5 change makers win Rappler’s Move Awards

MANILA, Philippines – Five achievers were recognized at Rappler’s Move Awards on Saturday, September 26, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila.

A health reform advocate, a fashion designer, an NGO leader, an educator, and a biotech consultant emerged as winners after a panel deliberation and a public vote.

The Movers were recognized for capitalizing on their passions, maximizing their skills, and creating meaningful impact within their respective communities. The awards took place right after the Innovation+Social Good Summit, which was held in the same venue.

The winners are:

• The Civic Mover: Dr. Anthony Leachon, sin tax lobbyist and health reform advocate,
• The Creative Mover: Francis Sollano, fashion designer and advocate for sustainable design
• The Enterprise Mover: Nestor Pestelos, president of the Bohol Local Development Foundation
• The Global Mover: Clarissa Delgado, founder of Teach for The Philippines
• The Tech Mover: Maoi Arroyo, CEO of Hybridigm Consulting

The 5 awards were presented by industry leaders such as youth commissioner Dingdong Dantes, filmmaker Pepe Diokno, Bo’s Coffee’s Steve Benitez, Rappler’s Patricia Evangelista, and Google’s Ken Lingan.

“Influence, accompanied by responsibility, guided by the purest intention, and backed up by knowledge, complete the traits of these nominees,” Dantes said as he presented the Civic Mover Award.

The winners were selected from a shortlist of 15 finalists (3 for each category) who were reviewed by a panel of 5 judges. From August 2 to September 20, the public then voted for their favorite Mover. Final scores were computed by combining the panel score (60%) and the public vote score (40%).

For the 5 awards, Rappler received over 350 nominations and over 71,000 votes. 

‘Best heroes’

Prior to the Move Awards, key speakers at the Social Good Summit emphasized how innovation and technology can be utilized for meaningful social change.

The event was a fitting cap to the day, as it aimed to honor those who are already pushing for innovation and using technology to help students, entrepreneurs, scientists, and informal workers, even without fanfare, compensation, or recognition.

“Sometimes we think that the heroes in our lives are the people we look up to in Hollywood, politics, or in different forms of popular media,” Zak Yuson, Move.PH’s director, said during his welcome remarks. “But the best heroes are often the ones who do their business without anyone having to give them a pat on the back. These are the people who matter.” 

Several of the winners offered their win to their co-finalists, saying it was an honor just to be nominated alongside other noted achievers.

Tech Mover Maoi Arroyo said that the award is not just for her, but for the 3,500 people in the poorest areas of the country who were able to find work through her company, Hyridigm Consulting.

In her remarks, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa emphasized the power of one individual to inspire an entire community to act.

“These movers took an idea, an emotion, and built a community. These are the movers you chose. These are the movers you believe can move our world,” Ressa said.

Global Mover awardee Clarissa Delgado agreed, saying in her acceptance speech: “This award isn’t necessarily about me, it’s about the people I work for and that I work with.

The Movers also emphasized that despite their success, a lot still needs to be done.

“Genuine change will not happen without moving people and making a lot of sacrifices for our country,” Civic Mover Anthony Leachon said.

“This award will inspire our young volunteers and fieldworkers to work harder to expand our current work,” Enterprise Mover Nestor Pestelos said after accepting the award.

All the winners emphasized that their victories would not be possible without a tireless community that believes in and supports their vision.

Creative Mover Francis Sollano was unable to receive his award in person, as he was en route to Indonesia as the Philippines’ representative for the World Economic Forum’s SHAPE Asia-Pacific 2015 conference.

During his closing remarks, Move.PH’s Executive Director, Rupert Ambil, emphasized that the night was not just for the winners, but also for the youth volunteers of Move.PH. He thanked all the student Movers who organized viewing parties in their respective regions and saved their allowance just to able to travel to Manila for the summit and the awards.

The Move Awards is Rappler’s first effort to celebrate those who actively campaign and move for social change. The campaign was launched last July.

Rappler Indonesia’s bureau chief Natashya Gutierrez was the host during the ceremony.

Watch the highlights of the event below. – Rappler.com