Sociocultural Support Activities
Initiatives

Major Initiatives

Miraisha Programme Aims to Increase Employment Opportunities and Technical Skills in Africa

High youth unemployment is a severe problem in Africa. Moreover, while demand is increasing for photography, video production, and printing, most of this business is done by foreign companies because local skill levels often do not reach international standards. In response to this situation, Canon Europe has been promoting its Miraisha Programme, a social investment initiative in Africa. Miraisha is a portmanteau of the Japanese word mirai, meaning future, and the Swahili word maisha, meaning life. Through the program, Canon aims to improve the technical skills of and increase employment opportunities for local young people in Africa’s growing photography, video production, and print industries. Workshops in photography, film-making, and professional printing have been conducted in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, DRC, Uganda, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and other countries. Through partnerships with local organizations, educational institutions, event organizers, and with the assistance of Canon Ambassadors, and Trainers, the Miraisha Programme has so far provided training to more than 6,500 workshop participants.

In 2023, 300 people participated, bringing the total to 7,000 participants trained. Canon has also organized a training program to develop local photographers and videographers as Canon-accredited trainers for the Miraisha Programme. By 2023, a total of 25 Canon Certified Miraisha trainers were working throughout Africa, three of whom were recruited as Canon Group employees.

Canon Young People Programme Harnesses the Power of Positive Visual Storytelling

The Canon Young People Programme (YPP) runs across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with the objective to give young people a voice to create a better and more sustainable future by introducing them to the power of creative visual storytelling and critical thinking, aligned to the United Nations SDGs. We achieve this by supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds across EMEA to develop the creative storytelling skills they need to succeed in the workplace of tomorrow. The program is run in partnership with local NGOs in each country and through this close collaboration helps us reach the local communities, run the workshops and amplify the voice of the participants. The program is diverse, creative and enabling, giving us the opportunity to work with young people with great ideas, willing to contribute, and to work hard to make the world a better place and really make a significant difference to their community.

In 2023 YPP workshops were held across EMEA in over 31 countries, supporting over 1,300 young people to have their voices heard, and their stories told. Canon YPP workshops also featured at global United Nations events including UN LDC5 in Qatar and the UN SDG Action Awards in Italy.

Comment from the Global Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign

Inspirational storytelling is key to effectively communicating SDG impact to an engaged global audience. The YPP’s collaborations with the UN SDG Action Campaign for the 2023 LDC5 Conference in Doha, Qatar, and for the 2023 SDG Action Awards in Rome, Italy, have provided invaluable guidance, support, and critical photographic equipment to empower our civil society and youth partners in expressing their commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and give voice to their community experiences. We look forward to continuing this fruitful partnership because when it comes to communicating the SDG impact of our partners around the world, a picture is truly worth a thousand words.

Inclusivity Initiatives Using Elevated Printing Technology

Canon Production Printing boasts a unique elevated printing technology involving the layering of UV-curable ink. Using this technology, the company reproduced Vermeer’s masterpiece “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” including the unevenness and luster of the oil painting. The reproduction is now available as a tactile painting at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague.

In 2024, photographer Mariko Tagashira and White Hand Chorus NIPPON Artistic Director Erika Colon created “FUGA,” the latest installment in the collaboration’s Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 series. It is a sign-language rendition of the fugue section of the symphony’s fourth movement. Elevated printing to express the trajectory of the hand movements was used to create works that allow people both with and without visual impairments to appreciate the photographs in an inclusive manner.

The Research and Education Program “Eyes on Yellowstone” Made Possible by Canon U.S.A. Helps to Communicate the Importance of Environmental Conservation

Canon U.S.A. donates products and funds to Yellowstone Forever, the official nonprofit partner of the globally renowned Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.A. to support initiatives such as surveillance activities targeting endangered wildlife species.

Eyes on Yellowstone allows Yellowstone’s scientists and managers to break new ground in conservation, endangered species protection, and the application of cutting-edge science and technology to park wildlife and ecosystem management. The data collected from these projects have educated and inspired millions of people around the world. Eyes on Yellowstone helps enrich the visitor experience—real and virtual—and encourages the public to become more involved in national parks and, more broadly, environmental protection.

In 2023, Canon U.S.A., Inc. donated the 4K Outdoor PTZ Camera, which is installed opposite Old Faithful, so you can see a live stream of world-famous geyser Old Faithful.

The 4E’s Project in India

Canon India carries out the 4E’s Project in partnership with the NGO Humana People to People India. The project provides various forms of assistance in the four fields of eye care, education, environment, and empowerment to impoverished villages near to the Canon India offices.

