Phillipines’ ARKO Team Receives World Summit Award in Abu Dhabi
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi proudly announces that the Philippines’ ARKO mobile application is among the 40 winners – chosen out of over 450 mobile applications worldwide – who received the 2014 World Summit Award (WSA) Mobile at an Award Ceremony held during the WSA – Mobile Global Congress from February 01 to 03 at the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The winners were recognized by the WSA for best mobile content solutions showing innovativeness, creativity and impact. ARKO won under the m-Inclusion & Empowerment category, together with four other apps, namely, Ghana’s SnooCode, Palestine’s BrailleBoard, Brazil’s LIVOX, and Portugal’s ColorADD. Eight WSA-mobile Global Champions 2015 were also announced from each award category on February 03, the last day of the Congress.
The ARKO mobile app was developed by the Department of Science and Technology’s Project NOAH and Pointwest Technologies – a 100% Filipino-owned IT company in the Philippines – to make people aware of flood hazards in their community. It provides users with flood hazard maps and identifies safe locations for evacuation. The app also provides an hourly rain forecast and typhoon track markers. It is available in Android and iOS for free.
The Philippine Embassy extended support to the ARKO delegation and attended the WSA events in Abu Dhabi. Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Grace Relucio Princesa also hosted a meeting between the ARKO team and the Filipino community in Abu Dhabi at the Maharlika House, the Ambassador’s official residence, in cooperation with the Bayanihan Council, the umbrella organization of all Filipino organizations accredited by the Embassy.
Department of Science and Techonology (DOST) Assistant Secretary Raymund Liboro presented the ARKO app before the Filipino community and outlined the DOST projects under Project NOAH. He said that floods and typhoons can be monitored, in real time, via the ARKO mobile app and the Project NOAH website. With Internet and all the technology, he said that overseas Filipinos can do their share by alerting their families and relatives in the Philippines and feeding them information provided by these tools.
Dr. Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay, Executive Director of Project NOAH, talked about the app and its features. “Awareness is the first step towards disaster preparedness,” he said. He emphasized that while the government provides resources and vital information, it needs to get everybody to participate in these efforts to have a successful disaster preparedness program.
Pointwest Technologies President Ma. Cristina Coronel, and Executive Director Ma. Josefina Reyes thanked the Philippine Embassy the support and assistance extended to the team, as well as the Filipino community leaders and members present whom they wanted to share the victory with.
The World Summit Award Mobile is conducted within the framework of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2003-2015, in collaboration with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UN GAID). The Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) hosted the event.
The eight WSA-mobile Global Champions 2015 from each award category are: Portugal’s MOBIZY under m-Business & Commerce, UAE’s Dubai Police App under m-Government & Participation, UK’s Lifesaver: A New Way to Learn CPR under m-Learning & Education, Poland’s CREATERRIA under m-Entertainment & Lifestyle, Italy’s Ancient Aquilea 3D under m-Tourism & Culture, Russian Federation’s LIFENEWS under m-Media & News, Spain’s Universal Doctor Speaker under m-Environment & Health, and Brazil’s LIVOX under m-Inclusion & Empowerment category.