(MENAFN Press) One UAE National and one winner from Kuwait formed part of winners from
Middle East;
Panasonic aims to reach out to as many as 2 million children by 2018 through its environmental education programs, in which 1 million children around the world have already participated since 2009
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Panasonic Corporation held a ceremony to honor winners of its Eco Picture Diary Global Contest in Kyoto, Japan with children representing 33 countries attending. In Partnership with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre*, the ceremony is held in tandem with a series of events that take place in the historic city of Japan to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention.
The ceremony kick started the two-day event Panasonic was hosting as part of the Panasonic Kids School educational support program. As part of the programme, the children visited their Japanese peers to share their experiences in environmental protection under the UNESCO World Heritage Eco Learning Program.
Mariam Mohammed Ghaloom “ a UAE National and Alya Nassim Fadel Serhan- from Kuwait, were part of the winners and represented the Middle East on a global level.
Since Panasonic started the Eco Picture Diary Contest in Japan in 2008, it has quickly developed into a global event. In 2012, a record number of approximately 300,000 children from 51 countries and regions participated in the contest by sending in picture diaries with their activities and thoughts about environmental preservation.
Panasonic held the first global award ceremony last February at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, inviting winners of the national-level competitions. For this second Eco Picture Diary Global Contest Ceremony, children representing 33 countries gathered on Nijo Castle in Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to make presentations on their unique eco activities.
Kyoto City Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa and UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova joined the ceremony to honor the children. UNESCO Artist for Peace ambassador Sarah Brightman was also present and handed over the trophies and award certificates to the children.
Panasonic's UNESCO World Heritage Eco Learning Program is designed to give children an opportunity to learn the importance of preserving the environment and World Heritage sites. Since it was launched in 2011, roughly 4,000 children from 10 countries took part in the program in the two years.
As part of the program, the children also visited the Ryogaoka Elementary School in Kyoto to have a cultural exchange meeting with their Japanese counterparts to compare notes on ecological activities. The eco learning program concluded with the children's visit to Kiyomizu Temple, another UNESCO World Heritage site in the ancient capital of Japan. There they lended their hands to replace the temple's lights with energy-efficient LED bulbs, making their part of contribution to preserving the World Heritage site.
Panasonic aims to reach out to as many as 2 million children by 2018, the 100th anniversary of its founding, through its environmental education programs. To date, already more than 1 million children around the world have participated in the programs since 2009. To achieve this goal, Panasonic benefits from its partnership with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, which shares the same cause of fostering environmental awareness among the next generation.
