International Literacy Day

INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ThisplanhasbeenpreparedforGoogleinpreparationfortheirupcoming WorldLiteracyDayFestivalinPapuaNewGuineacalled‘RisingPapuaNew Guinea’,tobeheldonSeptember7thand8th2024.Thecampaignistobe runfromOctober2023toOctober2024,aftertheconclusionoftheevent.It willutilisesomeofGoogle’sbrandsandplatformssuchasYouTubeand GoogleTranslateasdifferentcomponentsofthefestival.

ThecurrentcircumstanceofPapuaNewGuinea’sliteracystandsatarateof roughly63.4%,whichsignifiesasizeablegapinliteracystandards. PartnershipswithkeystakeholdersinPapuaNewGuinea,andraising awarenessamongstkeydemographicgroupsareofutmostimportancein thiscampaign’saims.

Forthisreason,thetargetaudiencesofthiscampaignincludeparentsin PapuaNewGuineawithschool-agedchildren,alongwithkeyorganisational stakeholdersinthecorporateandnot-for-profitspheres.

Theultimategoalofthiscampaignistoraiseawarenessofthescaleof illiteracyinPapuaNewGuineacurrently,andadvocateactiontowards literacydevelopment.

Thekeymessageofthiscampaignistransformingtheeducational landscapeinPapuaNewGuinea,particularlybyimprovingeducational qualityandresourcesforchildren,astheyarethefutureofthecountry. . Proposedtacticsthatwedetailthroughoutthiscampaign’sprogramaimto utilisestakeholderresourcestoputtogetherthisevent,aswellasassist educationaladvertisementsandworkshops.Thetacticsalsotargetparents toengagewiththeprogramandencouragethemtoprioritiseliteracy educationfortheirchildrenandengageintechnology-drivenlearning.

Theapproximatecostofthecampaignisestimatedtobeacombinedtotalof $60,000.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Papua New Guinea, a nation with a diverse population exceeding 9 million people and encompassing numerousethnicgroupsandlanguages,facessubstantialeducationchallengesduetoitsruggedgeography andisolatedcommunities(AustralianGovernmentDepartmentofForeignAffairsandTrade,2021)

The literacy rate in Papua New Guinea stands at approximately 63.4%, underscoring a significant gap in educationalattainment(AsiaPacificReport,2023).

The educational infrastructure in Papua New Guinea exhibits notable disparities between urban and rural areas.Urbancentresbenefitfrombetter-resourcedschools,whereasruralregionsgrapplewithinfrastructural limitations,includingashortageofteachersandeducationalmaterials(EdwardsJ,2015).Thesediscrepancies exacerbatechallengesinensuringequitableaccesstoeducationacrossthenation

CulturalaspectsplayapivotalroleinshapingliteracypatternsinPapuaNewGuinea Therichculturaldiversity, while a source of strength, presents unique challenges Different ethnic groups have distinct languages and learning traditions, making a standardized approach to education complex (Jacob Simet et al., 1992). Understandingandrespectingtheseculturalnuancesiscrucialfordevelopingeffectiveliteracyinitiatives.

IlliteracyemergesasapressingconcerninPapuaNewGuinea,impactingindividuallives,hinderingcommunity development,andimpedingthenation'sprogress.Thelackofacomprehensiveliteracyframeworkandlimited resourcesexacerbatethisissue.InPapuaNewGuinea,parentalilliteracyposeschallengesinsupportingtheir children's education, particularly in the domains of reading and writing, and regrettably, offspring born to illiterateparentsofteninheritthiscondition,aprevalentcircumstanceintheruralorremoteareaswhereoldergenerationparentslackedformalschooling(Devette-Chee,2021,p 4)

The opportunity lies in Google's commitment to corporate social responsibility. With its vast influence and resources, Google can significantly contribute to addressing the literacy crisis in Papua New Guinea. The collaboration between Google and local stakeholders creates a unique chance to develop sustainable solutionsthatbridgeexistinggapsineducationalaccessibilityandawareness.

Google'sinvolvementpresentssubstantialopportunities.Thetechgiant,withitsglobalreachandtechnological prowess,canleverageitsresourcestocreateinnovativeandscalableliteracyprograms.Strategicpartnerships with local NGOs and educational institutions can amplify the impact, creating a collaborative approach to combattingilliteracy(Yan,Lin&Clarke2018)

However, inherent threats accompany such initiatives Cultural resistance may arise due to traditional beliefs and practices that might be resistant to external influences. Additionally, logistical challenges, including transportation and communication barriers in remote areas, pose potential obstacles to the successful implementation of literacy programs (Cultural Dynamics in Development, 2021, p. 12-17). Navigating these challengesrequiresanuancedunderstandingofthelocalcontextandstrategicplanning.