Especially in the field of eye-care, Canon strives to provide improved medical assistance to the people with vision impairment by utilizing its technology from the Medical Group that Canon plans to further strengthen and expand its operation as part of the priority business strategy. In India, despite the fact that 80% of cataracts, a major cause of visual impairment, are believed to be preventable or treatable, the issue is lack of access to appropriate diagnostic or therapeutic care due to insufficiently developed healthcare infrastructure. Canon India opens vision centers in selected villages to provide eye examinations using equipment made by Canon.

A total of 4,089 people visited these centers in 2023, with 764 receiving free eyeglasses, and 156 patients being referred for treatment in hospital. There were 20,081 beneficiaries in the entire 4E’s Project.

Support for Education in Asia

Canon supports the education of children across Asia who will become leaders of the next generation.

Respecting the right of every child to receive an education, we have set up 11 Canon Hope Elementary Schools in China to provide a better educational environment through improved access to education.

In Vietnam, since 2007 we have been pursuing the Canon Friendship School Chain Project, which involves constructing school buildings, providing desks and chairs, and donating school supplies to improve the learning environment for children. We opened our 51st school in 2023 in an impoverished area in the mountainous region of northeastern Vietnam.

In Thailand as well, Canon staff are engaged in ongoing volunteer activities to support children in impoverished areas in receiving a high-quality education in conducive environments. Employees visit schools to repair facilities, photograph and print student IDs, and donate books and toys collected from employees.

Elsewhere, Canon employees can make donations under a matching gift program. Since 1997, Canon Inc. has organized an annual Charity Book Fair to allow employees of the Canon Group in Japan to donate unwanted books, CDs, and DVDs for sale at an in-house bazaar. The company matches the proceeds generated by the sales, and these funds are donated to organizations supporting education and medical services in Asian countries, including Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Disaster Recovery Efforts (Tohoku Region)

Established in 2012, the year after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Tohoku Reconstruction Promotion Office of Canon Marketing Japan, based in Sendai in the Tohoku region, is working to address various issues faced by the disaster-stricken region as it continues to recover, including related communications and trust-building.

In 2023, 242 people participated in photography workshops organized at various locations in the region.

Preserving Ancient Japanese Cultural Assets for the Future Through the Tsuzuri Project

Canon and Kyoto Culture Association (NPO) have been running the Cultural Heritage Inheritance Project, commonly known as the Tsuzuri Project, since 2007.

Many of Japanese precious ancient cultural assets have limited viewing opportunities, often because they have been moved overseas or are preserved in storage as designated national treasures. The Tsuzuri Project combines Canon’s imaging technology with traditional craftsmanship from Kyoto to create high-resolution facsimiles that are as close to the original as possible. The facsimiles are utilized in a range of ways, including in public exhibitions held by the donating institution and for educational purposes.

Moreover, in 2023, we held special exhibits in various venues displaying high-resolution facsimiles of artwork created by the Tsuzuri Project, drawing around 40,000 visitors. The Fukushima City Museum of Photography exhibited the facsimiles of five national treasures and also conducted projection mapping to project the worldview of the artworks. At Canon Gallery S in Tokyo, we held a special exhibit using popular artworks to convey the diverse beauty of Japanese art. Also, at Kenninji Temple, the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, we exhibited high-resolution facsimiles of 19 masterpieces from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, offering a distinctive viewing experience within the temple space. By utilizing facsimiles, all the venues allowed visitors to leisurely appreciate the exhibits without glass cases, providing a valuable and close encounter with Japanese cultural assets.

The Tsuzuri Project

A Special Appreciation Experience of Japanese Art Made Possible by the High-Resolution Facsimiles of the Tsuzuri Project

The special exhibition celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art brought together 19 high-resolution facsimiles of the most important Japanese paintings in our collection which cannot be lent. It was unlike any other exhibition. The concept would not have worked without the high-resolution facsimiles which create extremely accurate reproductions of the original paintings. The abbot’s quarters at Kyoto’s oldest Zen temple, Kenninji, allowed us to display the works without glass and in natural light within a historic setting. This, too, was not possible using the original paintings. This opportunity created a unique experience for visitors and specialists alike, allowing them to travel back in time and admire the works in the original context for which they were made. We look forward to cooperating in future projects that create special experiences by bringing artworks from inside our collections to people around the world.

Contributing to Society Through Rugby

Canon Inc. manages the Yokohama Canon Eagles, part of Japan’s Rugby League One, with the aim of creating and sharing thrilling experiences with sports fans and local residents through the sport of rugby.

As a social contribution activity targeting elementary, junior high, and high school students nationwide, the team holds career education classes and tag rugby workshops run by current Eagles players and staff. The goal is to contribute to the healthy development of children through rugby by letting them experience the importance of team play and the joy of physical activity.

In 2023, the team held career education classes and tag rugby workshops at 25 elementary schools, with a total of 1,882 students participating. The team also hosted the “Eagles Cup 2023” mini-rugby tournament for rugby schools from the region at their training ground at Canon Sports Park in Tokyo.

Corporate sports