International Youth Day 2022: How Samsung Offices Around the World Are Shining a Spotlight on Our Next Generation

International Youth Day (IYD), held yearly on August 12, is an awareness day designated by the United Nations (UN) to both raise awareness of the issues facing today’s youth and to celebrate their achievements and potential.

With its global corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, Samsung Electronics empowers, engages and stimulates the imaginations of the young people striving to become the problem solvers of tomorrow. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow provides education opportunities and solutions implementation based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), meanwhile, helps design and nurture innovation capabilities in young people by training them in core information & communications technology (ICT) skills.

The programs have expanded to 33 countries around the world and have included 2.1 million talented participants so far. Today, the Samsung Newsroom is taking a closer look at these different global initiatives to see how Samsung Electronics is fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities across the world and to celebrate the young people participating in International Youth Day.

▲ Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People is Samsung Electronics’ vision for empowering tomorrow’s thinkers and leaders.

India: Samsung Smart Schools Closing the Gap in Marginalized Communities

Since January this year, Samsung India has been supporting 10 schools with Samsung Smart School, which provides state-of-the-art educational environments utilizing digital devices and technologies. Aarohi Kumari, a student from one of these 10 schools — Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya — dreams of becoming a doctor. Aarohi’s father makes living as a driver in Varanasi.

“My background gives me no advantages over the other students, but my father always gives me hope,” Aarohi said. “Samsung Smart School let me experience digital education and helped my studying of my favorite subject become more enjoyable. I hope to qualify as a doctor in the future and make my father proud.”

“I was delighted to see scenes of young people unleashing their full potential through this cutting-edge educational environment,” said Shilaja Pathania, who is in charge of Samsung India’s CSR activities. “We intend to create more educational opportunities for young people who have been marginalized in education and care, so that they can acquire knowledge and cultivate the skills they need to become the next generation of leaders.”

Malaysia: Innovating Plastic Alternatives for a Healthier Ocean

In Malaysia, three students learned how ocean pollution from plastic waste threatens the lives of coastal and marine species. They conducted a study to develop plastic alternatives using one of the most easily accessible materials in a country with a long coastline: seaweed. After joining Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, the students learned that STEM is a critical tool in approaching problems and realizing their solutions to them. Building on what they learned throughout the program, they are continuing their study on reducing marine pollution with the hope of contributing to a sustainable future.

Germany: Cutting-Edge Technology Paving the Way for Tomorrow’s Start-ups

Nada Seada, who participated in Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in Germany, designed a new gadget called Ingrid which gives older people more opportunities to connect with others and each other. Exacerbated by the pandemic Loneliness and social isolation are serious problems for our aging society. Ingrid was devised by upcycling an old VR device.

“Samsung Solve for Tomorrow helped me to grow my ideas from seed to fruit and provided me with opportunities to get valuable feedback from mentors and friends,” said Nada.

Katharina Porenta Elisabeth Scholz developed something called an EP-Checkup, which facilitates communication between healthcare professionals and the families of patients. Katharina’s invention was motivated by an experience she had when her grandfather was hospitalized with heart disease. She recalled the anxious hours she spent waiting for updates on his condition. Drawing on this nervousness — and hoping other people might be able to avoid it in the future — was what inspired her efforts.

“I participated in bootcamps, coaching sessions and seminars, and was lucky enough to learn cutting-edge technologies from expert mentors. Now I want to make my own start-up,” she said.

Peru: Innovating for the Benefit of Communities in Different Regions

In Peru, the top Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2021 prize went to a team that developed an insulated thermal box that could heat water using solar energy. The thermal box heats water then keeps it warm, which is useful in the cool regions where the yearly average temperature ranges from 5 to 15°C. The young innovators’ hope was that the box might be produced by combining traditional Peruvian organic methods with modern scientific approaches and that their invention might serve regions all over Peru.

Brazil: New Methodologies for the Purification of Water

The Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology, located in the northeastern area of Brazil, is an excellent model of how STEM-based approaches can prove invaluable in public education. A team from this institution committed itself to developing a water purifying system using solar radiation and, thanks to both the social utility and the sheer originality of the idea, the team won second prize at the 8^th Brazil Samsung Solve for Tomorrow.

“STEM is a very effective way to explore technologies that students are not given as much exposure to in the conventional education system,” said Mr. Raymond Lima Júnior, the team’s coach and chemistry teacher. “The program has the capacity to bring positive changes to public institutional education by showing the communities it is involved with the important values it holds.”

Canada: Environmental Innovation Unlocked Through Unexpected Materials

Students from Mount Allison University won the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow challenge hosted by Samsung Canada. The team tried to address the orange peel waste problem in their university’s local area. Over the course of Project Enviroot, as they called it, the students developed an environmentally-conscious, non-toxic alternative adhesive product made using orange peels dried in Samsung ovens. The adhesive alternative is now widely used in soft boards across the campus.

“It was such a meaningful opportunity to interact with other student environmentalists and community activists,” the young environmental enthusiasts said.

Indonesia: Harnessing Technology To Help the Visually Impaired

The SIC held in Indonesia was not exclusive to students majoring in STEM.

“I am not a programming major, so SIC was a great challenge for me,” said a student who learned how to develop independent IT solutions at SIC.

This student developed something they called Eyeroom solutions. This technology — implemented through theories picked up during the bootcamp – enables the elderly and the visually impaired to distinguish between their prescription drugs.

“I learned so many things from my mentors and friends at SIC. I studied things that I had never encountered before and now my dream is to someday develop solutions to achieve a better future.”

Armenia: Climbing the Programming Ladder

SIC Armenia delivered lectures to students from all around Armenia at United World College (UWC) Dilijan, one of 18 such colleges worldwide. The SIC program included lessons in ICT skills and capacity building classes for students searching for jobs.

“After taking classes at SIC, I am determined to begin my career in the programming sector,” said Narek, an undergraduate student who participated in the program. “I hope I will be able to contribute to the future of our country by designing drone software or artificial intelligence negotiation systems for the arms industry. SIC is an excellent opportunity for both improving your technical ability and sampling a variety of new classes and practices.”

Korea: Samsung Smart Schools Helping Dreams Come True

A school of only 50 students in Chungyang, Korea, makes up for its small size in its digital capabilities: Samsung Smart School is an active tool for the school in providing digital classrooms. Teachers and parents of Chungsong Elementary School have long been thinking of ways to maximize the potential of the children and minimize the educational gap between urban and rural districts. Together they found the answer to this important yet complex question with Samsung Smart School.

“I got interested in rockets and how they work when I happened to see them in action on my tablet PC,” said Myung-Gu Kang, a 6^th grader from Chungsong Elementary School. “Now I am interested in other areas of science too and I study these other subjects diligently,” Myung-Gu explained that he can search for information using the tablet PC any time he runs into a question, and that the bigger display size of Samsung Flip makes study more fun and enjoyable than ever.

▲ Samsung Electronics regional offices are spreading their efforts in CSR to young people around the world.

Samsung Electronics’ Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People vision is committed to providing education to young people around the world to empower the leaders of tomorrow. More stories on Samsung Electronics’ CSR efforts are available at Samsung Electronics’ CSR webpage (csr.samsung.com).