Understandingtherootsofilliteracyisimperativetocraftingeffectivesolutions.InPapuaNewGuinea,historical factors, during early colonisation, missionaries taught in local languages, later transitioning to English postWorld War II English became the official language in schools, forming the basis for modern education; dissatisfactionledtotheintroductionoftheStandard-BasedCurriculumtoaddressemploymentchallengesfor semi-literatestudentsinPapuaNewGuinea(Devette-Chee,2021,p 2) Economically,manyparentsinPapua New Guinea struggle to pay school fees, facing the dilemma of choosing between their children's education and essential family needs. Thus, illiteracy could limit employment opportunities, perpetuating a cycle of poverty.Socially,ithamperscommunitydevelopmentandcivicengagement(WorldLiteracyFoundation,2021). Overall,addressingilliteracynecessitatesaholisticapproachthatconsidershistoricalcontext,culturaldiversity, andtheinterconnectednessofsocial,economic,andeducationalfactors.

TARGET AUDIENCES

On Literacy Day, the ‘Rising Papua New Guinea’ PR campaign aims to address Papua New Guinea's literacy challenges by emphasising children's education's significance to parents andfosteringresourcefulpartnershipswithfundraisingorganisationsasfollows:

Phase1-Increasetheawarenessofyoungeducation’simportancetoparents

Justification: Google's International Literacy Day initiative in Papua New Guinea seeks to boost parental understanding of the significance of children's education. Recognising parents as central to children's educational choices, Google acknowledges the challenges they face Economic hardships and cultural norms in the region, exacerbated by the fact that over 80% experience multidimensional poverty, have hindered children's access to quality education. Google's campaign aspires to shift these perceptions, emphasising the crucialroleofeducation,andpresentingfinancialsolutionstoreduceeducationalexpenses.

Phase2-Partnerwithstakeholdersforfundraising

The choice of diverse fundraising stakeholders aims to enhance Google's International LiteracyDaycampaign'simpactinPapuaNewGuinea.Keylocalenterprises,likeBankSouth Pacific (BSP) and PNG LNG, are targeted for their profound local insight and market influence, potentially boosting their corporate social responsibility and community rapport. Simultaneously, global NGOs and philanthropic bodies provide a broad network and substantial resources. By collaborating with these entities and emphasising Papua New Guinea's educational challenges, highlighted by efforts like "Save the Children", Google seeks to amass significant resources, expanding its reach and profoundly impacting the nation'seducationallandscape.

Description

TheleadingLocalCompaniesandOrganizationssuchas BankSouthPacific(BSP)-Revenue:A$1053million

PapuaNewGuineaLiquefiedNaturalGas(PNGLNG)Revenue:aboutA$5million

KumulPetroleumHoldings-Revenue:aboutA$14million

KEY MESSAGE

‘Rising Papua New Guinea’ seeks to transform the educational landscape in Papua New Guinea by granting its children greater access to quality schooling With a focus on elevating literacy rates. These initiatives intend to ‘ pave the way for a brighter, more sustainable future for the nation’ (Nongkas, 2007). By championing education, we aim to break the chains of generational illiteracy, enabling the youth of Papua New Guinea to transcend boundaries, seek higher opportunities, and ultimately uplift their communities. Consequently,theenduringmessageechoedthroughthiseventserieswillbe:

GOAL & OBJECTIVES

GOAL

ToincreaseawarenessamongkeytargetaudiencesinPapuaNewGuinea aboutthescale,severity,andimpactsofilliteracy,promoteasenseof concernandmotivateactiontowardsliteracydevelopment.

OBJECTIVES

Objective 1

Toraisepublicawarenessandunderstandingof illiteracythroughsocialmediabyreaching80,000 peopleonsocialmediaplatformsbySeptember2024.

Objective 2

Tocreatepartnershipsandpromoteliteracyeffortswith aminimumoffivenearbynonprofitorganisationsand academicinstitutionsbyAugust2024.

Objective 3

Todevelopaccesstotechnologyandonlinelearningby conductingtrainingsessionsandworkshops, emphasisingGoogletools,andreachingatleast1,000 participants,startinginMayandcontinuinguntil September2024.

PROGRAM

The event we aim to execute in celebration and awareness of Literacy Day 2024 will take placeintheformofatwo-day-longlocalfestivalacrossthe7thand8thofSeptembernext year, which we propose to coin the ‘Rising Papua New Guinea’ Festival 2024 This allows Google, as our client, to implement a series of tactics as we will outline in our plan, in the heart of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, the capital. Port Moresby has a local population of just over 400,000 people and a notable socio-economic background. Its rate of unemployment within the capital is reasonably high, with over 50% of the unemployed residinginsettlementsandurbanvillages

Aligning with a key SMART objective of the plan to increase digital literacy among the community, and hence cultivate the utmost job opportunities forthestudentsofourcurrentsociety,PortMoresby is the perfect candidate location for our festival to take place within. This lively and inviting festival overall aims to prompt community engagement andtogetherness.

