Sebuah program pembuatan kue di Filipina yang bertujuan untuk memberdayakan para prajurit Angkatan Bersenjata Filipina (AFP) yang terluka dan yang sudah pensiun, menerima penghargaan di ajang International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards 2019 di Vancouver, Kanada.

Program "Pembuat Roti yang Mulia: Pelatihan Manajemen Bakery dan Donasi Peralatan" dari Aboitiz Group merupakan salah satu dari 86 entri dari seluruh dunia yang dianugerahi Gold Quill Award of Excellence pada tanggal 11 Juni lalu.

Di bawah program ini, para prajurit AFP yang terluka dan pensiunan diberdayakan dengan memberikan mereka bisnis toko roti yang berkelanjutan secara finansial, membekali mereka dengan keterampilan untuk menjalankannya secara menguntungkan. Para pensiunan AFP menjalani pelatihan manajemen toko roti dengan Pilmico untuk mempelajari topik-topik penting dalam pembuatan roti, termasuk: penggilingan gandum, produksi roti dan muatan, perhitungan toko roti, serta praktik membuat roti, kue kering, mie, biskuit, dan kue. Selain keterampilan memanggang, mereka juga diajarkan dasar-dasar mengoperasikan dan mengelola bisnis bakery.

Program ini, menurut para Evaluator Gold Quill IABC, merupakan "proyek yang dijalankan dengan baik dan berpikiran jernih dari awal hingga akhir."

Para evaluator juga mencatat bahwa program ini memiliki "penggunaan cerita yang sangat baik untuk menyampaikan tujuan program dan memenangkan hati dan pikiran."

Dari lima pemenang Gold Quill dari Filipina, program ini merupakan satu-satunya yang dianugerahi Gold Quill Award of Excellence. Empat entri lainnya menerima Penghargaan Merit.

"Penghargaan Gold Quill Award untuk Noble Bakers merupakan bukti nyata dari tekad kami untuk mendorong perubahan bagi dunia yang lebih baik dengan memajukan bisnis dan masyarakat - melalui pelayanan yang prima. Kami akan terus bekerja keras untuk mengimplementasikan inisiatif komunikasi yang mencerminkan tujuan dan nilai-nilai kami," ujar Erramon I. Aboitiz, Presiden dan Chief Executive Officer Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc (AEV).

IABC Gold Quill Awards dianggap sebagai "salah satu program penghargaan paling bergengsi dalam profesi komunikasi".

"IABC Gold Quill Awards merayakan komunikasi yang luar biasa dengan mengakui karya inovatif dan strategis yang memberikan hasil bisnis yang signifikan," ujar Gabrielle Loring, ketua komite penghargaan.

Awalnya diposting oleh: Inquirer.net

Pertanyaan yang Sering Diajukan

Why does a baking livelihood program win a business communication award?
The Noble Bakers program earned the Gold Quill not for its baking outcomes but for how effectively it communicated the intersection of corporate responsibility, military welfare, and skills development. The evaluators recognized that the program succeeded in using the specific medium of storytelling — real soldiers, real bread, real rehabilitative impact — to communicate abstract values like partnership, dignity, and purpose in a way that resonated with a global audience. This is the precise function of high-quality strategic communication: making complex social impact legible and emotionally compelling.

What award did the Noble Bakers program receive and where was it presented?
The Noble Bakers program — formally titled “Noble Bakers: Bakery Management Training and Equipment Donation” — received the Gold Quill Award of Excellence at the 2019 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards ceremony held on June 11 in Vancouver, Canada. It was one of 86 entries from around the world to receive the award, and the only Filipino entry in that year’s competition to receive the Award of Excellence. The other four Philippine entries in the competition received Merit Awards.

What did the IABC Gold Quill evaluators specifically say about the Noble Bakers program?
The IABC Gold Quill evaluators described the Noble Bakers program as “a well-executed and clear-minded project from start to finish” — a statement that speaks to both the program’s design clarity and its implementation quality. They also specifically commended the program’s “excellent use of storytelling to convey the objectives of the program and to win hearts and minds” — recognizing that the human narratives of the wounded soldiers-turned-bakers were central to communicating the program’s purpose and impact to audiences beyond the direct participants.

What is the IABC Gold Quill Award and why is winning it internationally significant?
The IABC Gold Quill Awards is described as one of the most prestigious awards programs in the global communication profession. It recognizes innovative, strategic communication work that delivers significant business results — judged by a panel of international communication professionals. Winning the Gold Quill Award of Excellence places the Noble Bakers program in the company of globally recognized best practices in strategic communication, and it signals that a Filipino military rehabilitation and livelihood initiative was considered world-class in both its communication design and its social impact.

What did Erramon Aboitiz say about the significance of the Gold Quill recognition?
Erramon I. Aboitiz, then President and CEO of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., described the Gold Quill Award as a clear testament to the Aboitiz Group’s determination to drive change for a better world by advancing business and communities through service excellence. He framed the award not as a destination but as a commitment to continue implementing communication initiatives that best reflect the company’s purpose and values — signaling that the program’s recognition was a reinforcement of direction rather than a conclusion.