Siegwerk empowers Cibubur, Jakarta’s children and young adults with digital tools and the SOS YouthCan! program

Siegwerk, one of the leading global providers of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, is globally committed to strongly support children and young adults in need. As a family-run company with an extensive history, Siegwerk has long been aware of its responsibility to future generations. The company has always supported those unable to help themselves – children and young adults – and still makes every effort today to further improve the prospect of life for young people around the world. Alongside social projects, the company has conducted joint global aid projects with SOS Children's Villages worldwide since 2010, significantly driving the change in thousands of children’s lifes. This year, Siegwerk partners with SOS Children’s Village Indonesia to further support children and young adults in different programs across the country.

Empowering digitalization in Jakarta

“In today’s education system children need access to digital resources and working methods because their digital experience will strongly influence their future prospects for employability,” explains Herbert Forker, CEO at Siegwerk at the ceremonial opening of the digital library on November 1, 2018. “That’s why we have decided to support the SOS Children's Village Cibubur in Jakarta to improve its digital standard by upgrading the existing library to a digital facility.” Siegwerk has sponsored tens of thousands of Euros that have been invested in new computers, a powerful server, advanced interactive presentation equipment and video conferencing facilities. Besides, all 15 family houses have been equipped with computers, internet access and a network to the library. This will enable the youths to work and study from home without relying on public computer centers or libraries anymore. The newly-opened digital library will also serve as a computer learning center for those at SOS Jakarta who require further training. A dedicated on-site project manager from SOS will manage and maintain the new equipment and facilities keeping the digital education as up-to-date as possible.

Combating youth unemployment in Indonesia

In addition to opening a digital library in Jakarta, Siegwerk also supports the SOS YouthCan! program to concretely fight against youth unemployment in Indonesia. “More than 64 million young people worldwide are unemployed and many more do not earn enough to build a stable, independent life,” explains Gregor Hadi Nitihardjo, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia. The YouthCan! initiative empowers young people helping them to get prepared for the transition to independence and the job market. “We are happy to have Siegwerk as partner on our side to further combat the difficult conditions for young people in Indonesia,” adds Hadi Nitihardjo. As partner of this SOS initiative local Siegwerk employees act as mentors helping youths to build work skills and providing career guidance or direct work experience. The average age of young adults leaving SOS care in Indonesia is between 20 and 24, that’s when they start to develop their lives and careers. “It’s our goal to foster young people to master their lives in a self-reliant and -determined way and build a stable future,” says Forker about Siegwerk’s YouthCan! partnership. “We want to enable youths to gain hands-on experiences and give insights in a real working environment.” As part of its activities Siegwerk organizes for example career trainings, English TOEFL classes, an internship program or workshops on entrepreneurship at the SOS Children’s Village Cibubur in Jakarta. The coachings are either conducted by local Siegwerk employees or by hired external trainers, if a special certification is needed.

Siegwerk and SOS – a tradition of commitment

Siegwerk’s generations-long tradition of providing assistance to children is strongly anchored in its global corporate social responsibility policy. “Responsibility is an integral part of our corporate culture," underlines Forker. "Social commitment to children has been a matter of course for us for many years and for which our employees repeatedly enjoy to volunteer and get involved personally. SOS Children’s Villages worldwide is the ideal partner for us to identify and jointly implement projects close to our sites and make a positive impact in the communities where we operate."

About SOS Children’s Villages in Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia is a geographically dispersed country spread out nearly 5,000 km across the equator. Made up of more than 17,000 islands, the country is with 265 million inhabitants (statista 2018) the fourth most populous nation in the world. Even though Indonesia has reduced poverty in recent years, more than 11 percent of the population lives under the locally-defined poverty level. Poverty is more prevalent in rural areas where only 36 percent of the population has access to proper sanitation facilities. SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia oversees various activities and initiatives for 658 children (0-16 years) in different SOS Children’s Villages, 420 youth (17-24 years) in youth facilities and a further 2,235 in family strengthening programs. In Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, SOS offers a loving home for children whose families can not longer take care of them. Today, 65 children (2-16 years) and 54 youths (17-24 years) live in 1 youth house. When they are grown up to young adults being ready to move out of the SOS families, they join the SOS Youth Programme starting vocational training or higher education. With the support of qualified professionals, the young people develop perspectives for their future, learn to shoulder responsibility and increasingly make their own decisions. Given the difficult economic climate in the city, many activities focus on developing the young people's entrepreneurial skills.

More information about SOS Children’s Villages International can be found at https://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/