“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” With a sustainable future aligned with community values and growth as its envisioned goal, Samsung Display genuinely cares for and connects with local communities and underprivileged families.
Enabling People!
Rising social instability, wealth gap, and environmental issues stress the importance of corporate responsibility. ‘Ethics’ and ‘Social Contribution’ are integral aspects of sustainable growth of companies. More global companies acknowledge their role in community development and various action steps have been taken increasingly.
Since 2011, Toyota Motor has been using its vast knowledge of production management systems and process improvements (‘kaizen’) to help Japanese farmers in Aichi Prefecture and other regions handle their heavy workloads. Nestlé ran a project called ‘Farmer Connect and Agripreneurship’ to improve farmer's economic stability in rural communities in Africa and South America – where most of the coffee beans are produced. With global economic disruption impacting societies, companies need to center future growth strategies around socially responsible management working with local communities.
With ‘Enabling People’ in mind, Samsung Display has also been carrying out various social contribution activities. Supporting youth with the necessary skills for the future has been the pillar of all social contribution activities by Samsung.
Building Future with Reading Initiatives
Reading enriches youth with knowledge, empowering them to fulfill their dreams. To encourage good reading habits, Samsung Display has provided various initiatives. Termed ‘Bookwoollim’, which means fostering reading habits, Samsung Display’s social contribution project creates an amicable environment for reading by providing book donations and improving facilities.
Samsung Display has donated 100,593 books to 501 locations and has remodeled 67 small libraries (including youth-related facilities). This is to ensure that children, teenagers, and local residents in the community can enjoy reading in a comfortable setting. To nurture a reading culture, the company has held book concerts where participants can meet with book authors and reading contests based on age groups. With 30,000+ participants joining online and offline, reading initiatives have had a positive impact on societies.
Companionship towards a Happier Society
Samsung Display holds various activities as an effort to connect with local residents inclusive of underprivileged communities.
Four-part harmony consisting of 48 teenagers with developmental disabilities, ‘VOLED Choir*’ program was founded in 2017 as an effort to support their musical talents. The VOLED Choir won ‘Harmony’ and ‘Special’ awards at the 25th National Disabled Choir Competition in 2017 and won First Place last year during the 28th National Disabled Choir Competition. Samsung Display employees have been touched by their musical accomplishments and presented the choir with a donation of $150,000 (170 million KRW) last year.
*Volunteer of Love and Echoes with (SAMSUNG) Display
As an effort to provide sustainable job opportunities for those with developmental disabilities, Samsung Display founded a social charity called ‘Flower Garden’ in 2011. Flower Garden offers jobs and hires people with developmental disabilities to deliver flower subscriptions paid by Samsung Display employees. What started as a small social charity with 10 employees has continued to develop into a 48-people operation.
Since 2016, Samsung Display has been supporting children with severe disabilities with not only their rehabilitation treatment expenses and assistive device customizations but also emotional support programs that help children build communication skills and bond with others more effectively.
Communal Relationships
Samsung Display promotes a corporate culture that practices sharing through volunteer work among employees. Whether it be groups aiming for specific volunteering goals or hobbyists donating their talents, 266 volunteer teams have been providing various assistance in areas such as hosting STEM-related classes in local centers and food preparation volunteering. For those in need of home restoration, Samsung employees also offered free home repairs and mural painting services.
Since 2012, 2.53 million hours have been spent volunteering by 827,000 employees. In total, people at Samsung Display devoted 289 years connecting with local communities.
Samsung Display has formed sister villages* with 24 local business sites and supported various activities as an effort to support their growth. In order to support the local economy, Samsung supports the sale of local agricultural products through the ‘Holiday Direct Market’, and operates various programs to help with farming seasons and village development. In addition, through traditional food-sharing projects, the company tries to deliver a genuine sense of care throughout the community because communal amity and coexistence strengthens Samsung’s values.
*The Sister Village program partners Samsung with a local village for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
Last year, with COVID-19 impacting societies, Samsung Display carried out various contactless social contribution activities that reflect existing challenges among local communities. Last year, the company donated masks, mask straps, and hand sanitizer to the underprivileged households and sanitized 123+ welfare facilities. In addition, Samsung Display is continuing online efforts such as donating daily necessities to the underprivileged and hosting online bazaars to donate the proceeds to low-income families afterwards.
Recently, the company is also conducting various campaigns and volunteer activities to reduce environmental pollution. Small steps for a more sustainable future such as the ‘Take the Lids and Labels Off Plastic Bottles Before Recycling’ campaign (which collects the caps of used plastic bottles and turns them into plastic pots) and various local community-driven volunteer campaigns to clean up the environment.
As an effort to prevent cyberbullying, Samsung Display and five electronics-affiliated businesses of Samsung Group have participated in the ‘Blue Elephant Project’ since 2020. With ‘Enabling People’ as the core principle, Samsung hopes to secure a sustainable future for younger generations to fulfil their dreams.
As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of ‘The Little Prince’, once said, "Love is the only thing that grows when shared." Samsung Display will continue to contribute and participate in activities that amplify societal values and solidify trust among communities.
