IMCD and TEGV Sign Another Major Project

From pharmaceuticals to cosmetics, construction to paints and plastics, textiles to food, Dutch global leader IMCD delivers speciality chemicals and food ingredients to nearly 56,000 customers across 50 countries, including Turkey. Now IMCD has launched another education project with Turkey Education Volunteers Foundation (TEGV). As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, IMCD develops projects with public and private institutions in the countries where it operates to eliminate educational inequalities. The Science Firefly Mobile Lab, launched by IMCD in Turkey with Turkey Education Volunteers Foundation (TEGV) to ensure children benefit equally from education, is one such initiative. Under the project implemented with the motto "Creating a World of Opportunity," IMCD has sponsored TEGV's Science Firefly Mobile Lab and will visit schools without laboratories in different provinces across Turkey, aiming to "inspire children about science" and "show that science exists in daily life" for students in grades 2 through 8. By converting the Science Firefly Mobile Lab into a mini laboratory, IMCD offers children the opportunity to conduct hands-on experiments on numerous topics they read about in textbooks. The Science Firefly Mobile Lab, which will tour Anatolian provinces with the aim of "ensuring equal opportunities in education," will provide all children in grades 2 through 8 at the schools it visits with interactive experiment opportunities. The Science Firefly education program aims to help elementary school-age children acquire fundamental knowledge and skills in science, develop into individuals who think, solve problems and develop positive attitudes toward science. The long-term goal of the project is to encourage more children, when choosing their professions, to aspire to become "scientists" in addition to teachers, nurses, police officers and similar professions.

Planting seeds of science in the dreams of future generations

The Science Firefly Mobile Lab's first stop was Selim Eren Primary School in Kirazlı Village, Kuşadası. Students in grades 2-8 at Kirazlı Village Selim Eren Primary School, which lacks a laboratory and therefore had no opportunity to conduct experiments with children, were able to both conduct experiments with rich and engaging materials thanks to the Science Firefly Mobile Lab and learned through experience how much science is present in daily life. The experiments included in the program, prepared under the slogan "Science Everywhere," were designed using materials that children can easily find in their surroundings. The Science Firefly Mobile Lab, whose curriculum was developed by expert trainers in their field, also featured IMCD employees voluntarily providing training to children. IMCD employees and children conducted practical activities such as extracting colours from vegetables and fruits, converting dry ice to carbon dioxide, and inflating balloons with carbonated gas. IMCD Turkey General Manager Aylin Zakuto, noting that the Science Firefly Mobile Lab's annual route will be shaped according to applications submitted by interested schools to TEGV, stated that they wish to visit as many schools as possible.

Aylin Zakuto continued as follows:

"At IMCD, in every country where we operate, we attach importance to contributing to social as well as economic development. Since IMCD is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, we implement all business processes and social responsibility projects with consideration for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. [caption id="attachment_142460" align="aligncenter"] Aylin Zakuto - General Manager IMCD Turkey[/caption] The education project we launched in Turkey, the "Science Firefly Mobile Lab," also serves the Global Goals' core objectives of "Quality Education" and "Gender Equality." In our view, every child should be able to continue their education under equal conditions. Based on this philosophy, we supported TEGV's "New World" project last year and distributed tablets to 351 children enabling them to participate in distance learning. Now the pandemic has slowed and face-to-face education has returned. We decided to support another project by TEGV that will ensure equal opportunity in education. We have sponsored TEGV's Science Firefly Mobile Lab that tours Turkey. When TEGV identifies schools, it prioritizes village schools and disadvantaged children. We want our project to be long-term. Our aim is to inspire children more about science. Because IMCD is a company that develops its activities based on science. For this reason, we want to explain to children interactively that science exists not in laboratories and test tubes but in our daily lives. If we teach that curiosity and questioning are the first rules of being a scientist, we will have planted the first seeds of future scientists."  

We prioritise children learning science through hands-on experience

Zakuto, saying they value cooperation between the business world and civil society organisations for children to benefit from contemporary education opportunities, described the project as "planting seeds for the future." "Our goal is to inspire the children participating in these trainings to aspire more toward becoming 'scientists' in addition to teaching, police work and nursing," said Zakuto, continuing: "With the 'Science Firefly Mobile Lab Project' we are working to promote scientific thinking and understanding of the impact of basic sciences in everyday life. We prioritise children learning within science. We also characterise the Science Mobile Lab as a learning platform that instills scientific thinking habits and new generation competencies in children. Because we believe that this project will nurture the first seeds for developing children passionate about science among all children in grades 2-8, children who adopt scientific thinking as a way of life."

First-year project aims to reach 1,500 children

The company, which has been operating in Turkey for 17 years, aims to reach 1,500 children in the project's first year. Saying that "hands-on education is the right of every child wherever in the world," Aylin Zakuto stated, "The Science Firefly Mobile Lab will remain at each school it visits for 2 to 4 weeks so that every student who wants to can benefit from these trainings."  

Voluntary support from employees

IMCD Turkey General Manager Aylin Zakuto, noting that IMCD employees are providing voluntary support to the project this year as they did last year, said: "Last year, due to distance learning conditions, our colleagues volunteered to support TEGV's Distance Learning program, and we opened our Istanbul laboratories for online experiments for children. We are pleased that our online experiments received more interest than we expected. We will continue with our online experiments. In this year's Science Firefly project, our colleagues will again volunteer to visit village schools and conduct laboratory experiments with children in the Science Firefly Mobile Lab. Children will experience and learn how much science and chemistry are at the centre of our lives," she said.