TACTIC 01 - INCLUDE TOK PISIN ON GOOGLE TRANSLATE

An initial tactic that will be implemented at the festival, and we will begin planning for early in the campaign is adding Papua New Guinea’s main spoken language (besides English), Tok Pisin, to Google Translate This initiative would be announced on Google’s owned social media platforms along with being promoted at ‘Rising Papua New Guinea’ at a designated stall. This would be a positive action that could encourage people of Papua New Guinea, particularly parents with children to attempt to use the technology and engage with written formsofcommunication.

TACTIC 02 - YOUTUBE AD CAMPAIGN

The purpose of this tactic is to utilise Google’s other owned brand, YouTube as a platform to distribute a series of advertisements that aim to raise awareness of and inform key publics of the literacy levels of people in Papua New Guinea. Over the series of five advertisements, eachwillcoveradifferentaspectoftheliteracylevelsinPapuaNewGuinea,andwillpartner withdifferentorganisations,whichwouldbeasfollows:

Episode1:AnIntroduction-withUNESCO

Episode2:Literacyamongstchildren-withSavetheChildren

Episode3:Literacyamongstadults-withPNGEducationAdvocacyNetwork

Episode4:Importanceofdigitalliteracy-withInternationalTelecommunicationUnion

Episode5:Initiativesandmovingforward-withUNICEF

This series will be a big feature at the ‘Risng Papua New Guinea’ festival, as the first episode willbeexhibitedondayone,attheevent.Thisactivitywillbeundertakeninconsultationwith the Papua New Guinea government to ensure their guidelines are met for media production anddistribution.

TACTIC 03 - GOOGLE AMBASSADOR TUTORIALS

Digital literacy is an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information by utilising typing or digital media platforms. Working largely alongside Objective 3 as outlined early in this PR plan, we aim to introduce training sessions and workshops within communities across our ‘Rising Papua New Guinea’ Festival in order to emphasise the smart use of the internet and online materials. This particularly exhibits features Google has to offer such as Google Workspace, to cultivate essential computer skills that may be helpfulforbothteachersandstudents.ThiswouldentailfulfillingGoogleambassadorsand stakeholder experts as representatives throughout the festival, once more, creating connections with our younger demographic, to provide knowledge that can be used to bolster digital literacy within Papua New Guinean communities. 32% (CIA Factbook) of the population are internet users, hence these tutorials provide support to equip the future of PNG for not just careers, but a lifestyle. Once more, ‘Rising Papua New Guinea’ wants to emphasise the consideration of our proposal in alliance with Google Values. In the implementation of this particular tactic, we identify with Google’s hopes to advance sustainability,thoseambassadorshelpingleadyoungermembersofthecommunityintoa more sustainable future which allows them to access and use information that is the predominant driver of innovation. Specifically, workshops will occur over the two days which are free to attend and will entail small group activities such as creating visually pleasingGoogleDocument/SpreadsheetorsettingupaGmailaccountforolderlocals.

TACTIC 04 - SHORT STORY COMPETITION

One of the cornerstones within our Festival for Google for International Literacy Day 2024 includes the administration and affiliation of a short story competition. Often, within our Westernised culture we have seen the popularity within schools encouraged through reada-thons and writing exercises, and we aim to adopt this in some sense – in running an exciting short story competition to all students in Papua New Guinea in their choice of language–(TokPisinorEnglish)toexploretheircreativeflowandalsoencouragefocuson language, grammar and ultimately literacy. This competition will be advertised to all attendees of the ‘Rising Papua New Guinea’ Festival where registrations will also be open throughout our festival. Guidelines around the competitions will remain relatively flexible, with the hope to garner as many entrants and interest as possible among children. Similarly, the reason for a short 30-day entry window which begins from our festival weekend is due to the lack of long-term engagement younger generations are showing. If entries have a prolonged time to submit, interest can be quickly lost and motivation diminishing. Entrants are inspired to write anything they desire under the broad theme of “family” or “kinship” as this is a high value within the local community, as well as ensuring theirstoryiswithinawordcountaccordingtotheirappropriateagegroup:

Age8&under:150words

Age9–12:300words

Age13–16:500words

Not only does this competition inspire creative finds – but Google is further offering a grant to the best story within each age category of $5000 to put towards literacy needs at the recipient’s respective school. We aim to show how the facilitation of this competition ties in with your values as our client, Google in particular pointing out the company value of buildingbelonging.Inasense,thiscompetitionworkstoexpandpossibilitiesinthemindsof students and explore their own sense of belonging and self within a story for a chance to bettertheireducationalfuture.

