The Mercedes-Benz Social Responsibility Committee announced on the 13th that it successfully held the ‘Play the Safety’ Children’s Traffic Safety Campaign at the Four Seasons Garden in Seoul Children’s Grand Park, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Seoul Facilities Corporation Children’s Grand Park.
This campaign, part of Mercedes-Benz’s child traffic safety social responsibility program ‘Mobile Kids’, took place on the 11th and was attended by over 560 participants, including Matthias Weißel, Chair of the Mercedes-Benz Social Responsibility Committee, Ji Man-seok, Director of Safety Improvement at the Ministry of Interior and Safety, Son Seong-il, Director of the Seoul Children’s Grand Park, Kim Byung-gi, Head of the Children’s Futures Foundation, as well as kindergarteners, elementary school students, parents, and ordinary citizens.
Designed to naturally educate children on the importance of traffic safety and contribute to the prevention of traffic accidents in school zones, the campaign featured programs such as a ‘drawing contest’ and ‘children’s traffic safety education experience.’
Through pre-registration, around 280 kindergarten and elementary school students nationwide participated in the drawing contest, expressing themes like ‘Traffic Safety Rules We Must Follow Every Day’ and ‘My Action of Practice’ through their artwork. After being judged by the Korean Art Association, 10 winners received the Mercedes-Benz Social Responsibility Committee award, and 30 received the Children’s Futures Foundation award.
Children who participated in the traffic safety education experience alongside the contest engaged in programs that included traffic safety quizzes, promise trees, blind spot experiences, and safety signage in their neighborhoods, directly enhancing their awareness of traffic safety.
Matthias Weißel stated, “Mobile Kids has been an ongoing initiative since the founding of the Mercedes-Benz Social Responsibility Committee, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, and is one of Mercedes-Benz’s flagship CSR activities being conducted in 13 countries worldwide including Germany. I hope that while children create their art reflecting on traffic safety rules, they internalize the actionable rules and contribute to reducing traffic accidents through safe commuting and walking.”
Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz Social Responsibility Committee has continued to collaborate with the Green Mothers Central Association since a memorandum of understanding was established in 2022 to conduct campaigns on child traffic safety and accident prevention. Since last year, they have also signed agreements with 12 other organizations and groups, including the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Education, and various civic groups, leading the way in improving children’s awareness of traffic safety.
The ‘Mercedes-Benz Mobile Kids’ program, which began in Germany in 2001, has involved over 2 million children in 13 countries worldwide, and since being introduced in Korea in 2014, more than 45,000 children have participated in the program.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr