Bangkok--21 Feb--Aziam Burson-Marsteller
ING Life Limited’s Self-Sustaining School CSR InitiativeWins Global RecognitionThailand one of four countries to win the 2010 Chances for Children Award and send a representative on special CSR trip to Zambia
ING Life Limited’s self-sustaining school initiative was one of the only four ING Chances for Children 2010 programs from ING insurance companies around the world to win the global Chances for Children award that was organized to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the program. A key element of winning this award from the ING Group is that a representative from the Thai Chances for Children team will have the opportunity to participate in joint UNICEF- ING Group projects that facilitate primary education and youth development in Zambia through the creation of new schools in rural areas.
ING Life Limited’s Self-Sustaining School Initiative has been organized by a committee of employee volunteers led by Pakorn Ju-anuwattanakul. The initiative involved active engagement to help make an economically disadvantaged school increasingly self-sufficient and better able to serve its community. The initiative worked with the Ban Pong Gate School in Saraburi, which has consistently demonstrated a commitment to self-sufficiency and a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
Based on the extensive work done to help the school and the positive results obtained, this program was chosen as one of the 4 best ING Chances for Children activations from ING insurance companies around the world. Further, as the leader of the program, Khun Pakorn has been selected to participate in the joint UNICEF-ING Group projects in Zambia. During the trip to Zambia, Khun Pakorn will gain insights into global best practices in the area of social and educational development as well as effective public-private partnerships from hands-on experience. He will then share these learnings with the ING Life Limited team in order to continue to enhance its Chances for Children program.
The selection of Khun Pakorn to join the exclusive Zambia trip involved a combination of expert review based on five key criteria as well as social media input. The formal judges were Professor Lucas Meijs, a civil society expert from Erasmus University of the Netherlands, and Dailah Nihot, Head of Corporate Responsibility, ING Group. These experts used a rigorous criteria including commitment to the community and project, leadership of ING employees and other stakeholders, sustainability of the project’s impact, improvement in agricultural productivity through knowledge sharing and effectiveness of external communications, to select Khun Pakorn.
An additional element of the selection process involved the use of a Facebook page where ING Group employees and other stakeholders from around the world could vote on what they felt was the best ING Chances for Children 2010 project.
“I am very proud to be selected to represent ING Life Limited on this special ING Group trip to Zambia, and to be able to bring back important insights that can improve our Chances for Children program here in Thailand,” said Pakorn Ju-anuwattanakul, ING Life Limited. “Everyone at ING Life Limited worked very hard on this project and we achieved all of our objectives in terms of improving the capabilities of the Ban Pong Gate School, including creating a new herbal learning center, improving the productivity of their vegetable gardens, providing instruction on project management and ROI calculation to the teachers, and renovating school buildings and play areas.”
The trip to Zambia will take place between February 14 - 18 and will involve meetings and visits to UNICEF-ING sites in the capital city of Lusaka as well as in the Luapula Region (northeast) of the country.
Chances for Children Program Background
Education is one of the most powerful instruments known for reducing poverty and inequality, layout the basis for sustained economic growth, constructing democratic societies, and the building of dynamic, globally competitive economies. Education is also central to development as it empowers people and strengthens families, communities, and nations.
Aware of the importance of education, ING Group initiated ING Chances for Children programme in 2005 with an objective of giving children access to education through staff involvement and creative and sustainable initiatives.
ING Life’s History with Chances for Children
ING Life Limited has been a strong supporter of Chances for Children since its launch in 2005.
This support has included establishment of a long-term relationship with UNICEF to assist that organization in its projects in Thailand. ING Life Limited has also provided on-going support to the Phra Ratchathan Baan Koh Phi Phi School, which had been severely impacted by the 2004 tsunami. To date, ING Life’s contributions to the school are worth over 2.3 million Baht.
In 2008 and 2009, ING Life Limited has also participated in the ING Global Challenge an annual program that takes place on or around the United Nations International Day of the Child in which ING employees in markets around the world organize a range of programs and activities to improve the lives of children in their communities.
For further information, please contact:
Aziam Burson-Marsteller
Tel. 0 2252 9871 E-mail:
[email protected]