May 30, 2005

Ceremony Held for Kyoto Humanity Awards Presentations

On May 30, the Kyoto Omron Community Foundation, chaired by Omron Executive Adviser Nobuo Tateisi, hosted the 2005 Kyoto Humanity Awards presentation ceremony at the Omron Kyoto Center Building. The foundation is dedicated to making the current century more people-friendly and environmentally sound. Reflecting these wishes, the Kyoto Omron Community Foundation focused this year on the themes of global environment conservation and welfare for people with disabilities. It selected three people and three organizations to receive the Humanity Awards and the Human Kazaguruma Awards (“Kazaguruma” is the Japanese word for “windmill”).

At the award ceremony, Tadao Tateisi, executive director of the Kyoto Omron Community Foundation, explained the award selection process of the recipients, and the activities for which they were recognized. This was followed by the presentation of a certificate of commendation and a bronze statue to each recipient by Nobuo Tateisi. At a reception held after the award ceremony, Omron President and CEO Hisao Sakuta addressed the attendees, and this was followed by a speech from Satoyo Ono, one of the award recipients. Ms. Ono is the chairperson of Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCD), an organization dedicated to providing prompt assistance for victims of natural disasters and disputes in Jordan, Afghanistan, Iran and Vietnam, and helping them to lead self-dependent lives. In her speech, she said, “The start of our activities dates back 25 years when I gave a donation on the Shijo Bridge in Kyoto in response to a request from a Cambodian student who was studying in Japan. Since then, our endeavors have concentrated on helping the poorest of the poor, and promoting and maintaining support both physically and mentally. Receiving this prestigious award is a great honor for us and we are very grateful. Energized by this achievement, we are determined to work even harder to obtain our objectives.”