Strengthening the foundations...

and adding just a little bit more

Platform of Adrienne Bernadette K. Villanueva: Candidate for President ACOMM has always been getting better and better. I have been witness to this transformation for 3 years. During its 10th year, I want to lead the organization and strengthen our identity and our position as the Ateneo Association of Communication Majors- both inside and outside the university. And by reaching the right blend of creativity and professionalism, ACOMM 10 could set a standard that could best the already high bar that ACOMM 9 has set. It is a matter of always remembering the past and transforming our present for us lay the foundations for a greater and more awesome future. 1. IDENTITY This will be a project/mechanism to determine and solidify the identity of ACOMM as an organization. We are in our organizations 10th year. We can reassess the identity that ACOMM has established throughout the years in order for us to set the tone- set the standard- for the years to come. How is this possible? We must first answer these questions: (1) Who were we before? (2) How do we see ourselves now? and (3) How do others see us? These can be answered by gathering information from all over- alumni to administration to current students- both members and non-members. We make use of surveys, interviews, FGDs, evaluations, you name it. After answering these three questions, we then find a way that would combine all three. It is a matter of tracing back how ACOMM started and knowing how much farther we can go. By doing so, we would then be able to find out what ACOMMs identity really is. In a nutshell, if we make AWESOME happen, now we are defining what AWESOME is to us. The moment we are able to identify who we are then come anniversary, we would then be able to show this to our alumni, and make them see how far the organization has gone. 2. ACOMM PORTFOLIO The Portfolio is ACOMMs collection of all the projects done by the organization. It contains a. The creative outputs of our Doc&Pub members

b. The sponsorships weve gathered and other client-relations weve established via the CoCo department, c. The compilation of materials that the Human Resources department has been able to offer our Communication majors (ex. Manuals) d. The procedures and guides of each department e. All the projects done by all of the departments f. The organizations calendar of activities This project serves several purposes: It is similar to the Playbook in the way that it is also a reference that our future project managers and PROs can regularly consult for guidance. We dont have to start from scratch every time we organize a project. Should we be successful in gathering the endeavours and outputs of the previous batches, the Portfolio would then also help us compare and contrast the projects that weve organized, and would then guide us in organizing future projects. We would also be able to ascertain if our creative outputs carry similar vibes or if they have evolved throughout the years. The Portfolio will have two layouts: one that be viewed by the public, and another that contains secret information in the sense that it contains the evaluations of the projects. It is the latter that can serve as a guide to our future project managers and PROs. It will be distributed mainly online, but there will still be a physical copy printed every year- ACOMMs copy. 3. STRENGTHENING SERVICES ACOMM provides numerous services to varied audiences, with the Communication majors as our main target market. However, there may be a need to organize our set of services in such a way that they are outlined for each sector of our market: the Communication majors, the Ateneo community and our other external clients. a. Communication Majors Our main task as a home organization is to consistently address the needs of the Communication majors and provide them opportunities outside of the classroom. We must continue to help them in their path by honing their creative skills and talents. We could also provide them with other opportunities that they as COM majors can explore, such as JTAs, internships, networks, etc. We could also guide them with even the choices in COM electives and professors that they want to take.

b. Ateneo Community There are a lot of existing services that we can offer to the Ateneo community, and we should maintain this. In terms of events and selected projects, they can still enjoy the generally the same kind of access that they do currently. However, we are able to strengthen this by doing Creative Consultancy, in such a way that groups/organizations can consult with ACOMM for the creative aspect of their projects. c. External Clients We shall continue to be open to collaborations and other opportunities from external clients, as long as they are in line with the vision, mission, goals and thrusts of the organization.

It is important to note that although ACOMM is slowly reaching out externally, our relationship with the Communication majors should never be compromised, and will always be given precedence above all else.

4. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY It is always important to remember that we are a part of a bigger community. No matter how specific our target market is, there is always a macro aspect to our actions. Lets push Creativity for a Cause a little further. With so many issues regarding media today, it is our responsibility as communication majors to show everyone how powerful the power of communication- especially that in the media- can be. Lately, there are so many issues surrounding media lately, and we as the Communication organization must take a proactive role in responding to these issues without attacking specific events and instances. We can take part in an Information Campaign that contains essentially that make people aware of the current media issues and the facts surrounding these issues. These can be in the form of infographics and by also using COMMotion. They must be timely. 5. SYSTEMS ACOMM 9 has done extremely well in rooting us and setting up the foundations of our system. They have been able to produce a really sound system that we would only need to build on. We must continue to embed a mechanism within the organizational set-up that would promote synergy and sustainability.

There is also a need to set up an actual system that would strengthen our relationship with the Communication department. There are a lot of things that they could do for us, and there are also a lot of things that we can do for them. There are many opportunities wherein we can collaborate with them. We have closer ties to the Communication majors. They have greater access to outside contacts and, of course, the equipment and expertise. We must find a way to bridge the two.