Philippines-based FCF Minerals has been recognised for a community development project that focuses on out of school youth.

The project saw FCF, which is owned by UK-based Metals Exploration, take out the 2009 Asia Mining Congress Sustainability Award.

A judge of the awards, Kathryn McPhail, of the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM), said there were six companies short listed, most with very interesting contents in their submissions. “The winners were over the moon.”

FCF’s initiative focused on out of school youth (OSY) of Runruno, a village in the northern part of the Philippines .

The OSY Skills Development and Placement program was also conceived in light of the current economic climate that saw many overseas Filipino workers lose their livelihoods abroad, preventing them from being able to provide financial support for their loved ones.

The initiative focused on skills development and job placement for OSY. It was sensitive to the plight of these young Filipinos and enabled them to financially support their families during these difficult times.

In her speech at the gala dinner following the awards, Kathryn McPhail said there are three principles that define what constitutes good practice today. Initiatives must:

Be strategic and fit with the vision of the company, but it also has to be strategic in the context of the community’s needs and requirements

Be participatory in their design, planning and implementation (involving local communities, and local authorities too.)

Go beyond that into partnerships (shared objectives, responsibilities); each knows what is expected of them and of each other.

She says it is encouraging to get the message that companies are not cutting back on their work on social development (SD) with these budgets largely being protected.

“While some individual projects, technical work, feasibility studies are being parked, SD isn’t. Relations with the community in particular, also with government, are continuing. Companies appear to have learned the lesson that they cannot disappear when the going gets tough.

“Many recognise increasingly that if they are serious about engaging in CSR they need to talk to communities and also to governments, both at the national and the local levels.

“It was also welcome to hear the news that the Philippines has signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.”

www.icmm.com