Perceiving that a brighter future starts with education, CJ Group as a multi-industry conglomerate has implemented education programs in Vietnam to close the learning gap for local vulnerable students and ensure that more children will have better learning opportunities, as part of the group’s activities to demonstrate corporate responsibility to the society.

From a generous sponsor in education… The South Korean conglomerate in coordination with UNESCO launched a campaign to promote girls’ education in Vietnam in April 2019, aiming to ensure basic rights to education for Vietnamese schoolgirls. It was announced that from 2019, over US$500,000 from funds raised by the “CJ-UNESCO Girl’s Education campaign” will be directed to the education support program for Vietnamese ethnic minority girls over the next three years. Aside from the partnership with UNESCO, CJ Group plans to continue improving the condition of education for local schoolgirls in Ha Giang, Ninh Thuan, and Soc Trang provinces, where ethnic diversity remains high and living standards still have much room for improvement. The support program includes the development of education programs and provision of learning materials for schoolgirls, improvement of facilities that greatly impact the quality of school life for young girls such as bathrooms and waterworks, and awareness programs on the importance of basic social education directed toward parents. A CJ representative said: “These provinces are of the lowest income level in Vietnam where schools are even not equipped with functioning bathrooms, which in turn prevents older elementary schoolgirls from going to school altogether,” adding “It is imperative that support be made available in preserving the girls’ basic rights to education.” Besides, the group has offered support to poor students in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong for seven years. Last year, CJ Group held a scholarship award ceremony for students with poor family backgrounds but outstanding academic performance in Lam Dong, granting 100 scholarships to students from elementary to university levels. From 2013 till now, it has granted over 700 scholarships to disadvantaged students in Lam Dong. This year, the total amount of scholarships is estimated at VND400 million, which will be given directly to the students to help with their tuition and living expenses. …to positive contributor to Vietnam’s Covid-19 fight Although Vietnam has put the Covid-19 pandemic under control, the risk of community infection remains high. Health care workers at the frontline still work ceaselessly to combat the novel coronavirus. With the double mission of fighting against the coronavirus and recovering the economy in the “new normal” term, CJ Group and its member companies have implemented a program to express gratitude to the doctors and people of Vietnam by giving 4,200 vouchers to the heroes in the fight against the disease. Among these 4,200 vouchers, Chang Bok Sang, chairman and CEO of CJ Vietnam, in June this year presented 3,600 vouchers worth VND1.8 billion to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee. With each gift, the doctors and families can use as vouchers at the CGV cinemas and enjoy cakes, coffee and other products at TOUS les JOURS stores nationwide. The remaining gifts worth VND200 million were awarded to those participating in the “We thank you, Vietnam people!” program on the official fanpage of CJ Vietnam. Chang Bok Sang said: “After more than 20 years of development in Vietnam, (we have seen that) the Vietnamese Government has created many business conditions and gained the confidence of Vietnamese consumers. CJ Group always believes that we are no longer a foreign business but has become a domestic business, for domestic consumers, so it is our natural duty to support and accompany the Government and the entire Vietnamese people to fight the pandemic.” Earlier, CJ Vietnam launched a voluntary donation movement with all employees of the Group and its member companies taking part in. As a result, over 2,000 sets of TOUS les JOURS cakes and hundreds of necessities including instant noodles, sausages, red ginseng water, kimchi worth almost VND320 million were sent to people at the front line and places that are fighting against the virus, such as the National Hospital for Tropical Disease in Hanoi, Cu Chi Field Hospital, and government-designated quarantine centers in HCMC and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of southern Binh Duong province. The group has also engaged in many other local social contribution activities, including the Vietnam Rural Development CSV Project aimed at improving the incomes of farmers and strengthening their economic abilities. Since 2014, CJ Group has supplied Korean pepper seeds to local farmers in south-central Ninh Thuan Province, shared cultivation techniques with them, and implemented a contracted cultivation program to help them earn stable income. Further, it carried out a project to improve their living environment, including renovation of community centers, kindergartens and elementary schools, and supply of tap water.