With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) and science at the heart of Covestro’s culture, we have developed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs aimed at enabling children to understand the importance of DE&I via the magic of fun-filled science programs.

Covestro Taiwan has developed two CSR initiatives from this concept. The first series, designed to reduce inequality for hearing-impaired children, is the “MagicMaterial School” series, which provides a stage for hearing-impaired students to shine and is witnessed by children both with and without disabilities. The second is the “Grandparent-grandchild Science Camp,” a project that aims to bridge the distance between the generations, as well as encourage lifelong learning.  We hope to contribute to SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, and SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being (with Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp).

Let employees learn more what DE&I means via CSRs

A total of 1,302 people have been assisted by 291 volunteers over the past six years, offering great teambuilding opportunities for Covestro employees to learn more and practice what DE&I means via CSR events. From the volunteer survey: 89% satisfaction, 100% willingness to participate again.

Opening the doors to science for all 

There are many issues that schools for the hearing-impaired in Taiwan face:

1. A lack of sign language teachers with a science background means that students are unable to access experiential learning. 

2. Many hearing-impaired children lack confidence because people see their disability before they see their possibility. 

Covestro believes that scientific education is akin to a human right, no one should be left behind due to a lack of resources, and every child has the right to be seen and heard. Hence, MagicMaterial School was developed.

This project in the past included: 

1. A bi-weekly science club at the hearing-impaired school in Taichung. The day we established the science club was the very first time that the science classroom at the school had been used, due to a lack of a science sign language teacher for so long. As the school teachers are required to act as sign translators at the club, on-the-job training for science is also offered. Satisfaction from students in the club was as high as 90%.

2. Intensive science play theater training courses at Taipei’s school for the hearing-impaired. The courses were designed for hearing-impaired and mainstream school children to learn together, so that they can both gain a deeper understanding of how to embrace difference, as well as act in MagicMaterial School events. 91% of children who participated in the annual show felt that the three-month drama course helped them to understand the importance of D&I, as well as teaching them how to interact with people from different backgrounds.

3. Annual MagicMaterial School events hosted throughout Taiwan. These were designed to help hearing-impaired children shine through scientific play and conducting experiments, and provide inclusive educational opportunities for children without hearing-loss to learn from hearing-impaired students, to see their abilities, and to work with them. 81% of the participants agreed that this event helped them learn about and respect the differences and potential of all people.

New plan for this year

1. Establish Science Clubs in All Three Hearing-Impaired Schools:

• After establishing the Science Club in Taichung in 2018, two more clubs for the hearing-impaired are established in Taipei and Tainan this year.
• Partners include Professors from National Cheng Kung University and National Taichung University of Education and distinguished teachers.

2. Hearing-impaired school in Tainan is the only school that doesn’t have a science classroom. So the science club at the school is now holding its lessons in a normal classroom at the moment, but after the science laboratory that has been donated by Covestro Taiwan is completed on May 12th, these lessons will be transferred to the new classroom.

3. Covestro and the schools will work together for a Parent-Child Science Camp to turn children from the club into the teachers and let the parents learn science from them.

Science Camp in Taichung. (Source: Covestro)

4. Covestro will also encourage these children to be Science and D&I Ambassadors at ‘Covestro MagicMaterial School’, where they will lead children who are and are not hearing-impaired to conduct magic tricks with science across Taiwan.

5. We also expect to have the chance to participate in the ‘Science Train Across Taiwan’, which will be held by the Ministry of Science and Technology, to allow both children and adults to learn science from hearing-impaired children and to experience the meaning of diversity and inclusion while playing with science.”

Chemistry strengthens family bonds

Aging societies are a global trend. However, as family structures have changed, the phenomenon of remote grandparents and busy grandchildren has emerged. We believe that the closer grandparents and grandchildren are, the less prejudice and discrimination there will be from the younger generation towards the older generation. Therefore Covestro initiated the Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp, the first enterprise in Taiwan to do so. Grandparents have to be above 60 years old and grandchildren have to be of elementary school age. With the ratio of teachers to students at the camp set at 1:4, we try to create a friendly learning environment for them.

(Source: Covestro)

At the camp, we positioned the grandparents as scientists in the kitchen. Then, both the seniors and the children explored the magic of science around cooking, and learnt about some of the possible physical and chemical reactions that may be involved in preparing a meal.

The 90 years old grandparent's first science experiment in his life. (Source: Covestro)

 

The analysis of the participants reveals the following characteristics:

• The oldest grandparent was 90 years old.
• More than 80% of the grandparents indicated that they had no experience of science experiments before.
• 28% of the grandparents had no or low reading ability.
• 21% of the grandparents were only able to communicate in the Taiwanese dialect, instead of in Mandarin.

We also found that the grandchildren had some similar characteristics: 

1. Aged between 0-6 years old, they liked to play with their grandparents.

2. Above elementary school age, they tended to learn with parents more than with grandparents.

However, the most striking observation we made was that when the grandchildren saw their grandparents complete an experiment with them, or even answer questions more correctly than they could, their eyes glowed with surprise and pride. 

This encouraging sign was confirmed by the after-event survey, in which:

• All participants felt they had become closer.
• Many appreciate Covestro for creating a quality moment that belongs just to them.
• Overall satisfaction with the camp was 97.7%.

Finally, as proof that our volunteers’ and participants’ hard work paid off, the "Grandparent-Grandchild Science Camp” received the 2021 PR NEWS Global CSR & Diversity honorable mention Award, a great honor for all involved.

Let Chemistry Lights Up Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

It isn’t easy to transform children into future scientists through one event alone.

But if children are given the chance to take part and witness the capability that grandparents or hearing-impaired people possess, there’s a real possibility of changing attitudes in DE&I and influencing their entire lives.

By planting the seeds of hope, we witness children’s passion as well as a change in their perspectives. We sincerely believe that diversity, inclusion, harmony and sustainable development are what constitute a promising future for both society and our children. Chemical reactions not only happen in science but also in people’s hearts. Let’s make chemistry light up DE&I together! 

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About the author：

Renee Chen is Head of Communications of Covestro Taiwan with expertise in branding, executive positioning, government affairs, media relations, internal and change communications, CSR, sustainability and alliance.

Uploaded by Penny Chiang