In October 2024, we had the "Watch and Talk: Screening Event for Refugee Film Festival Partners ” at the Tokyo office in Japan. The Screening Event for Refugee Film Festival Partners is a spinoff by UNHCR for Japan’s “Refugee Film Festival,” in which companies, schools, and local governments can hold screening events as a partner. At Wacom, the Social Initiatives and Eco Initiatives teams got together to create opportunities to think and talk about society and the environment. Takafumi Nakajima, our outside director with expertise on the topics of environment and sustainability also participated in the event, along with 20 of our team members. After the screening, a session was held for everybody to share impressions of the film and thoughts about sustainability.
The film The Great Green Wall is a documentary that follows Malian-French musician Inna Modja as she travels to the front lines of climate change, using music to connect people in pursuit of a grand African dream. The film addresses a wide range of issues, including climate change, poverty, women, children, conflicts, and refugees in Africa. Some of the realities portrayed in the film were difficult to confront. During our sessions, many expressed sentiments such as, "It’s hard to put into words" and "I realized how little I knew." Others shared a sense of helplessness in the face of such large-scale issues.
At the same time, we were moved by the power of visuals and music, leading to reflections on how Wacom could contribute with one of our greatest assets: creativity. Inspired by Mother Teresa's metaphor of a "drop in the ocean," there was a hopeful exchange about how individual efforts, no matter how small, can contribute to society.
A fundraising initiative was held on the same day to support UNHCR for Japan’s refugee assistance efforts. We raised 45,657 yen through donations collected at the venue, including a gift to match the amount raised from our CEO Nobu Ide. We also called for online donations and 5 team members participated. The total amount of 65,657 yen was collected offline and online, and donated to the UNHCR for Japan.
Wacom held this screening event to think about society and the environment. We learned many different thoughts and ideas from team members. We will apply the learnings and findings from the screening to our future efforts.
The Great Green Wall
Director/Writer: Jared P. Scott
Executive Producer: Fernando Ferreira Meirelles
Stars: Inna Modja, Didier Awadi, Songhoy Blues, Waje
https://youtu.be/UtSiuduvTTI
Wacom’s Environmental Initiatives
Up-to-date information is available on our website. Recently, the Environmental Activities page announced that we received third-party verification for our 2023 GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions. On the Information Disclosure Based on the TCFD Recommendations page, we shared that Wacom’s GHG reduction targets have been certified as Science-Based Targets (SBT) for short-term goals.
*As of December 2024.
Wacom’s Social Initiatives
Our website features a variety of initiatives and ideas inspired by the sparks of our team members.
Social Initiatives
At Connected Ink 2024, we hosted a key tag-making workshop inspired by the theme of “Ordinary Days.” The vibrant characters featured in the key visual, designed by ktym, were brought to life with a dash of Creative Chaos.
Seigakuin High School, known for its focus on STEAM education, integrates Wacom pen displays into its curriculum. Enthusiastic students who love to draw took the lead in holding a digital coloring workshop, showcasing their creativity and artistic abilities.
We held the Screening Event for Refugee Film Festival Partners to set the stage for thinking and talking about society and the environment with our team members.
We will present a comprehensive account of our journey on exploring ways to connect with society and the community through meaningful experiences, centered around the theme of ‘Finding Connections to Society Through Wacom’s Instruments and Technology.’
We will reflect upon our five-year journey with CEO Nobu Ide about the intention to connect the future of Social Initiatives with our Meaningful Growth.
Discover the inspiring works of community creators who collaborate with us. Today, we feature “Focus: The Autistic Superhero Loves Comic Art!” by Yvonne Wan.
The theme of Connected Ink 2023 was 'Back to the Forest.' Together with our community, we shared our memories of returning to the forest of Creative Chaos.
Wacom Canada has been involved with the "CREATE Program" at Sisler High School as a partner to support students who want to embark on career paths in the creative industry.
