leaders, from all corners of the world. This year’s new categories reflected the industry’s reach into many new sectors and we received more than 600 high-quality entries from across the mobile ecosystem. We would like to congratulate all Global Mobile Awards winners and thank the many hundreds of companies and organisations that support these awards by entering each year.”
‘SMS Based Literacy’ was launched in May 2009 in collaboration with UNESCO, and is the first and the only service in Pakistan that utilizes Short Messaging Service (SMS) to impart education. The program is currently in its third phase and is being implemented in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa of Pakistan; till date, it has reached out to over 4,000 learners across Pakistan.