Inspiring Stories Unveiled! Meet the champions of UNMASKED: The Write to Ignite Initiative Season 3. Discover their tales of triumph and resilience.
Global award-winning communications group COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises has finally concluded “UNMASKED: The COMCO Mundo Write to Ignite Initiative Season 3” with the announcement of the program’s Top Storytellers in a virtual awards night held recently.
Following the success of its first and second seasons, the initiative recently returned for a third season to continue empowering storytellers across the nation by collating and amplifying their powerful stories that champion the human spirit. Write to Ignite Season 3 brought to light amazing stories that were previously untold, unheard, or underrated.
By pushing participants beyond their comfort zones and asking them to feature tales of triumph, success and, perseverance from other people they are connected to, work with, or know, the initiative was able to pull back the mask of everyday heroes from various walks of life and to share their heartwarming journeys and inspiring perspectives in life.
Numerous participants from all over the Philippines participated in the challenge, with 40 finalists emerging to lead the journey. These finalists were invited to a Virtual Awarding Ceremony, where the top 20 storytellers were declared.
Iris Acosta of Pinay Ads from Caloocan City emerged as the Grand Champion for her entry “Unmasking Strength: A Journey of Resilience and Hope” about her mom’s battle against cancer.
Other winners in the top 5 include 1st runner-up Gretchen Filart of Our World in Words from Sta. Maria, Bulacan for her entry “Championing Biodiversity Against The Odds: Environmentalist Celine Murillo, Unmasked” which is about the journey of environmentalist Celine Murillo and her advocacy for the conservation of biodiversity and natural heritage through storytelling;
Katrina Rivera of Kwento ni Kat from Talisay City, Negros Occidental is 2nd runner-up for “Wrist Tags, Bananas in Pajamas, Masks, and All the Things That Can Keep Us Alive” which is about her friend Nikka and her battle with lupus; 3rd runner-up Mauie Flores of The 24-Hour Mommy from Cainta, Rizal for “UNMASKED: The Amazing Faith and Courage of a Fabulous Ausome Mom” which is about her churchmate’s journey raising her three children in the autism spectrum;
Completing the top 5 winners is 4th runner-up Marjorie Pineda-Uy of Woman in Digital from Quezon City for “UNMASKED: God Loves You ‘As Is’” which is about her aunt’s experience living with disability.
The top 5 winners were also allowed to support their selected accredited non-government organization through donations as part of the prizes they won. Grand Champion Iris Acosta chose to support Save the Children Philippines, 1st runner-up Gretchen Filart picked Philippine Eagle Foundation, 2nd runner-up Katrina Rivera selected Make-A-Wish Foundation, 3rd runner-up Mauie Flores partnered with SOS Children’s Villages, and 4th runner-up Marjorie Uy identified Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) as beneficiary.
The Grand Champion won PhP 40,000 and two international round-trip tickets from Airasia. The rest of the Top 5 winners won cash prizes, PhP 20,000 for the 1st Runner-Up; PhP 15,000 for the 2nd Runner-Up; PhP 12,000 for the 3rd Runner-Up; and PhP 10,000 for the 4th Runner-Up.
The Top 6 to 20 finalists are bringing home cash prizes while all the Top 40 Finalists are receiving merchandise items from sponsors and participating brands.
“We started the Write to Ignite initiative amid the pandemic. It was timely back then, and it still is up to now. At a time when our social media has become a tool for the proliferation of fake news, trolling, organized bashing, hate campaigns, and black propaganda, we go back to the very essence and roots of blogging, which is authentic storytelling.” said Ferdinand L. Bondoy, the Group Chief Executive Director and Lead Strategic Communications Counsel / Partner and Co-Founder of COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises.
“This is what a real blogger does. We trust and believe that they uphold the very essence of the practice, sharing the truth through inspirational writing and storytelling. This is why we are proud of the Write to Ignite bloggers, content creators, and storytellers as once again, they were able to demonstrate that the platforms they use can be, and should be, used for positive social change,” he added.
“It was a challenge to have to write someone else’s story, but our Write to Ignite storytellers were able to accomplish that and even exceed expectations. All entries and stories were very valuable and worthy of being read, shared, and recognized,” shared Mr. Bondoy.
UNMASKED: The COMCO Mundo Write to Ignite Initiative Season 3 is created and organized by COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises, with Airasia as a major sponsor/brand partner; with Babyflo and PHILUSA Corporation, Century Tuna, Licealiz and Lamoiyan Corporation, Rémy Martin, and Uratex Monoblock as sponsors/brand partners; with Make-A-Wish Philippines, Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Philippine Eagle Foundation, Save the Children Philippines and SOS Children’s Villages Philippines as NGO partners; and with SEA Wave Pop Culture Magazine as the official media partner.
To know more about COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises and Write to Ignite, visit www.comcomundo.com or follow https://www.facebook.com/comcomundo/ on Facebook and https://www.linkedin.com/company/comcomundo on LinkedIn.
Note: This writer came in 19th place. He told the story of his daughter working as a UK-Registered Nurse, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her journey shows how strong and dedicated healthcare workers are, no matter where they are in the world. Check out his article here.
I love the idea of awarding the best storytellers, this is wonderful!!! I would love to check what the winners wrote or submitted to win, that would be amazing….
writing about personal experiences is the best reading material. It helps us to understand what is truly going on in the world instead of what we hear and read on social and the news stations. I applaud the group for what they’ve accomplished.
What a wonderful competition. Storytelling deserves more accolades as there is so much talent out there. I will have to follow their Facebook page.
Big congratulations to all those who won and all of those who had the courage to enter. That is such a big deal!
I love the way the competition chose to both draw out the best of each writer and highlight everyday heroes at the same time. I think that’s brilliant.
Congrats to everyone! What an honor to be in the top 5, to be noticed for their storytelling creative writing is always a blessing. Good Luck to all.
wow, that is a great achievement. congratulation Iris
It takes a certain skill to tell a good story. Congrats to the winners of this contest!
That’s such a cool initiative to follow. Congratulations to those who won and entered!
Congratulations to all the winners and participants of the Write to Ignite Season 3. It really sounds like an amazing competition!
Aaawwww…I so much love reading about other peoples’ experiences. That’s where the undisputable content always lies.
Sorry but i am not in tje Philippines but this is an interesting event to cover!
Yes, indeed.
I haven’t heard of this, but it Sounds like it would be exciting to win. Thanks for sharing info on this.
Congratulations to all the winners and what a great initiative. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I love the idea of storytelling, I have been incorporating it into my evaluation for work I do. It is a brilliant skill! Congratulations to all. A brilliant achievement.
The winners of the contest deserve many congratulations, and this was such an excellent initiative.
Congratulations to all the Write to Ignite Season 3 winners at the COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises Awards! Their creativity and talent in storytelling is great. Thanks for sharing.