Panasonic: Send in Your Solar Lantern’s Designs by Jan.31, 2015 for “Cut Out the Darkness”- Indonesia

Did you know?

About one in every five people, around 1.3 billion people, in the world live in areas without electricity.
To light their rooms, they burn firewood, dung, or lamp oil. Smoke from such fuels, however, pollutes the air in their houses.
As a result, every year 1.9 million people die from inhaling smoke. This number exceeds deaths by malaria or TB (tuberculosis).
Collecting firewood takes a long time and destroys forests.
Absence of electricity thus causes serious social problems.

This video presents 100 Thousand Solar Lantern Project [Panasonic].

Panasonic’s “100 Thousand Solar Lantern Project” delivers “light” to people around the world living in areas without electricity.

“Panasonic Corporation has launched the 100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project, aiming to contribute 100,000 solar LED lanterns to people without access to electricity by 2018, the year of our 100th anniversary.

As our first step in this initiative, we donated 8,000 compact solar lights to non-profit, non-governmental and humanitarian organizations working to solve social challenges in Myanmar (3,000 units) and India (5,000 units), along with 2,000 lights to refugee camps in Africa in 2013.“

Panasonic initiated “Cut Out the Darkness Project” to promote understanding of life in areas without electricity and their efforts to offer solar lanterns to people in those areas, the “100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project“.

In “Cut Out the Darkness” project, Panasonic calls for online entries of lantern shade designs.

They will produce lantern shades and send lanterns with those shades to people living without electricity.

This video presents Cut Out the Darkness | Intro.

Would you like to offer solar lanterns with your personally-designed shade to people living in areas without electricity?
Using contributed original designs, Panasonic will produce shades for solar lanterns which will be given to people living without electricity.
This project is one of Panasonic’s Sustainability initiatives.

During Phase 1 of the “Cut Out the Darkness” project, 100 designs chosen by popular vote were used to produce shades, and were donated to Sumba, Indonesia, in March 2014.

“A video below featuring shots taken during the donation was released on the “Cut Out the Darkness” website, sharing the thoughts of the people who designed the shades and the joys of the local people who received the solar lantern donations.”

This video presents Cut Out the Darkness Movie Report – Donation to Sumba.

Panasonic’s project to donate solar lanterns to regions with no access to electricity, “Cut Out the Darkness,” will feature a “Zoo of Light” during Phase 2.

For Phase 2 (second donation phase) this time around, Panasonic will recruit shade designs centered on the theme of “animals.” Similarly to Phase 1, the top 100 designs chosen by popular vote will be turned into shades and donated. “With the donated lanterns, a “Zoo of Light” will be created, in hopes of bringing the entertainment of light to those people living in regions with no access to electricity.”

“This project is not just about sending light to regions without electricity in Indonesia. It’s about creating a “Lantern’zoo” using solar lanterns that you have fun designing. Draw animal designs on the shades for the solar lanterns in the “Lantern’zoo”. We are accepting these animal designs, so go ahead and post lots of them.

Applications Accepted: Nov. 25, 2014 to Jan. 31, 2015

This time around, we are also collaborating with the online community of artists and designers, “Behance Japan,” to attract participation from individuals interested in art and design. We are hoping to have as many people as possible to submit designs, and by having people vote on the submitted designs, spread awareness and understanding of the challenges faced in regions with no access to electricity.“

http://news.panasonic.net/stories/2014/1126_30215.html

Please click here for more info about the Lantern Zoo, to submit your online entries of lantern shade designs, and vote for your favourite design.

The progress of this project is continuously being updated on the official “Cut Out the Darkness” project website (http://cotd.panasonic.net/) and “100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project” official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/PanasonicSolarLantern).