Porsche China Continues to Support Children’s Education and Premieres Documentary on Rural Children by Zhang Yimou Porsche “Empowering the Future” Programme turns 5 years old
Shanghai/Beijing. Porsche China celebrated the fifth anniversary of the “Empowering the Future” Programme, its flagship corporate social responsibility program. Held in the capital, the celebration consisted of a series of commemorative events including a meeting of the Porsche “Empowering the Future” Advisory Committee and a press conference attended by over 100 media representatives. Following the meetings, Porsche premiered an innovative documentary by Zhang Yimou about children who are benefitting from the “Empowering the Future” programme. Luo Ping, Division Director for International Organization, Department of International Cooperation and Exchange at the Ministry of Education, Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF Representative to China and Deesch Papke, Porsche China President and CEO were joined at the premiere.
In the meeting, the Advisory Committee reviewed the progress made in the past five years and announced new social responsibility initiatives and project expansions of Porsche China. The expansion in Yunnan of the Mobile Education Training and Resource Units (METRU) project, a joint programme of the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, as well as support for two additional new joint-programmes demonstrates Porsche China’s strong continued support for rural children’s education and well-being.
Addressing the Porsche “Empowering the Future” Advisory Committee, Deesch Papke, Porsche China President and CEO said, “As a brand, we care for the people around us and the society in which we operate. But it is no longer enough to address macro-issues without carefully considering practical actions that really matter. The achievements of the past five years truly speak for themselves, and we are steadfast in our dedication to empowering China’s youth.”
Stories Through 180 Lenses, a moving documentary by Porsche “Empowering the Future” Advisory Committee member Zhang Yimou, premiered after the meeting. An outcome of the METRU project, the film’s completely new shooting concept seamlessly integrates child participation, teacher guidance, and corporate support. Not only is it a documentary, but an exploration of the social practices of our age. The film is also an objective reflection of the thoughts of the children in remote Southwest China, as well as an inspiration for future charitable activity benefitting children. The film is an expression of director Zhang Yimou’s deep reflection and creative thinking, and will raise attention to this important cause.
90% of the film consists of footage shot over six months by 2,000 children using 180 camcorders distributed among 72 METRU schools. Audiences were immediately drawn into the film, seeing through the children’s eyes both their daily challenges and their optimism against all odds, deeply moving the audience at the premiere.
After the premiere on August 29, the film will be distributed to a wider audience, including university students majoring in education and film, Porsche dealers and customers nationwide, and to the students of the Cangxi schools who participated in the filmmaking, and will be able to see their finished work. The documentary is one notable achievement of METRU’s activities and highlights the role of corporate support in increasing child participation with teacher guidance.
Director and Advisory Committee member Zhang Yimou said at the premiere, “The concept of our documentary on the METRU programme is bold. We took a chance with an innovative production method aiming at striking a chord with audiences and exploring the future direction of social philanthropy. The willingness to try new methods is also reflected in how Porsche and UNICEF work together to improve rural children’s lives.”
New additions and expansions to social responsibility initiatives were announced
Porsche China announced it will continue to support METRU in Yunnan Province through the end of 2015. Porsche China has also signed a Letter of Intent to support the rollout of two new UNICEF initiatives: the Child Friendly School (CFS)-METRU Plus to improve primary school education quality; and the Inquiry Based Learning in Child-Friendly Schools (IBL) to improve higher-level critical thinking skills development.
Porsche China will also maintain its support for young artistic talent through its partnership with the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. The Porsche “Empowering the Future” Art Contest is a platform to showcase up and coming artists. Since 2010, over 1,000 works of art have been collected and each year the winners are sponsored to visit Germany’s most prestigious museums.
Advisory Committee reviewed progress of the past five years
The Advisory Committee looked back on five years of successful partnership with UNICEF and the Sichuan Fine Arts institute, helping to empower the youth of China by enhancing education, improving welfare and supporting young talent. The Committee took special note of METRU, the Mobile Teaching Resources Units project, a joint-project of UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, which has been benefiting over 153,000 students and 9,300 teachers in 572 schools in Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.
Ms. Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF’s Representative to China, remarked, “There is no better way to express the spirit of “Empowering the Future” than the thought provoking documentary by director Zhang Yimou. The concept of empowering children to tell their own stories through active participation was both unique and inspiring.”
The Committee also noted the impact of the Integrated Early Childhood Development project, a partnership of UNICEF and a number of other national-level ministries and agencies. To date, the project has aided 10,600 children ages 0-3 and 3,600 expecting mothers in over 8,000 families in remote counties of Guizhou and Shanxi provinces. Committee members are also gratified to see the active participation of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in the Porsche “Empowering the Future” Art Contest during the past four years.
Porsche China has been making unremitting endeavour in CSR since an immediate donation of 500,000 euros (about RMB 5.4 million) for disaster relief after 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. The company also provided 10 Cayenne SUVs to distribute aid in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. So far, the marque has contributed tens of millions of yuan in supporting “Empowering the Future” programme and UNICEF in China.
8/29/2014
