UNESCO and Panasonic Corporation signed a project agreement for Myanmar in November 2015 to promote educational support aimed at sustainable development for the next generation of young people living in the vicinity of the ancient city of Bagan in Myanmar, which is currently a nominee for UNESCO World Heritage listing. Panasonic will donate a total of 500 units of its “eneloop solar storage” to around 40 schools located in offgrid communities in the vicinity of Bagan. In Myanmar, 68% of its population is said to have no access to electricity. Young people who live in off-grid communities around Bagan are suffering from an educational disadvantage as they have no other choice but to study in a poorly-lit classrooms, during limited daylight hours.
Panasonic’s “eneloop solar storage” is a compact power storage system with LED lights, which stores power generated by solar cells during the day and provides lighting at night or for classrooms. Through this donation, Panasonic will support the development of a school environment where young people can study anytime of the day under safe and bright lights.
In partnership with Myanmar’s Ministry of Education, local government and communities, Panasonic will provide support for this educational initiative over the course of two years. Specifically, with a view to developing future leaders of the country, an education curriculum covering the areas of “sustainable growth,” “science” and “society” will be created in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. The program will be offered to young people and teachers/instructors living in off-grid communities near Bagan.
Furthermore, in coordination with Panasonic’s ongoing Eco Learning Program, an environmental education program will be conducted to raise environmental awareness of the next generation of children and to motivate them to take concrete actions. Based on this project agreement on the educational support, UNESCO and Panasonic will contribute to sustainable development for young people in Myanmar to gain academic knowledge and fulfill their social responsibility.
About the UNESCO World Heritage Convention
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.
About Panasonic
Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, enterprise solutions and device industries. Since its founding in 1918, the company has expanded globally and now operates 468 subsidiaries and 94 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.715 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2015.
