Samsung: Empowering future generations
In an exclusive talk with Laura Lenzi, head of Samsung's Corporate Citizenship area, we review the programs promoted by the company to enhance the creative talent of young people and contribute to social improvement.
By Claudia Carrivale
prensa@editoracycargentina.com.ar
Laura Lenzi, head of Samsung's Corporate Citizenship area
Samsung's corporate citizenship programs focus on education for youth. How do you approach that commitment?
The global approach that we have at Samsung is to Empower future generations through education. We believe that they, by fulfilling their own life project, can generate the positive social change that the world needs. We bring innovation, which is our know-how, to public school students, bringing design thinking and project-based work methodology closer and enhancing the teaching role, so important in society. We believe that it is through education that the communities in which we work can be strengthened.
From the Corporate Citizenship area, which I am fortunate to lead at Samsung Argentina, we promote values such as people's development and co-prosperity. “We want young people to be heard, to raise their voices and say: ‘This is what I bring, this is what I can contribute to generate change.’”
At the closing event of Solve for Tomorrow, a lot of creative freedom was observed in the students, with projects linked to their own realities. How is this program developed?
Solve for Tomorrow has been in Argentina for 11 years and is an invitation for students to explore their own perception of reality and, through workshops, detect the problems they face in their daily lives, or that affect their community. We believe that STEM tools (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) applied as concrete projects generate change. For this reason, we work with Design Thinking workshops within schools, training both teachers and students and we invite them to be protagonists of this positive social change.
When kids upload their ideas to our platform, we help them transform those ideas into prototypes, so they can then design real solutions. It is very important that young people perceive the value of learning in the classroom and apply it in concrete projects. This speaks of the diversity of the proposals and encourages empathy, being able to put oneself in another's shoes or think from one's own place. Many times issues arise that affect them personally, such as bullying. We simply invite them to reflect, to detect the problems that concern them, and then to dream big, not to put a limit on that super power that they have to change reality.
What were the most significant milestones of the program in these 11 years?
The program continues to innovate. Some people are surprised that it has been maintained for so long, and the truth is that it is an exceptional value for Samsung, because it is generating that groove in which it can improve. Dictating in-person workshops, approaching schools, strengthening teachers is all learning that occurred throughout the execution.
That young people relate to teachers from another place is a great value of the program, because it is something that is happening today, it is no longer the vertical role of the teacher who downloads content, but rather there is an exchange that is nourished and makes project work take on real meaning.
Many times, the students themselves must guide teachers with some issues regarding the use of technologies.
Exactly. And there we are, from Samsung, strengthening the team in each match. We also worked a lot on the pitch, because it is not easy to stand in front of a jury of experts in the final event, and the kids arrive at that stage with a lot of confidence to be able to transmit their ideas and answer the questions, very sure of what they have to give. Something we discovered over the years is the importance of young people being able to occupy these spaces and that Samsung is an amplifier to transmit this power of young people.
It's interesting to see how the kids' concerns vary over the years. For example, last year most projects focused on the environment. This year, education and the environment were more balanced.
Participants of the Solve For Tomorrow event in its eleventh edition
They also develop other programs for students more oriented toward employment and technology. What do they consist of?
Yes, with Samsung Innovation Campus we have already had four editions. The program is based in Escobar, Río Grande and CABA. We train women in the 18 to 24 year old segment in the use of technology tools and topics. And we create an employability network so that, once they complete the training and obtain their certification, they have the possibility of accessing their first formal job in the technology sector. With this program we seek to narrow the gender gap in access to technology, and we work on the development of soft skills such as confidence to lose the fear of job interviews and the recognition of one's own abilities.
We also have the Samsung Tech School for Students program, in which we train students from the last years of technical schools in cell phone repair and white goods. We aim to enable them to do an internship experience, helping them enter the world of work.
On the other hand, through corporate volunteering we make it possible for employees to participate in educational programs, sharing with other people and connecting with new realities. We believe that this is also another way to educate ourselves from the company and to fulfill our goal of being “responsible corporate citizens.”
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