IABC Philippines and COMCO School of Communications launch The Communications Olympiad with the theme ‘Rewrite Climate Change’
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The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines, the country chapter of the leading worldwide network of communication professionals, and COMCO School of Communications, the communication training and education arm of global award-winning communications group COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises, are joining forces to mount the first ever Communications Olympiad in the Philippines.
The Communications Olympiad is a nationwide communications training program for collegiate students taking up Mass Communication, Communication Arts, Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Marketing Communications, Journalism, Broadcast Communication, Communications Research, Development Communication, Digital Marketing, and other related disciplines. Formed through a partnership between COMCO School of Communications and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines, the Communications Olympiad aims to empower the next generation of communicators by imparting transformative knowledge with real-world applications. The initiative envisions providing a learning journey with practical exercises through an Olympiad-level competition for the participants to advance their skills as the next generation of communications professionals.
A champion of talent development, COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises was awarded in 2024 with the much-coveted Global IABC Gold Quill Award for Communication Training and Education for its long-running and industry-renowned Camp COMCO Mentorship Program. This time, COMCO Mundo makes communication education even bigger as it reaches out to more students nationwide with its partnership with IABC Philippines for the inaugural Communications Olympiad.
The Communications Olympiad is another student initiative of IABC Philippines in partnership with COMCO School of Communications, distinct from the Philippine Student Quill Awards. The Student Quill Awards highlights performance and results through a competitive recognition platform, while the Communications Olympiad centers on hands-on learning and guided experience, culminating in a competition.
Inaugural theme: Rewrite climate change
This year’s Olympiad revolves around the theme "Rewrite Climate Change." The focus is not on developing scientific solutions but on reshaping the narrative and practices surrounding climate change through effective communication. Participants are called to inform, educate, and inspire–emphasizing the role of storytelling and advocacy in driving awareness, shifting behaviors, and fostering collective action.
As a nation and part of a region that is among the most vulnerable to climate impacts yet contributes minimally to global emissions, the Philippines provides a critical perspective in this conversation. The initiative aims to develop communication strategies that can be realistically adopted and applied for a secure and sustainable future through purposeful communication.
Learning journey: Training, activities, and competition
The program will have three phases: the Qualifier Phase, the Elimination Round, and the Grand Championship. Phase one, or the Qualifier Phase, will require one team per academic institution, composed of five undergraduate students from the programs mentioned. Each team can have a project leader, a writer, a designer, a head researcher, and a lead presenter. The chosen team to represent the school shall submit their position paper and an entry form. The position papers, which serve as Qualifier Phase entries, will be thoroughly evaluated, and 30 participants will be selected to proceed to the Elimination Round.
The entry form and other information on the competition can be accessed through the website www.comcomundo.com/the-communications-olympiad/. The requirements should be emailed to communicationsolympiad@comcomundo.com on or before March 14, 2025.
The second phase, the Elimination Round, will comprise a pilot class and training sessions, which will be available to participants to help them build the expected skill set for the program. Among the skills to learn are the Best Practices in Communications, the Role of Communications in Environment Conservation, and Innovations in Communications. The participants will then be briefed and given 24 hours to create a 10-slide communications plan, which will be reviewed to determine the best works to proceed to the final round.
The final phase is the Grand Championship, where the 15 finalists, strained from the 30 participants, will get a chance to vie for the category medals. At this junction, the top three contestants will be announced to present their communication plan to the jury composed of experts in the industry. One team will emerge as The Communications Olympiad Grand Champion, together with the first and second runners-up. Exciting prizes await the top winners, alongside a prestigious trophy to bring back to their schools!
Call for sponsors and partners
IABC Philippines and the COMCO School of Communications invite companies, brands, media outlets, and student organizations to join this initiative through sponsorship and partnership opportunities. Companies and brands can participate as co-presenters or sponsors, while media groups and student organizations can join as program partners. For more details, interested parties can email communicationsolympiad@comcomundo.com.
Ferdinand L. Bondoy, corporate secretary and lead for youth and education of IABC Philippines and group chief executive director and overall lead for strategic communications/partner and co-founder of COMCO Mundo, shared, “The Communications Olympiad drives the power of Meaningful Storytelling in facing head-on real-world issues on climate change. With COMCO’s expertise in communication training and education fueled with grit and excellence together with IABC Philippines’ strong support in the promotion of sustainability, we aim to make this a very productive learning journey not only for the students but for the industry and relevant stakeholders as well, which can help propel action for the environment.”
Belle Tiongco, president of IABC Philippines and vice president and co-founder of Football for Humanity, said, “At IABC Philippines, we believe that effective communication has the power to drive real change. In line with the organization’s focus on sustainability, as demonstrated by last year’s Triple P Awards, IABC is now embarking on a new chapter, together with COMCO School of Communications, combining both thrusts on education and advocacy, which is The Communications Olympiad. We aim to achieve a bigger social impact by putting sustainability as one of our stepping stones for development."
To know more about The Communications Olympiad, please visit www.comcomundo.com/the-communications-olympiad/ and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For more information on sponsorship and partnership packages, email us at communicationsolympiad@comcomundo.com.
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Editor’s Note: This article was provided by The Communications Olympiad.
