Singapore, 24 November 2016 – Samsung Electronics was named ‘Community Care Company of the Year’ at the 2016 Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability (ACES) Awards, held on November 17 at Singapore’s Shangri-La Hotel. The award is the highest accolade in its category and testament to Samsung’s continued commitment to global citizenship and creating positive change around the world.

“Samsung is honored to be recognized for our community care efforts once again, and it gives us tremendous pride to be awarded the highest accolade for this category,” said Irene Ng, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Samsung Electronics Southeast Asia & Oceania. “We strongly believe that success goes beyond tangible business achievements, and giving back to the communities that we operate in has always been an integral part of our brand philosophy. Over the years, we have established scalable and sustainable citizenship programs across the region, placing education at the core of how we serve each community.”

According to Dr. Jayanthi Desan, a member of the awards’ judging panel and the founder and Managing Director of Synergio, one of Malaysia’s leading sustainability strategy consultancies, the ACES Awards champion companies in Asia that have exhibited extraordinary leadership and sustainability. With the award, Samsung joins a list of winners in the ‘Top Community Care Companies in Asia’ category that have been deemed to have demonstrated exceptional citizenship to bolster the wellbeing of society at large.

Enriching Communities, One Classroom at a Time

Samsung has helped communities across Southeast Asia and Oceania establish more than 160 Smart Schools and Libraries to bridge the digital divide and provide students with a smarter approach to education. These institutions collaborate with government bodies and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to harness technologies and create immersive learning opportunities for students in the form of tailored education programs and enriching infotainment content.

In addition, Samsung has developed 20 Tech Institutes to nurture talent across these regions – providing local youths with opportunities to attain a better future while simultaneously addressing the industry’s shortage of technical talent.

Samsung also recognizes the need to tackle other issues of vital importance to these communities beyond these educational pursuits, and has accordingly rolled out initiatives such as SONO Schools, which feature customized training curricula for medical students, and Culture Connect, its flagship regional citizenship program that celebrates aspects of each community’s distinct culture and heritage.