Encouraging holistic development among children, one of the leading imaging organisations, Canon India, embarked on a new chapter of its CSR initiative – ‘Learning Beyond Books’. Aimed at bringing alive the nuances of the communications industry, the new chapter of ‘Learning Beyond Books’ will be focused on encouraging children to explore career opportunities in media and communications industry. The first phase of the campaign commenced today as Canon partnered with RED FM, one of the largest radio networks of the country and facilitated an engaging session for the children of Faridabad SOS village at the RED FM office in Noida. In sync with its commitment to having a proliferating India, the company has been supporting the education and overall development of children from SOS villages across India.
‘Experiencing is learning in truest form’, the Learning Beyond Books initiative by the organization believes in the power of experience. Adhering by this, the RED FM employees and Canonites collaboratively engaged with the children through exciting activities during the visit. The children were welcomed at the RED FM office with a special flash mob organized by the employees on the ‘RED FM theme’ song. An interactive session between the kids and the radio jockeys (RJs) was also conducted wherein the RJs educated the children around radio journalism as a profession, and shared interesting anecdotes from their career. Children got an opportunity to see the programming and recording room live and were showcased some of the compelling aspects of a profession in the radio industry.
Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India, said, “At Canon, we believe that an empowered individual can empower the entire community, including his family, friends, society, village, the nation and the world, at large. We believe that small consistent steps lead to bigger changes and transformations. One of the best ways to empower a nation is to invest in the children – the driving force of a nation. The newest chapter of our initiative ‘Learning Beyond Books’ ensures that the children of our adopted village, not just witness the world outside their horizons but also learn valuable lessons to become responsible citizens.”
“We envision that in 2019 our ‘Learning Beyond Books’ initiative will take a bigger and stronger leap so that our children can aspire more and dream bigger. Along with ‘media and communications’, we are selecting other themes like ‘Corporate and Health’, ‘Education and Sports’, ‘Arts and Entertainment’. With focused, sustainable subjects that enlighten children on the professions they can choose in the future, we also focus on integral and basic issues of living like hygiene, water and energy conservation,” added Mr. Kobayashi.
Commenting about the unique visit to the RED FM office, Mr. Gary Lee, CFO and VP, Canon India, said, “The media and communications industry plays a pivotal part in shaping our lives, and further empowers people across the walks of society to express their opinions. At Canon, I work closely with the communications team and hence understand the multitude of opportunities the communication industry can provide to the children. With the newest chapter of ‘Learning Beyond Books’ focusing on the importance of communications industry, we expect the children to become more creative, expressive and confident. We are thankful to the RED FM team for partnering with us to create an engaging session to demonstrate the interesting aspects of radio journalism to the children. Over the years, we have succeeded in impacting several lives, through our CSR initiatives and with our recent efforts, we are confident that we will have more smiling faces across our adopted villages.”
Canon’s CSR endeavors are driven by their corporate philosophy of ‘Kyosei’, which mean the ‘spirit of living and working together for the common good’. Education is an intrinsic part of Canon’s ‘4E’ policy of CSR, which focuses on Environment, Education, Eye Care and Empowerment. The company envisions to make learning an interesting experience and provide the children of the adopted villages with multitude possibilities.
Talking about the collaboration Nisha Narayanan, COO, RED FM, said, “At RED FM, we have always striven to associate ourselves with causes that make a difference, and believe that our collaboration with Canon India for ‘Learning Beyond Books’ will help children touch new horizons. RED FM’s endeavour to introduce children to the world of Radio helps them explore their capabilities in the field. As part of this initiative, our RJ’s also share interesting stories about their career to help children become aware of what it entails to be a radio journalist.”
Canon India stands in unison when it comes to their commitment to the community, under the aegis of ‘Canon India Involve’. The organization has been involved in various community welfare programs in the past to build progressive self-reliant communities. They are positive that their endeavours will be steps contributing for a better and brighter tomorrow.
