Sony Group Corporation
A UNICEF corporate partner since 2023
Sony Group Corporation partners with UNICEF to support digital access to quality learning and mental health
Geneva / Tokyo, 14 September 2023 - Sony and UNICEF are joining forces to ensure that children and youth are not left behind in a rapidly changing digital landscape amid the long-lasting consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaboration, which began in 2020 to support UNICEF’s pandemic response, is being extended into areas where the pandemic’s impact continues to be felt – accessing education and mental health care.
“We must remain mobilized to fight the pandemic’s long-lasting consequences. The importance of digital access to quality education and strengthened mental health services for all children cannot be overstated,” said Kitty van der Heijden, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director. “UNICEF’s collaboration with partners like Sony underscores our shared dedication to empowering children with the tools they need to thrive and reach their full potential.”
Sony’s support for the Learning Passport, UNICEF’s flagship digital learning programme, is helping reshape education and learning to be inclusive for every child and creating opportunities for the next generation. The Learning Passport is bringing high-quality, relevant learning – such as mental health and psychosocial support, formal education and skilling opportunities – to children and young people around the world, including out-of-school children and those affected by emergencies.
COVID-19 has had a long-term negative impact on children’s health and well-being, underscoring the urgent need for increased mental health care tailored to young people in every community. The partnership will support UNICEF’s global efforts to strengthen and integrate mental health services in primary care facilities, schools and community health-care centres. This will include strengthening national delivery of child and adolescent mental health services and reducing barriers to access among young people and their families.
UNICEF recently started using the Learning Passport platform to disseminate UNICEF’s mental health content to train schoolteachers. This improves teachers’ skills in multicultural communication and fosters an inclusive classroom for all children. Sony’s support for the Learning Passport and mental health aligns with UNICEF’s strategic priorities to maximize results by integrating these two initiatives.
“Sony is proud to collaborate with UNICEF to provide critical support to the most vulnerable children and families. Established in April 2020, 'Sony Global Relief Fund for COVID-19' has supported those affected by the pandemic in the areas of 'medical,' 'education' and 'creative communities'. Through the partnership with UNICEF, we will further support efforts to address social issues that have become more serious or apparent since the outbreak of COVID-19,” said Shiro Kambe, Senior Executive Vice President, Sony Group Corporation.”
This partnership formalizes Sony Group Corporation's commitment with an additional $6 million for children and youth over three years to tackle the learning crisis by bringing them digital learning online and offline through the Learning Passport alongside the support to UNICEF's youth mental health programme and as a member of the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health led by UNICEF.
For further information, please contact:
Laila Ali, UNICEF Geneva, +41 76 784 65 32
About Sony Group Corporation
Sony Group Corporation is a creative entertainment company with a solid foundation of technology. Across its six business segments - Game & Network Services; Music; Pictures; Entertainment, Technology & Services; Imaging & Sensing Solutions; and Financial Services - Sony's purpose is to fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology.
For more information, visit: Sony Group Portal.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit: unicef.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product, or service.