The Moodie Davitt Report today launches a new feature, Travel Retail in the Community, in which we profile commendable industry Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives from around the world.
We kick off our series in Taipei, where travel retailer Everrich* and its Jiang Education Foundation recently completed the third annual Light Spectrum Tourism Camp charity project.
The ambitious CSR initiative has four main themes – international tourism development; local cultural experience; student needs; and community service.
The project involved a four-day, three-night summer camp for middle school students from poorer families who lack education opportunities.
The initiative was developed in association with local university students. The winning team got to implement the camp, which is fully sponsored by Everrich Duty Free, and win a NT$100,000 (US$3,255) prize. Internships with Everrich were also available.
“This opens up the horizons of the students, spreading the idea of charity, and lets all the students have a stage to shine.” – Kevin Chiang, President, Everrich Duty Free
For the first time this year, the Light Spectrum Tourism Camp was held on the island of Penghu, where Everrich recently soft opened a shopping complex and hotel. Over 40 teams entered the competition, which was won by the National Penghu University of Science and Technology.
Two camps – in Penghu and Taoyuan – resulted from the competition. The former focused on ocean education; the latter on multi-cultural experience.
For the Penghu camp, Everrich worked with local government to choose 60 local middle school students from 15 junior high schools in Penghu County. The winning university team designed four main topics for each day: marine education, local culture, environmental conservation, and professional courses.
The course not only delivered marine ecology knowledge, but also involves students in cleaning the beach. A variety of water activities were designed to strengthen the body and cultivate willpower, as well as familiarising participants with marine culture.
The Taoyuan camp was designed for Dongan junior high school students from Taoyuan Longgang suburb. Everrich considers that culture and history are important elements for tourism development, so experience of foreign cultures (including Yunnan, Myanmar and Thailand) were built into the curriculum.
Both camps involved Everrich’s duty free and hotel expertise, allowing students to learn professional lessons, including international etiquette, make-up and skincare knowledge, fashion trends, and food & beverage management.
On the last day of the camp, Everrich and the Foundation hosted a tour to Taoyuan International Airport and the Discovery Hotel and Pier3 shopping complex in Penghu. This was designed to encourage disadvantaged middle school students to participate in the tourism industry’s front line and learn the importance of turning local culture into tourism assets.
Representatives from Taoyuan City Council and Penghu County attended the Spectrum Project graduation show and expressed admiration for the project. Everrich President Kevin Chiang told guests: “Taiwan’s college students are very creative. The idea of the Light Spectrum Tourism Camp Charity Project is to combine the college students’ passion and creativity with corporate professionalism and resources. This opens up the horizons of the students, spreading the idea of charity, and lets all the students have a stage to shine.”
*COMING SOON. Look out for a major feature on Everrich Duty Free’s unique public services programme at Taoyuan International Airport, coming soon.
