Samsung and Fundação Amazonas Sustentável (FAS) celebrate six years of a partnership that aims to promote sustainable involvement, environmental conservation and improvement of the quality of life on the riverside communities of the State of Amazonas. In 2014, the South Korean multinational company became the Provider Partner of the Education Program, which includes direct support to four Conservation and Sustainability Centers (NCS, its acronym in Brazilian Portuguese) and complementary programs.
The main initiatives implemented by FAS, with support from Samsung, are directed towards expanding and qualifying the communities’ offering in public health and education services. “Samsung produces innovations that create positive changes to people around the globe. The company’s participation in FAS’ projects reinforces two company priorities, which are education and sustainability,” highlights Helvio Kanamaru, Senior Manager for Corporate Citizenship of Samsung Latin America.
The projects Samsung stimulates are founded on three pillars: economic development, with the objective of generating income for the communities; social factor which seeks to make feasible the citizen’s inclusion in society; and sustainability and conservation of the environment. This year, the NCS registered 562 enrolled students, interested in participating in projects that point towards professional qualification, entrepreneurship, early childhood care, knowledge exchange, incentive to reading, recycling of solid wastes and agro ecological practices, just to name a few.
“We have also created a Samsung School in the Amazonian region as part of our technological innovation project in the education field. The complex installed in the community Três Unidos, in APA do Rio Negro, offers a school structure with bedrooms and canteen that serve students and professors from elementary schools, high schools and education for young people and adults. We are proud to contribute with improvements in the daily life of these communities,” Helvio Kanamaru adds.
Outstanding Projects
In 2016, there were outstanding complementary initiatives in communication, incentive to reading and solid waste management:
- Samsung Mix community radio
Created this year, Samsung Mix radio is conducted weekly by students from “Samsung State School”, which participate in photography workshops, technique and structure for newspaper features and agenda meeting. The radio created by the Forest Report Project, conducted in Núcleos Agnello Uchoa Bittencourt, Assy Manana, Yamamay and Samuel Benchimol, involves over 60 students from 14 communities. The program also counts on a Lovejoy community radio, which is conducted weekly by students from Escola Estadual Thomas Eugene Lovejoy, aside from producing newspapers that circulate in the riverside communities. The newspaper features produced by young people are disclosed at FAS’ website: http://fas-amazonas.org/reporteres-da-floresta/.
- Reading Incentive Project
From March to August this year, the Environmental Protection Area (APA, acronym in Brazilian Portuguese) of Rio Negro and the Sustainable Development Reservation (RDS) of Juma received the Reading Incentive Project, with the objective of taking art and education to students of these localities. In the implementation period, the project mobilized 120 students, 12 professors and 20 communities of 2 reservations, aside from having distributed over 130 books.
- Solid Waste Management
In the first semester of 2016, a Solid Waste management project was conducted at RDS Puranga Conquista. Around 1.7 kg of solid wastes were removed from the environment of eight reservation communities. The material was rightly destined to Cooperativa Arpa, in Manaus. A new withdrawal and weighing is planned for October.
Other Initiatives of Samsung in the Amazon Rainforest
In 2014, Samsung launched four specialization courses through the Graduate Non-Degree Program of the Escola Superior de Tecnologia (EST) for engineers who operate at the Manaus Industrial Center: Specialization in Mechanical Manufacturing Processes and Technologies; Specialization in Mobile and Convergent Systems in Mobile Telephony; Specialization in Industrial Mechatronics, and Specialization in New Product Development. The company also invested in the installation of five laboratories for these specializations’ practical classes.
In that same year, Samsung began the activities of the Ocean Center of Manaus – a free training center for developers of applications for smartphones, tablets, PCs and Smart TVs, among other products. The structure is located at the facilities of the Universidade Estadual do Amazonas (UEA).
About Fundação Amazonas Sustentável
The Fundação Amazonas Sustentável (FAS) is a non-governmental, non-profit Brazilian organization of state public utility. It was created on December 20th, 2007, through a partnership between the State Government of Amazonas and Banco Bradesco. FAS’ mission is to promote sustainable involvement, environmental conservation and improvement of quality of life of the State of Amazonas’ riverside communities. The main initiatives are implemented through the Forest Bag Program (PBF, acronym in Brazilian Portuguese), Education and Health Program (PES), and Innovative Solutions Program (PSI).
