THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) will represent the country in the World Chambers Competition 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June this year.
Out of the 73 applications from 29 countries for the competition, CCCI is the sole chamber in the country chosen as one of the 16 finalists in the 11th edition of the World Chambers Competition happening on June 12 to 14.
“The selected chambers will each have the opportunity to present their innovative initiatives to the global network of chambers attending the congress,” said the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in its website.
CCCI will represent the Philippines under the category, Best Education and Training project that recognizes chambers whose main thrust is “proving that investing in education and training can be crucial to the establishment, advancement and success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and foster economic development and job creation.”
Acas project
“We are excited to present our Assessment, Certification, and Accreditation System (Acas) Project under the category of education and training,” said the CCCI in its Facebook post, on Thursday, May 2.
A first in the Philippines, the Acas aims to address in the long-term the job-skills mismatch.
The program facilitates the identification of skills matched in response to the current industry needs through technical vocational dualized training education and institutionalizes the participation of industries in the training of future and existing workers.
Other chambers vying for recognition under same category include the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nigeria, Cuenca Chamber of Industries, Production and Employment of Ecuador, Gaziantep Chamber of Industry of Turkey and Styria Chamber of Commerce of Austria.
Other categories include Best SME and Entrepreneurship Development Project which rewards exceptional chamber initiatives that are either helping SMEs and entrepreneurs to innovate and develop their business or strengthen job creation in their respective communities; and the Best Unconventional Project that recognizes chambers that have developed unique and innovative projects in an activity not typically associated with their mission and objectives and in turn increases jobs to enhance local economies.
The 16 contenders will face-off before an international jury comprising of the ICC World Chambers Federation leaders, and appointed representatives from transnational, national and local chambers, as well as other leading international organizations.
Awarding
The jury is charged with selecting one initiative per category to be crowned World Chambers Competition champions.
The official announcement is set to be made during the final day of the congress at the gala dinner. Winners will receive a cash prize to encourage chambers to further develop their programs.
The World Chambers Competition is organized by the ICC World Chambers Federation.
It is the only global awards program to recognize the most innovative projects undertaken by the chambers of commerce and industry from around the world.
This year’s congress is the largest chamber event featuring more than 1,000 delegates from other 100 countries.
Of the participants, 47 percent are decision makers, 44 percent managerial level and nine percent chamber and business representatives.