The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2023 is pleased to honor 78 outstanding business leaders and enterprises for championing sustainable and responsible business practices. Presented by leading regional NGO Enterprise Asia, the AREA is the most reputable award recognition program recognizing organizational efforts in creating a culture of compassion, integrity, and in being socially responsible corporate citizens. The AREA serves as a badge of excellence to spur further innovation and best-practice for sharing about the organization and the world at large.
Far Eastern Big City Shopping Malls Co., Ltd. (Big City) was among the recipients who were conferred with the Social Empowerment Award. As the largest recreational shopping mall in Northern Taiwan, covering an area of over 125,000 square meters, introduced over 300 major brands, as well as more than 90 restaurants offering more than 4,500 dining seats. There are more than 15 million visitors per year and the company has the second-highest number of Facebook check-in posts in Taiwan, after the Taoyuan Airport. Big City offers a large capacity to provide shoppers of all ages with one-stop services for food, fun, and entertainment while also serving as a public welfare platform, leveraging its influence in the community.
Since its opening, Big City has invested considerable resources to establish its “Big City Children and Youth Education Program” to promote the concept of adaptive talent development and cross-disciplinary learning. Through the four major platforms of parent-child co-learning, art curation, science education, and care for disadvantaged children, Big City organizes various activities such as Baby Crawl Fun Competition, Children’s Storytelling Festival, Campus Joint Art Exhibition, Taiwan Science Festival and workplace experience for disadvantaged children. Big City’s project has managed to promote parent-child co-learning. The aforementioned activities are focused on music, rhythm, and reading inspiration and have attracted more than 92,000 participants.
The company also invested in art curation and performances such as Campus Joint Art Exhibitions, Campus Joint Art Festivals, and the KGB Dance Group to cultivate students’ practical experience. There have been 63 performances to date and 264,000 participants.
The “Big City Children And Youths Education Program” also included the endorsement of science education. In cooperation with the Interdisciplinary Science Education Center of National Tsing Hua University, Big City holds the International Day of Women, the Girls in Science Day, and the Taiwan Science Festival every year to provide students with practical experience. The company has organized 9 science fairs to date with over 10,000 participants.
Finally, Big City has also assisted with career exploration for underprivileged children. The company helped St. Teresa Children’s Center with subsidies and internship opportunities in its shopping malls, planned summer and winter camps for young volunteers, and conducted career exploration events for the youth. To date, these activities have benefited 1,033 children and 179 young volunteers.
Big City will continue to plan diversified, enriching, and experiential educational activities with the hope of reducing the boundaries of learning inequity and wealth gaps, inviting children of all ages and local residents to participate together. The company works to cultivate a passion for active learning and continues to work together with partners to support various educational activities, passing on and expanding its influence while promoting the sustainable development of professional knowledge and skills of each learner. Through these endeavors, Big City hopes to empower local children to enjoy more diversified and rich educational resources in order to contribute their talents to society in the future.
About Enterprise Asia
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine toward sustainable and progressive economic and social development within a world of economic equality. Its two pillars of existence are investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship. Enterprise Asia works with governments, NGOs and other organizations to promote competitiveness and entrepreneurial development, in uplifting the economic status of people across Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for the future generation. Please visit https://www.enterpriseasia.org/ for more information.
About Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA)
The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards program recognizes and honors Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the categories of Green Leadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership, Corporate Sustainability Reporting, and Responsible Business Leadership. For more information, visit: https://enterpriseasia.org/area/.