Ricoh initiates the Skill Training for Local Artists in India Program

TOKYO, November 9, 2020 – Ricoh today announced that it is beginning a skill training program for local artists in India. The program is a social contribution program for female artists who have difficulty earning a living in rural India. Ricoh supports the improvement of digital skills with its unique 3-D representation method (2.5D). On November 9, Ricoh contracted with its partner, DRISHTEE, and starts training courses in January 2021.

Rural India has a high unemployment rate and severe poverty. In particular, women have minimal income opportunities. Many women artists produce artwork and sell as souvenirs in areas with a large local art industry. However, the women, because of their meager income, lack design and IT skills, and sales channel knowledge, making it difficult for them to earn a living.

The program is designed to help local artists acquire skills and improve their incomes and livelihoods. In India, the training will be provided in collaboration with DRISHTEE, a social enterprise/NGO that helps disadvantaged people by providing technical training and value chain building to generate income in rural areas. Also, through StareReap¹ , Ricoh's art platform, we will provide support for artists to create new works of expression. In the future, we will support exhibitions and PR activities in Europe, where there is a great interest in local art, to raise awareness of its unique 3-D representation method (2.5D) in the European art market.

Training Overview

Since fiscal 2020, the Ricoh Group has positioned the “Inclusion at Work” as one of its focused areas of social contribution activities and supports the work of a diverse range of people, such as the disabled, homeless, immigrants, refugees, and single mothers. This program also aims to achieve business for inclusive growth (B4IG)² in which Ricoh has participated since 2019. Through this program, we will contribute to eliminating disparities by using digital technology to create a society in which “no one will be left behind” the SDGs.

1

StareReap uses Ricoh's unique inkjet technology to create a new creative culture by creating original arts in collaboration with artists.

2

Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG), launched at the G7 Biarritz Summit in August 2019. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is the supervisory body and currently comprises about 40 companies, mainly in Europe and the U.S.