ANTICIPATED BUDGET

In consideration of one of the biggest corporations in the world, we appreciate the finance and effort you can put into this program However, we plan to still remain relatively conservative and responsible in administering this event when it comes to funds. In conjunction with the $5,000 grant prize that accompanies the short story competition, we plan to budget $30,000 to run this event, including the creative licensing for the YouTube advertising, paying ambassadors at the event, and general catering, renting/hiring and entertainment costs. Through partnerships with key organisations, additionalfundsof$25,000willbeavailable

YOUTUBE

EVALUATION

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Analyse how users engage with campaign-related posts and content shared on social media by monitoring social media referral traffic, engagement metrics (numbers of likes, shares, and comments), and follower growth. This will allow for making decisions based on data to improve the campaign's influence on literacy awarenessinPapuaNewGuinea.

SURVEYS

Employing surveys to gather valuable feedback directly from Google’s partner organisations and participants’ workshops, asking about the effectiveness of the trainingsessions,theirconfidenceinusingdigitaltools,andanychallengesfaced.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

During the entire PR strategy formulation, adhering to PR ethics is essential The strategy for the 'Rising Papua New Guinea' campaign will align with the PNGTA Code of Ethics (2024) to ensure the campaign's genuineness, reliability, and credibility. Furthermore, we hold the utmost respect for survey respondents and their feedback, ensuring their privacy and confidentiality by refraining from gathering identifiable information.Theacquireddatawillbeexclusivelyutilisedforassessingpurposes.

REFERENCES

AustralianGovernmentDepartmentofForeignAffairsandTrade2021,PapuaNewGuineacountry brief2021,AustralianGovernmentDepartmentofForeignAffairsandTrade,viewed18October 2023,<https://wwwdfatgovau/geo/papua-new-guinea/papua-new-guinea-country-brief>

AsiaPacificReport2023,‘PNG’sliteracyrate“lowestinPacific”,butgovernmentplansboostto70%, Asiapacificreport.nz,viewed18October2023,<https://asiapacificreport.nz/2023/08/08/pngsliteracy-rate-lowest-in-pacific-but-government-plans-boost-to70/#:~:text=Papua%20New%20Guinea's%20literacy%20rate,by%202027%2C%20an%20official%20sa ys.>.

Azoulay,A.(2023)InternationalLiteracyDay,UNESCO.org.Availableat: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/literacy?

TSPD 101 R0=080713870fab2000f405df877f70d9d27b7b1a5048f4862891db61b12607f6847cc50090 7f537234083df6aa8f14300069dfa6990cf1a8ee261489556ffc6e75fc5db44cd89ff4827dfcb23a6f6812 951cd6a74586d07df813f418dc14e47e8c(Accessed:20October2023).

Devette-Chee,K2021,KeyPointsILLITERACY:AGROWINGCONCERNINPAPUANEWGUINEA,vol.14, pp.2-4,viewed<https://pngnri.org/images/Publications/Spotlight Vol 14 Issue 7.pdf>.

EdwardsJ.,2015,GenderandEducationAssessment,PapuaNewGuinea:Areviewoftheliterature ongirlsandeducation2015,viewed<https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/png-genderand-education-assessment-review-literature-girls-education.pdf>.

JacobSimetetal 1992,‘CuturaldiversityandTheUnitedofPapuaNewGuinea’,NRITheNational ResearchInstitue,pp.12-17.

Nongkas,CM2007,‘Leadingeducationalchangeinprimaryteachereducation:APapuaNew Guineastudy’,acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au,viewed20October2023, <https://acuresearchbankacueduau/item/86151/leading-educational-change-in-primaryteacher-education-a-papua-new-guinea-study>.

TheWorldFactbook(2023)PapuaNewGuinea,CentralIntelligenceAgency.Availableat: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/papua-new-guinea/(Accessed:10October 2023)

UnitedNationsHumanSettlementProgramme.(2010)PAPUANEWGUINEA:PORTMORESBYURBAN PROFILE.Kenya,Nairobi:UNHabitat.

Yan,X,Lin,HC&Clarke,A2018,‘Cross-SectorSocialPartnershipsforSocialChange:TheRolesof Non-GovernmentalOrganizations’,Sustainability,vol.10,no.2,MultidisciplinaryDigitalPublishing Institute,pp.558–558,viewed18October2023,<https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/558>.

WorldLiteracyFoundation2021,TheEconomic&Socialcostofilliteracy,WorldLiteracySummit 2018,viewed<https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/07/TheEconomicSocialCostofIlliteracy-2pdf>