The FINANCIAL — SAPESI (South Africa Primary Education Support Initiative), an NPO based in the Republic of South Africa (hereafter South Africa) and Sony Corporation (hereafter Sony) on May 26 announced Sony’s support for the “South Africa Mobile Library Project”.
This project was jointly launched by SAPESI and the South African Department of Education in 2005, as part of the Department of Education’s efforts to improve literacy levels by loaning books to pupils and teachers at primary and middle schools across the country. Sony will make a financial contribution to SAPESI in support of the project’s operations, and will also donate used children’s book collected at six Sony Group companies* located in English-speaking regions. (These books are in the process of being collected.)
According to Sony, the issue of education in African nations remains a key theme that will also be discussed at the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), to be held from May 28 in Yokohama, Japan. While initiatives carried out by the South African government have led to a primary school enrollment ratio exceeding 87%, the access to books – an indispensable tool for literacy education – is limited, and the ratio of schools possessing a library is less than 5%.
In order to address this issue, SAPESI is coordinating with the South African Department of Education to support provincial departments of education on the import procedures, operation and management of second-hand mobile library vehicles donated by local municipalities in Japan. In 2007, the 19 mobile library units operated as part the South Africa Mobile Library Project visited a total of 455 schools, and by increasing the number of vehicles to 35 in 2008, SAPESI aims to extend its operations to the remaining five provinces which have not yet started mobile library activities, and increase the number of schools visited to 900.
Furthermore, while South Africa has 11 official languages (including nine indigenous languages), books written in its indigenous languages are especially scarce, and there are concerns that the use of some of these languages may fade out. SAPESI is supporting the preservation of South Africa’s indigenous languages through its mobile library activities, and Sony’s financial contribution will also facilitate the purchase of books in these languages, which will be sent to schools aboard mobile libraries.
“As expressed in one of the key themes of our social contribution activities, ‘‘For the Next Generation’, Sony places a high priority on promoting education for children – the next generation – and we have been supporting educational activities for almost 50 years. Regarding the South Africa Mobile Library Project, Sony Australia employees have already been donating used children’s books to the project every year since 2005. Going forward we aim to contribute to the enrichment of
children’s education in South Africa by supporting this project throughout the Sony Group,” said Hidemi Tomita, General Manager, CSR Department, Sony Corporation.
“As expressed in one of the key themes of our social contribution activities, ‘‘For the Next Generation’, Sony places a high priority on promoting education for children – the next generation – and we have been supporting educational activities for almost 50 years. Regarding the South Africa Mobile Library Project, Sony Australia employees have already been donating used children’s books to the project every year since 2005. Going forward we aim to contribute to the enrichment of
children’s education in South Africa by supporting this project throughout the Sony Group,” said Hidemi Tomita, General Manager, CSR Department, Sony Corporation.
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