BMW Group opens Junior Campus in Moscow. Extracurricular learning place for children aged between five and ten / important contribution towards improving road safety for Russian children through education and information / cooperation with authorities, schools and NGOs.

Munich/Moscow. In Moscow today, the BMW Group opened its fourth BMW Group Junior Campus, following Munich, Berlin and Seoul/South Korea. At the Artplay Complex, a popular, centrally located area of around 300 square metres, children from five to ten years of age are now able to participate in interactive workshops and learn in a playful way how to move about safely and responsibly in road traffic. The concept was jointly developed specifically for Russia by teachers and road safety experts and will be carried out by trained coaches. The programme is intended first and foremost for schools and families as well as organizations devoted to the care and support of children. 

Road safety: Problem with social relevance

The low level of road safety in Russia is a severe social problem. During the first six months of 2013, 10,364 people died on Russia’s roads, 323 of them children.  In comparison, 1,428 people died on Germany’s roads in the same period – 37 of them children. With these figures, Russia assumes a sad pole position compared with the rest of Europe. In a nationwide representative survey held by the BMW Group and the Romir opinion research institute in Moscow, 94 percent of those questioned said that the road safety issue was a very serious problem in Russia. 89 percent of them assessed the safety situation on Russian roads as bad or very bad. Nevertheless, only 61 percent of the road users interviewed wore seatbelts in the car – still the most important measure to protect the driver, the front seat passenger, other occupants and children in the event of an accident. In the case of pedestrians, the figures are just as alarming: Less than ten percent are aware that their own attentive behaviour as a pedestrian contributes towards their own road safety. These figures illustrate that better and early road safety education is one of the most important fields of action to reduce the number of accidents. 

BMW Group Junior Campus Moscow – an initiative for improving road safety

“The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. For us, it is not only vehicle safety that matters, but also the safety of all road users. We are committed to increasing safety levels around the world through numerous social initiatives - for many years now already. The Junior Campus is one of these. It is a long-term and noncommercial project and I am proud that we are the first starting such an important initiative here in Russia,” says Wolfgang Schlimme, President of BMW Russia. 

“Thanks to the BMW Junior Campus, we now also have a extracurricular learning place in Russia that brings children closer to the issue of road safety in a playful way using state-of-the-art teaching methods. We want the Junior Campus to make an impact and serve as an example in the greater Moscow region and beyond,” adds Milena Pighi, who is responsible for social commitment at the BMW Group. 

The BMW Junior Campus Moscow is starting off with open workshops on three days a week and programmes with flexible timetables for school classes. Close cooperation with school authorities, teachers’ organisations and non-governmental organisations as well as targeted communication activities are designed to ensure full utilisation from the word go. BMW dealers are also able to book places at workshops for their customers’ children and employees. Particular attention will be given to the support of socially disadvantaged children. For obligatory advance registration for the workshops please visit www.jc.bmw.ru. 

The Junior Campus is located in the eastern part of the city at the so-called Artplay Complex. The open-plan Junior Campus venue covers a total area of around 300 square metres on the fourth floor of the building. The complex accommodates among others the British Higher School of Art and Design. Within the context of the institutions already based there, the Junior Campus fits in well with a creative think tank of new ideas and innovative concepts. As a result, the Junior Campus will supplement the Artplay Complex with an entirely new perspective on education: Education as a concrete investment in the future of children. 

Corporate Communications 

Milena Pighi, Social Commitment
Tel:+49 89 382-66563, Fax:+49-89-382-10881
E-Mail: Milena.PA.Pighi@bmw.de

Alexander Bilgeri, Head of Communications Economic and Financial Issues, Sustainability

Tel: +49 89 382-24544, Fax: +49 89 382-24418

E-Mail: Alexander.Bilgeri@bmw.de

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is the leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries. 

In 2012, the BMW Group sold about 1.85 million cars and more than 117,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2012 was euro 7.82 billion on revenues amounting to euro 76.85 billion. At 31 December 2012, the BMW Group had a workforce of 105,876 employees. 

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result, the BMW Group has been market sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for eight years now. 

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