Today, BMW China and BMW Brilliance held the fourth station activity of 2007 BMW Children's Traffic Safety Education Program in Beijing 21st Century Experimental Kindergarten. It is the third year that BMW holds this kind of activity with the theme of traffic safety education since 2005. The activities were held in Nanjing and Hangzhou in turn since the first session had been launched in Shenyang June 15th. Beijing is the fourth station. Vice President of Marketing of BMW Group China Mr. Jochen Goller, director of Cultural and Educational Committee under Social Development Bureau of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Mr. Yuan Changyou and principal of Beijing 21st Century Experimental Kindergarten Cui Lixin delivered speeches.
Enhancing children's self-protection awareness in games
BMW Children's Traffic Safety Education aims at helping children learn knowledge of traffic safety, raising their awareness of traffic safety, and enhancing their capability of self-protection through lively games and activities. After the successful launch of this program in Shenyang, BMW will roll out the project to selected kindergartens in 15 key cities in China In the next several months; these cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Chongqing. Over 1,500 children aged from 4 to 6 will participate in the project, learning songs and knowledge of traffic safety under the supervision of specialists and teachers.
According to on-site report, children wore specially designed caps and T-shirts and played games in Beijing 21st Century Experimental Kindergarten. They were divided into groups to participate in safety themed activities, learning traffic knowledge and songs about traffic safety under the supervision of specialists and teachers. Fully understanding children's acceptability and active nature, BMW has designed traffic education games and tailor-made a special traffic park, so as to strengthen children's impression on traffic safety rules and regulations and enhance their self-protection awareness.
Vice President of Marketing of BMW Group China Mr. Jochen Goller said, "As we all know, children are exposed to more dangers because of their limited knowledge about traffic safety. BMW Children's Traffic Safety Education is an indispensable part of BMW Corporate Social Contribution Activities in China. This program aims at fostering children's good habit of obeying traffic regulation and awareness of self-protection. It also demonstrates that BMW seeks a long-term and harmonious combination of business development and social contribution."
Director of Cultural and Educational Committee under Social Development Bureau of Beijing Economy and Technology Development Area Mr. Yuan Changyou said, "With the development of automotive and economy, China has already become the nation with the most rapid growth rate of automotives in the world. However, the intense traffic situation exposes more hidden troubles. Therefore, it is no time to delay strengthening people's traffic safety awareness. In order to protect our children from traffic injury, both parents and entire society should endeavor to foster children's traffic safety awareness and enhance their capability of self-protection by providing them with reasonable and scientific education. This will bring them a life-time benefit."
BMW the first auto manufacturer providing traffic safety training
As the number one premium car manufacturer in the world, BMW has always been striving to improve both active and passive safety and promoting traffic safety education vigorously.
As early as 1977, BMW Group has started organizing a series of road safety training programs. Nowadays, this training course includes about 40 programs and has become an international project that is available in China, European countries, the United States, Canada, South Africa, and other Asian countries.
In China, BMW introduced its first session of Children's Traffic Safety Education in 2005, and received strong support and good comments from people's government at different levels and a variety of observers.
In 2006, BMW Group invested a large amount of money to publish traffic safety textbooks, including "Practical Driving Operation Training Doohickey", "Driver's handbooks" and "Anna, Paul and Peipei". These textbooks received wide welcome from parents, children and other people.
BMW plans to cooperate with education departments of different levels and spare no effort to promote children's traffic safety education in the following years. At the same time, BMW hopes that adult can pay more attention to children's traffic safety and behave properly by themselves, so as to contribute to create a society with safety and harmony.
