Haier

Shared Concern for the Education and Mental Health of Left-Behind Children

Left:UNICEF Representative to China Gillian Mellsop  Right:The Rotating President of Haier Group and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors Zhou Yunjie

Recently, Haier Group has reached a consensus with UNICEF regarding the in-depth cooperation in the "Child-Friendly School: Social-emotional Learning Project" in the next three years. The two parties will jointly carry out care activities in three provinces in western China, and address the education and mental health problems of left-behind children in rural areas.

According to statistics, the number of left-behind children in China has reached 66.83 million, among which the left-behind children in the western China account for a large proportion, the education and mental health problems of left-behind children have attracted great attention from all sectors of society. UNICEF Representative to China Gillian Mellsop said that the "Child-Friendly School: Social-emotional Learning Project" is to improve children's learning ability and social-emotional learning ability, and promote the development of children's education. Haier Group has been committed to promoting children's education and social welfare, and shares the common aspiration with UNICEF, the cooperation will effectively promote the implementation of the project.

Haier Group becomes the UNICEF's first strategic partner in Chinese home appliance industry, this is inseparable from Haier Group’s long-term contribution to social welfare, strong sense of social responsibility and development philosophy. As the world's No.1 home appliance brand, Haier Group has always supported the development of public welfare undertaking since its establishment, and has been committed to establishing a global innovative public welfare system. The Rotating President of Haier Group Zhou Yunjie said that Haier’s success of being the world's largest home appliance brand is inseparable from the help and support of the society, so it has been actively engaged in social welfare undertakings since its foundation, and strived to pay back the society. On the 30th anniversary of its foundation, Haier Group reaches a consensus with UNICEF, this not only reflects Haier’s concern and support for youth education, but also presents a special birthday gift to its 30th anniversary of Haier’s foundation on December 26 this year.

As UNICEF's first Chinese home appliance partner, Haier will cooperate with UNICEF in the future, carry out the program "Child-Friendly School: Social and Emotional Learning" in Sanjiang County of Guangxi Province, Nayong County of Guizhou Province and Zhongxian County of Chongqing City, and provide key trainers and rural primary school teachers with training courses on social and emotional education, thereby exert positive impacts on the emotional development, communication and mental health of left-behind children.

Child-Friendly School is an education model that caters for children’s interests and has been advocated by UNICEF since 2001, Social-emotional Learning Program is an important part of "Child-friendly School" projects, which are mainly carried out in rural areas in western China and targeted at local left-behind children.

Currently Haier Group has become one of the most active social forces in the social welfare development process, and has contributed a total of RMB 500 million of capital and goods to charities. Meanwhile, Haier also made outstanding contributions to children’s education. Up to now, Haier has built 206 Hope Schools in China (including one Haier Chenjiaba Middle School), covering 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and has become the Chinese enterprise that has built the most Hope Schools in the Project Hope organized by the Communist Youth League (CYL) Central Committee.

About Haier Group

Founded in 1984, Haier Group has become the world's largest home appliance brand. In 2013, Haier's global turnover reached RMB 180.3 billion, and set up 5 R & D centers and 66 trading companies allover the world, with users covering more than 100 countries and regions.

About UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund)

UNICEF is committed to promoting every child's rights and well-being in all aspects. We coopearate with partners in 190 countries and regions to turn our commitment into practical action, pay attention to the most vulnerable and marginalized children, and pursue the benefits of all children, regardless of their location. From1947 to 1951, UNICEF provided China with various assistances, including emergency services, food and nutrition, health and hygiene training. UNICEF has officially begun its cooperation with the Chinese government since 1979, and the cooperation projects cover many aspects, such as health and nutrition, education, child protection, social policy, and emergency assistance.

12 days to go before the HGEC and Haier's 30th anniversary celebration

(Translator-editor:Haier New Media Zhou Xiaoming)