The Communications Olympiad
ABOUT The Communications Olympiad
The Communications Olympiad is a Philippine-wide 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.
A partnership between COMCO School of Communications, the communication training and education arm of COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises, and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines, an association of top business, industrial, and organization communicators and professionals. The Communications Olympiad aims to empower the next generation of communicators by providing them with 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 communications professionals.
The Communications Olympiad is another student initiative of IABC Philippines in partnership with COMCO School of Communications, and is different from the Philippine Student Quill Awards. The Communications Olympiad centers on hands-on learning and guided experience while the Student Quill Awards highlights performance and results through a competitive recognition platform.

CONTEST THEME PRIMER
Climate Change in the Philippines
Climate change is an issue worthy of discussion as it affects all aspects of life, from individuals and communities to national, regional, and global economies. A critical understanding of its causes and impacts is essential to mitigate its effects on temperature, biodiversity, and societal systems, including the economy and basic living standards. The Philippines, in particular, is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, making it crucial to address this issue from both local and global perspectives.
Due to the Philippines’ geography and dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as tourism and agriculture, the country has experienced climate change in all aspects of living:
From 1993 to 2024, sea levels rose by over 10 cm, threatening infrastructure and coastal communities (World Economic Forum, 2024). This is a major issue as it can stress coastal ecosystems, disrupt naturally formed terrain that protects lowland areas from storms and storm surges, and decrease wild land for biodiversity services (Lindsey, 2023). This can be a threat to the Philippines because the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is visited by about 20 typhoons annually, with 8 to 9 making landfall in the country. Around 70% of all typhoons develop from July to October, which is when the typhoon season reaches its peak (PAGASA, 2023).
On top of the concerns are changing patterns of rainfall. Events that previously happened once every 20 or 50 years may now take place every 16 to 37 years. Data indicates that the midwest and northwest areas of the country will experience a rise in the occurrence of heavy rainfall (Hong et., al., 2023).
The interconnection of climate issues can be traced to the presence of ocean acidification. The atmospheric level of Carbon dioxide contributes to the acidity of bodies of water. As the average ocean pH fell from 8.11 in 1985 to 8.05 in 2022, the seas around the globe are becoming more acidic, posing greater threats to marine organisms and other wildlife (Statista, 2023). since animals like clams and corals require calcium to form shells and skeletons, which becomes difficult under acidic conditions.
How the Climate Changed
Human-induced climate change has been spurred by decades of unsustainable practices and an over-reliance on fossil fuels. This has led to an overgrowth of effects, worsened by negligence and an emphasis on rising up in a linear, economy-driven society.
The biggest factor contributing to these concerns is the raging case of dependence on fossil fuel which in turn produces a big amount of carbon footprint. In 2023, about 78% of the country’s electricity relied on fossil fuels compared to its contribution to cleaner sources (Ember, 2024). This dependence can only lead to increased GHG emissions over the years, which can then exacerbate climate change.
According to the Climate Change Commission, the country’s total GHG emissions amounted to 204.33 teragrams of carbon dioxide This accounts for the use for energy, transport, agriculture, and waste sectors (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2024).
As with using fossil fuels, the reliance on seemingly cost-effective materials like plastic can do more harm than good. Plastic pollution generated in the Philippines amounts to 61,000 metric tons of solid waste daily, not all of which is disposed of properly. This disrupts the country’s terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau, 2024). This over-reliance on plastic revolves around a cheaper economy that has created a culture that perpetuates long-term environmental problems. ‘Tingi-Tingi’ culture or the habit of Filipinos to prefer buying commodities that are cheaper yet are packed in small plastic sachets generate immense amounts of plastic waste. The practice of buying small, single-use items contribute to waste and pollution, negatively impacting the environment (Benosa, 2020).
With the demands of an ever-growing population comes the utilization of more land. Once wild lands are transformed into economic development sites which can also alter the ecological balance that green areas have been sustaining for generations. These activities – development for agriculture and urban land conversion – further contribute to climate change in the Philippines.
