Two Years & 20 Campaigns Later: Forest Interactive Foundation Progresses Forward with More Sustainability Commitments

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KUALA LUMPUR, February 24, 2023: Forest Interactive Foundation, the brainchild of Forest Interactive, celebrates its 2^nd anniversary this month.

Since the founding of Forest Interactive Foundation (FIF), the non-profit organization (NPO) has been advancing its sustainable development and charitable giving goals, operating based on three pillars:

Future Innovators: Developing the upcoming generation with technological programs and initiatives such as Bayu Hackathon and seKODlah.

People: Embracing diversity and inclusion within our company through programs such as #HelpOurOwn and #ItEndsNow.

Community and Environment: Empowering marginalized community, combating climate change, and preserving environment through sustainable campaigns such as #ReForestation, #sapotlokal, and #DukungBisnisKecil.

Future Innovators

Bayu Hackathon, a collaborative program between Forest Interactive Foundation, Jawala Plantation Industries, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Sabah), reflected both future innovators and community pillars.

The program promoted diverse, inclusive, and sustainable digital growth by inviting participants to showcase their digital skills, developing solutions based on the SDGs that centered on economic and ecological issues within Sabah. This program also featured two workshops and a mini career fair. The hackathon saw over 100 entries with skillful applications from both Sabah and Labuan.

Ending 2022, Forest Interactive Foundation also launched #seKODlah x Kampus Merdeka, an intensive technology-based learning program to help 23 scholars from various universities in Indonesia. The five-month program consisted of multiple workshops including project management, software development, web development, cybersecurity. Additionally, expert speakers also conducted entrepreneurial talks covering career coaching and industry introduction.

The program ended with a capstone project, with leading participants winning an industry visit to the Forest Interactive HQ in Kuala Lumpur.

People

Embracing empowerment, diversity, and inclusion has been one of the pillars that Forest Interactive continues to work towards. Starting within the family, the foundation organized a campaign named #HelpOurOwn to assist multiple members within the company with their respective personal development.

Pledging a zero-tolerance stance on sexual harassment in the workplace, Forest Interactive launched the #ItEndsNow campaign to raise sexual harassment awareness and prevention in the company. The Foundation provides support and sits on the working committee.

The campaign kick-started in June 2022 with a series of newsletters that raise harassment and discrimination awareness among the talents, along with numerous grievance mechanisms and policies implemented within the company. Echoing UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth and Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities, Forest Interactive will move forward to feature internal training and workshops for employees in maintaining a harassment-free workplace.

Community and Engagement

Forest Interactive Foundation is committed to two educational corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns in Malaysia and Indonesia, aligning with three UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Malaysia-based talents visited the underprivileged children at Dignity for Children Foundation to deliver them digital knowledge. At the same time, our Indonesian counterparts hosted a colouring session at Rumah Belajar Gartala, Bandung. Both campaigns demonstrated SDGs goals 1, 4, and 10: No Poverty, Quality Education, and Reduced Inequalities.

Environmental sustainability campaign #ReForestation, organized in March 2022, promoted two campaigns to emphasize the emergency of the ecosystem, climate conservation, and ecological solutions. Forest Interactive Arts Club hosted a fun and immersive activity to include all talents in creating an art piece out of everyday waste collected for a month. Commemorating the International Day of Forests, FIF celebrates the conservation of the environment through planting trees with Free Tree Society (FTS).

The Foundation also partnered with Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Malaysia to create an awareness campaign supported by Doctors on Ground (DnG) regarding hygiene and sanitation practices for the indigenous Jakun community in Kampung Patah Pisau. The environmental campaigns have successfully contributed to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Clean Water and Sanitation (6), Affordable and Clean Energy (7), Climate Action (13), Life Below Water (14), Life On Land (15), and Partnerships for the Goals (17).

In 2022, in the spirit of Ramadan, the Foundation gave back to the community through the second iteration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative #sapotlokal. Following the previous year, the foundation allocated a considerable amount of financial assistance to help Rumah Penyayang Nur Iman and Pertubhuhan Kebajikan Anak-Anak Yatim Al-Nasuha with their household repairs.

Similar to #sapotlokal Indonesia-based talents visited local stores (warung) to purchase daily needs for more than 90 families in the fishing village of Cilincing in North Jakarta. This #DukungBisnisKecil is a continuation of Forest Interactive Indonesia’s #Internet4Education campaign that provided internet access for students in the same village.

Forest Interactive Foundation in 2023 will further extend its efforts to develop future innovators, empower marginalized communities, and preserve the environment through sustainable initiatives.

Find out more information about Forest Interactive Foundation at forestcares.org.‍

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About Forest Interactive

Founded in 2006, Forest Interactive develops scalable mobile platforms to connect mobile operators, content providers, and game publishers with their subscribers. With over 15 years of industry experience, Forest Interactive has expanded to include a diverse workforce of 20+ nationalities in 17 regional offices.

Delivering content subscription services, digital voucher and e-commerce platforms, and mobile apps for all ages, Forest Interactive operates in more than 30 countries, servicing 90+ mobile operators and 100+ content partners with the capacity to reach over one billion subscribers worldwide. To learn more, visit forest-interactive.com ‍

About Forest Interactive Foundation

Founded in 2021, Forest Interactive Foundation aims to nurture and develop talents through sustainable initiatives and programs, establishing empowered communities and upholding sustainable environments for our own people and the world’s future innovators in tech. As the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Forest Interactive and a UN Global Compact member, we are committed to accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the following areas:

Future Innovators

With the goal of developing future innovators in a fast-changing world, we shape initiatives that can help students prepare for a future where they can thrive with technology, one of it being the #seKODlah program.  

People

We strive to bring our company’s culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion to the broader community. By harnessing our strengths for social good, we are able to empower marginalized communities in our increasingly connected world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to sustainable actions and best practices:

Demonstrate empathy and sensitivity to the needs of others.

Aim for responsible material inputs that are renewable, recyclable, or reusable.

Bridge public and private partnerships in support of SDG 17.

Be a part of the climate accelerator program by implementing SBTi in line with the 1.5°C pathway.

 
Prior to its establishment, Forest Interactive Foundation, through Forest Interactive, has empowered more than 3500 students and 2,000 people in the communities through more than 38 initiatives. Visit forestcares.org to learn more.