The volunteers will play a major role in the country's hosting of the world's biggest hoops tournament.
The FIBA World Cup is set to tipoff in less than two weeks, and as Gilas Pilipinas ramps up its final preparations, so are the 760 volunteers signed up by the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) through its Volunteers Program.
The program, officially launched on November 30, 2022, aims to tap into the Filipinos’ world-renowned bayanihan spirit by signing up volunteers to perform a variety of roles, including spectator services, protocol assistants, courtside operations, and even security. These volunteers, in other words, will augment the LOC and help ensure the successful staging of the biggest, most prestigious basketball conclave in the world.
Over 13,000 applied for the Volunteers Program—a surefire indicator of the Filipinos’ willingness to help out when needed and their all-out support of the country’s hosting of the FIBA World Cup. As of August 9, 2023, a grand total of 760 volunteers have already been signed up after meticulous screening and a carefully curated selection process.
The chosen volunteers then underwent training programs centered on developing a customer-centric mindset, with the LOC partnering with the Department of Tourism to deliver its “Filipino Brand of Service Excellence” (FBSE). To ensure this, the LOC tapped Joey Pacheco, one of the most sought-after training consultants in the country, to develop the volunteers into FBWC Service Champions. Additionally, the LOC engaged the Department of Foreign Affairs to conduct training on protocol for volunteers assigned to the International Relations and Protocol group.
The training does not stop there, however, with Volunteers Program Committee Head Art Aro promising that “sustaining engagement activities will still be conducted even during their actual volunteer work to continually refresh and reinforce the concepts learned during their trainings.”
LOC Deputy Event Director Erika Dy is confident that the volunteers will come through in the clutch, even noting how the Volunteers Program has garnered high praise from FIBA officials. It should not be surprising given how the program, according to Dy, has gone the extra mile to ensure smooth operations, particularly at the game venues.
“Aside from the usual venue services, we are supplementing with spectator services,” said Dy. “The team will be really customer-facing; they will lead all ushers, gatekeepers, everybody else that faces the fans at the venue; they will be in charge of all the entrances, have maps for that.”
Indeed, the country’s preparation for the FIBA World Cup is in the homestretch already—and it appears everyone is ready.
(GM)