The issues of waste management and the emission of GHGs are all rooted in man-made events. These events cause a ripple effect that must be addressed to realize a truly sustainable society.
Rewrite Climate Change
With the overwhelming effects of climate change in the Philippines, in Asia-Pacific and around the world, it’s not new for humanity to try to break through its current situation.
The relevant questions we need to ask are: What are the most pressing climate-related issues in the present day? Can we still reverse or at least minimize the effects of climate change? How can we convince those who don’t believe climate change is real – that climate change is not only real, but that it is here, and has started to change our way of life? How can we effectively communicate these issues to key stakeholders and to the general public to make a significant positive impact and change our society and ecosystems to combat climate change?
Official Mechanics
PHASE 1: The Qualifier Phase
- 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.
- The Communications Olympiad aims to empower the next generation of communicators by providing them with 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 communications professionals.
- The competition will only welcome one team or entry per academic institution composed of up to 5 undergraduate students from the different aforementioned programs. The Communications Olympiad recommends that the team will be composed of a team and project leader, a writer, a designer, a head researcher, and a lead presenter.
- To qualify for the pilot class/training and competition, participants must submit the following items by emailing the entry to The Communications Olympiad at communicationsolympiad@comcomundo.com.
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- Entry Form which includes the Team Information and Letter of Recommendation (template at bit.ly/CommunicationsOlympiadEntryForm)
- The Team’s Position Paper
- The theme of the inaugural Communications Olympiad is “Rewrite Climate Change.” Visit bit.ly/TheCommunicationsOlympiadThemePrimer for the Position Paper Primer for more information. The position paper should be in PDF format with a maximum of 4 pages (with reference list included), A4 paper size, 1” standard margins, following Arial 11 with single line spacing. It will be judged based on the following criteria:
- Identification of the problem – 40%
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- What are the most pressing climate-related issues that need to be communicated to the general public?
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- Viability of recommendations – 35%
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- What should be done to address these issues?
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- Overall written report quality – 25%
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- How effectively can you communicate the recommendations and suggestions to key stakeholders?
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- Identification of the problem – 40%
- Please note that entries should be original, not submitted or to be submitted or repurposed / rehashed in other competitions.
- The deadline of submission is on March 14 while the announcement of top 30 qualified entries will be in March.
- For other related inquiries please don’t hesitate to send an email at communicationsolympiad@comcomundo.com
PHASE 2: The Elimination Round
- The Top 30 qualifiers who will proceed to The Communications Olympiad pilot class and training program and attend the learning sessions virtually for Best Practices in Communications in April, The Role of Communications in Environment Conservation in April and Innovations in Communications in May.
- The briefing will be on May and participants will be given 24 hours to create a detailed, 10-slide communications plan including their sample work for the categories they are entering (e.g. Main Press Release for Editorial, Social Media Content Plan, Manifesto Video for Video, and Key Visual for Creatives)
- For the presentation in the same week after the submission, the 30 finalists will be invited to a Zoom meeting where they will be given 10 minutes each to present their respective communications plan.
- From the 30 participants, only 15 will move forward to the grand championship, which will officially be revealed in 2 weeks after the elimination round.
PHASE 3: The Grand Championship
- For the last phase of the program, there will be an in-person event inviting all the top 15 finalists to announce the medalists for each Olympiad category, namely Research and Insights, Strategy, Editorial (Main Press Release), Social Media (Social Media Content Plan), Creatives (Key Visual), Overall Presentation, Creatives (Overall Deck), Use of Media/Technology, Video (Manifesto Video) Execution (Overall Execution), and Event Concept.
- The top three 3 participants will be selected based on the tally of the medals, and will have the opportunity to present their communications plans live to the jury to vie for the title of Communications Olympiad Grand Champion, 1st Runner-Up and 2nd Runner-Up.
- Winners will be announced on the same day, with all 3 of the top teams to be acknowledged in the upcoming Philippine Quill Awards. Exciting prizes await the top winners.
Download Entry Form
Interested participants may download the entry form below:
For sponsorship, media partnership, and student organization partnership, message us at communicationsolympiad@comcomundo.com