The 'Our Sparks.' pages showcases community creators whose works inspire and collaborate with us. This time features Arian Rahmatzai's artwork, a German talent who interned at Wacom.
The aspiration of children who dream of becoming creators is what ignites our team members’ enthusiasm and drives many of our initiatives. One such initiative involved teaming up with an animation workshop in Kinko Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
Wacom Yuify is an innovative service being developed to authenticate creators' works by embedding invisible micro-marks into artworks and, therefore, addressing unique needs across various regions and cultures.
Lannie Zhang, the only product manager in the Ink Division in China, took the time to talk to us about the initiatives planned to increase awareness and promote the use of digital ink technology.
We would like to introduce the artworks by artists in Oiso Town, Kanagawa, Japan, where we have been working together to support the writing/drawing initiative.
The Wacom Experience Center Portland was created for people to interact with the creative community in the city. We took a look back at its growth with Megan Davis, who has been playing an energetic role there.
Connected Ink 2022 opened with two key questions. Let’s take a look back at some of the sessions in Tokyo that explored them.
Read MoreWe would like to introduce the artworks by artists in Oiso Town, Kanagawa, Japan, where we have been working together to support the writing/drawing initiative.
Read MoreThe partnership with Oiso Town has developed into a city-wide initiative. We spoke with Tadakuni Tsubota of the Creative BU Retail Partnership about this initiative.
How do team members see Connected Ink? The next team member is Yohei Himori who is involved in the planning and operation of Connected Ink together with Heidi.
How do team members see Connected Ink? The first team member is Heidi Wang who has played a key role in the planning and operations when it all began in 2016.
In collaboration with Heralbony Inc. and the General Incorporated Association, Connected Ink Village, Wacom launched a new initiative called "Call & Response” in September 2021.
Here’s a look back at the opening and finale of the nearly 70 sessions held that day and reflect upon what has happened since Connected Ink 2021.
Our sparks meet constantly changing situations, unexpected challenges, and new opportunities. We called on our team members again to show how they see their spark in the world of today and the future.
Connected Ink 2020 was the beginning of a new commitment and challenge for Wacom to continue asking those eternal questions that always play in our minds.
"Stage KOPPA" was created as a stage for Connected Ink 2020. It is a stage that changes its shape and role in response to different situations while connecting the various stories that occur there.
Our sparks meet constantly changing situations, unexpected challenges, and new opportunities. We called on our team members again to show how they see their spark in the world of today and the future.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
Yoshinori Mita, a team member of Japan held an online drawing class together with FC KAZO and illustrator Suiiro to provide something fun for elementary school children to do during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period.
As an official partner, Wacom supports FC KAZO, a soccer club in Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. We’re excited to introduce our new initiatives with this inspiring club.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
Our team members in Germany organized an online workshop “Young Wacom” for the children while schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex Duffey from our Americas Support team established a new program to support artists. We asked him about a story with Ms. Devon Bragg, the artist who inspired him to establish this program.
KOPPA began in April 2019. Tamotsu wanted to make something that can be used again after an exhibition. We asked Team KOPPA about their thoughts.
We put it together ourselves, set it up, put it back, then travel together again. The Traveling KOPPA, our new display furniture came to be.
KOPPA started out as a challenge: Tamotsu Ito, an architect from Japan, wanted to utilize leftover building materials. Our meeting was pure happenstance.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
We gave a marketing lecture for students who are learning to be engineers at the National Institute of Technology Tokyo College.
Every year, we take pen tablets that have been sitting in our warehouse and gift them to high school clubs and winners of high school art competitions to help students create digital contents.
"AI Ink for Education" was developed to capture eye movement information and pen movements while learning, in order to ascertain the characteristics of learning by each student and to create an educational environment suited to each student.
Yoana Simeonova, a software designer working in Bulgaria, introduced Wacom Intuos in a school to make children's IT classes more fun.