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July 7, 2020
Ho Chi Minh - Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), formerly Philips Lighting, the world leader in lighting, collaborates with UNESCO – the mandated United Nations agency for education – and Departments of Education and Training of the three provinces of Ha Giang, Ninh Thuan and Soc Trang in Viet Nam to provide access to education to ethnic minorities through the “Lighting up the Future of Ethnic Minority Communities in Viet Nam” Project with the goal to reduce school drop-out rates.
The Project aims to equip more than 5,000 ethnic minority students of 16 lower secondary schools in remote, mountainous and disadvantaged areas in Ha Giang, Ninh Thuan and Soc Trang with innovative lighting systems, including 1,900 Philips LifeLight portable solar lanterns, 7 Philips SunStay streetlights for school-yard lighting, together with other Philips LED lamps of different kinds.
Installation at the 16 schools has now been completed. On June 17, 2020, Minh Tan secondary semi-boarding school for ethnic minority students at Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang Province, on behalf of the eight lower secondary boarding schools for ethnic minority students in the province, held a ceremony to celebrate receiving the solar lighting equipment. At Minh Tan school, in addition to lighting equipment, Signify also donated a book library of 500 books to support the students’ daily learning activities.
In many remote and mountainous areas of Vietnam where there is a high concentration of ethnic minority communities, people are still facing many difficulties and challenges in their daily lives, especially poor conditions of traffic infrastructure and electricity grids. In these areas, limited access to electricity has not only affected the performance of farming activities and economic development among the communities, but also challenged all aspects of people’s livings, movement and exchanging activities at night. In particular, limited access to electrical lighting systems has significantly prevented local students from accessing education, resulting in a higher rate of school drop-outs in general.
The “Lighting up the Future of Ethnic Minority Communities in Viet Nam” project is a reflection of Signify’s strong commitment to the sustainable growth of local communities, especially those who are vulnerable, through providing innovative and practical products and solutions through its Signify Foundation (formerly Philips Foundation). Also, it reflects the commitment of UNESCO to support the Government of Viet Nam to build an inclusive, equitable and quality education system.
Nguyen The Binh
Director of Education and Training Department of Ha Giang Province
“This Project falls within our wider effort to enhance the quality of education for ethnic minority students”, said Mr. Michael Croft, UNESCO Representative to Viet Nam. “And because we share with Signify a common concern for sustainability and leaving no one behind, we join hands in this way. It is so easy for many of us to take for granted, but having more light translates to more opportunities in the future for these deserving youth.”
“With experiences in many successful CSR projects all over the world, Signify understands the challenges daily faced by ethnic minorities in remote and mountainous areas. With these advanced solar lighting solutions and technologies, students will have better facilities for their daily activities and learning, therefore, will learn better and be more motivated to go to schools to build up their knowledge and nurture their dreams for a brighter future. This is exactly our approach to unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world”, said Mr. Phung Hoai Duong, General Director of Signify Viet Nam.
Aiming to improve people’s lives with meaningful innovations, Signify has for many years implemented CSR projects to bring solar lighting systems to remote and mountainous areas with limited access to power grids around the world, especially countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. In 2014, the company successfully completed a large-scale CSR project to equip solar lighting systems in Thanh Son village, Ha Nam Province. Through this project, living conditions for approximately 300 poor households in the area have been significantly improved.
Signify
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong
Digital & Marcom Manager
Signify Vietnam
Tel: (028) 39111508
Email: minh.phuong.nguyen@signify.com
UNESCO
Phan Minh Chau
Project manager - Education Department
UNESCO Representative Office in Vietnam
Mobile: 090 411 8080
Email: mc.phan@unesco.org
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers and the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. In 2023, we had sales of EUR 6.7 billion, approximately 32,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for seven consecutive years and have achieved the EcoVadis Platinum rating for four consecutive years, placing Signify in the top one percent of companies assessed. News from Signify can be found in the Newsroom, on X, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors is located on the Investor Relations page.
