During her internship in Japan, Tania met with high school participants in the Kid Witness News program, a corporate social responsibility initiative sponsored by Panasonic aimed at helping schoolchildren in 35 countries and regions develop their creativity and communication skills. The pupils were all members of a high school swimming team in the town of Ibaraki in Osaka, Panasonic’s home prefecture.
They bravely gave a presentation in English about their club activities and chatted about the history of their school. Tania introduced her iLEAP programme and engaged the pupils in an animated discussion. And to round off the visit, she joined them in a short game of water polo!
Commented one of the students, “Through the exchange with Ms. Lee, I realized that sport transcends language barriers, and that it has the power to entertain and unite people regardless of language and gender. I also learned that Panasonic is not only developing products, but is also engaged in initiatives in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. I’m hoping to make use of what I learned this time to do my best in future club activities.”
Tania was really impressed by the students’ attitudes. “I really liked that they are so independent. Everything was run or organized by the students themselves. Not even the coach was involved.”