Dentsu Aegis Network’s One Day for Change returns to help underprivileged children

Dentsu Aegis Network held its annual volunteer initiative, One Day for Change, for the fifth consecutive year, on Friday 11 May. A continuation of last year’s theme, “Champions for Children”, staff from across 13 different markets in Asia Pacific dedicated this day towards building a better environment and bridging the digital divide for young and underprivileged children.

Last year, 6,646 staff across the region participated in One Day for Change giving over 33,000 hours of their time to local communities under the theme ‘Champions for Children’.

This year, Dentsu Aegis Network staff continued their support for organisations that have a focus on helping underprivileged children by building better environments for them to live, play, and learn in. Dentsu Aegis Network staff also turned their focus towards using their skills as well as giving their time for the children, helping them to broaden their horizons in the face of a fast digitalising world.

Nick Waters, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific said: “As we seek to become a 100% digital economy business, we want to bridge the digital divide in the communities around us. Our focus this year is on supporting young people to make the most of the opportunities the digital economy provides, through continuous and sustainable CSR activities. With this, we hope to better equip children from all parts of the community to thrive in today’s digital society.”

Staff at Dentsu Aegis Network around the region – which includes Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, took part by leaving their offices to volunteer. Singapore hosted 60 children at the Asia Pacific headquarters teaching them about Google, cybersecurity and augmented reality in a fun and educational manner; Hong Kong continued their partnership with Po Leung Kuk to provide children the opportunity to explore their creativity and self-expression by using light painting and AR technologies while Malaysia continued their cybersecurity school roadshow for the second year.

Rob Hughes, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network North Asia and Asia Pacific Executive Sponsor for CSR said: “We cannot deny that while the digital economy promises huge benefits to society, there is also significant concerns that these benefits will be enjoyed by a few and not many. At Dentsu Aegis Network, we have an extraordinary range of talent and capabilities and if we can direct just a fraction of that capability to impart salient digital skills to the disadvantaged, then we will make a positive impact for our young children and communities to reap the benefits of the digital economy in the areas of equality, new skills, health and well-being.”

Dentsu Aegis Network is also contributing its strategic and creative services to drive creativity for positive impact outside of the network. The network’s media agency, Vizeum, recently co-launched M2030 – Defeating Malaria Together, a new Asia Pacific platform that will mobilise business leadership and funding to eliminate malaria in Asia by 2030, in partnership with the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA).