News Releases
PyeongChang, December 12 – The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games (POCOG) and Bridgestone Tire Sales Korea Ltd. (Bridgestone) today announced an exciting partnership in support of the PyeongChang 2018 Education Program, the official education program of the upcoming Olympic Winter Games. This new partnership reinforces the joint commitment to ensure that the Olympic Winter Games leave a lasting, positive impact in the Republic of Korea.
The education program’s curriculum, which first launched in 2016, teaches the values of the Olympic Movement through activities that are designed to excite, inform and engage students across the Republic of Korea in the countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The POCOG Education Team has so far reached more than two million students (direct engagement: 1.6 million, online engagement: 400,000) and aims to engage as many students as possible by the end of Games time.
With Bridgestone’s support, the program is now expanding its reach to a new group of students – the children of Shin Mang Won Orphanage in Gyeonggi Province, Yangpyeong-gun.
On Sunday, Dec. 3, Bridgestone and POCOG co-hosted “PyeongChang Day” at the orphanage, in which children experienced Olympic sports and learned about the Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect. The event featured sports demonstrations, Olympic trivia challenges, and a special visit from Olympic gold medalwinning speed skater KO Gi-hyun.
Bridgestone also is planning two additional opportunities for the orphanage that will keep the children engaged with the Olympic Movement in the coming months. In January, the company will host a group from Shin Mang Won when the Olympic Torch Relay passes through Seoul, giving the children a chance to witness the iconic event and participate in the local community celebration. In February, Bridgestone will provide Shin Mang Won children a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience PyeongChang 2018 first-hand when it hosts them in a VIP spectator program at the Olympic Winter Games.
LEE Hee-beom President of the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee said, “Education is a core element of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and we are delighted to be working with Bridgestone to take our program out to the community and to the Shin Mang Won Orphanage.
“The Education program has received very positive feedback from students and teachers and we want to ensure that the Games has a lasting legacy for the next generation in Korea - teaching them the importance of the Olympic values and also allowing them to discover more about Winter Sports.”
Kensuke Yoshida, Managing Director of Bridgestone Tire Sales Korea Ltd said, “Supporting people, especially children, in the communities where we operate is core to ‘Our Way to Serve,’ which is Bridgestone’s global corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment. Bridgestone has operated in South Korea since 2001, long before we signed on as a Worldwide Olympic Partner in June 2014. We are incredibly proud that our support can bring the PyeongChang 2018 Education Program to Shin Mang Won Orphanage to help spread the Olympic spirit and inspire these incredible children to always chase their dreams.”
Earlier in 2017, Bridgestone pledged to serve as a PyeongChang 2018 Sustainability Supporter and help promote POCOG’s “New Horizons for Sustainability” vision to benefit people and nature through the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. These partnerships with POCOG are aligned with the company’s “Our Way to Serve” commitment, which includes a focus on supporting people, the environment and mobility.
For more information on the partnership and the PyeongChang 2018 Education Program, visit: http://edu.pyeongchang2018.com/front/main.php
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Contact:
POCOG Press Office: pressoffice@pyeongchang2018.com
Bridgestone Media Contact: Keith Cawley, cawleykeith@bfusa.com
About POCOG
The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) will host the XXIII edition of the Olympic Winter Games on 9-25 February 2018. Approximately 90 countries and 3,000 athletes are expected to take part in the first Olympic Winter Games to be held in Asia in 20 years. Seven sports comprising 15 disciplines will be on the official program.
The PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games will take place on 9-18 March 2018, with approximately 50 countries and 670 athletes competing. Six sports are on the Paralympic program.
About Bridgestone
Bridgestone is the world’s largest tire and rubber company and The Official Tire of the Olympic Games. The company has topped the Global Tire Company Rankings of Tire Business for nine consecutive years after the company recorded $28.1 billion in tire sales in 2008. More than 140,000 employees are working at Bridgestone headquarters and branches worldwide, and its products are sold in over 150 nations and territories around the world. To learn more, please visit http://www.Bridgestone.com.
About Bridgestone’s Worldwide Olympic Partnership
Bridgestone signed an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that makes the world's largest tire and rubber company an official Worldwide Olympic Partner through the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Bridgestone’s marketing rights include the full range of tires manufactured by the company, as well as other products such as non-motorized bicycles and seismic isolation bearings, which are used to protect structures from earthquake damage. The partnership gives Bridgestone a strategic global platform which will allow it to reach its customers with new activation and communication methods, build awareness of its brands and technologies, and continue strengthening global operations through the support of its proud teammates around the world. To learn more, visit Bridgestone.com/Olympics.
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