Kao Indonesia Encourages Indonesian Children to Become Agents of Change Through Anak KAO (Creative, Active, Optimistic) Education Program – Healthy Schools 2025 to East Nusa Tenggara and Papua

Jakarta, August 21, 2025 – Kao Indonesia reconduct Anak KAO (Creative, Active, Optimistic) – Healthy School 2025 education program as a form of social contribution and an effort to create a future generation that is cleaner, healthier, and more environmentally conscious in order to support the achievement of Indonesia Emas 2045, through the Generasi Emas Indonesia Berkarakter (Golden Generation of Indonesia with Character) program, which is one of the government’s focuses. Anak KAO – Healthy School educational program is also a concrete manifestation of Kao Indonesia’s commitment to implementing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles to enhance the quality of life for Indonesian communities. This educational program has received official support from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemendikdasmen) and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenkes), as well as Wahana Visi Indonesia, for educational interventions in eastern Indonesia.

The Kick Off event of Anak KAO – Healthy School 2025 Education was held at SMPN 16 Jakarta, South Jakarta on Thursday, August 21, 2025. The event was attended by Shoichi Hasegawa, President Director of Kao Indonesia; Dr. Maulani Mega Hapsari, S.IP., M.A., Director of Junior High Schools, Directorate General of Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, and Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia; and Dr. Elvieda Sariwati, M.Epid., Director of Health Promotion and Community Health, Directorate General of Primary and Community Health, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia.

In line with the Company’s ESG strategy, Kirei Lifestyle Innovation, Anak KAO – Healthy School 2025 Education is Kao Indonesia’s tangible contribution to creating a healthy school environment. Since its launch in 2016, this program has reached more than 42,600 children at the elementary and junior high school levels. As a result, 98% of students understood the implementation of PHBS after participating in the Anak KAO education program in 2024. In 2025, Kao Indonesia aims to reach over 10,000 students, not only in cities across Java Island but also in eastern Indonesia, including South Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara, and Sentani, Papua, in collaboration with Wahana Visi Indonesia. This initiative is expected to reach more children in areas in need of access to health and personal hygiene education.

Shoichi Hasegawa, President Director of Kao Indonesia, said at the kick off event ceremony, “We are proud to continue our synergistic cross-sector collaboration to jointly create a future generation that is not only physically and mentally healthy, but also highly aware of personal hygiene and environmental sustainability. This aligns with Kao Indonesia’s commitment to promoting the Kirei lifestyle – a clean, healthy, and compassionate way of life. This year, we are committed to expanding our educational programs to the regions of East Nusa Tenggara and Papua, as well as hosting Anak KAO Ambassador Competition at the junior high school level.”

The Indonesian government has a vision of achieving Indonesia Emas 2045, and to support this goal, it is important to prepare a skilled and capable workforce, starting with school-age children as the primary target. This skilled workforce must possess the eight core characteristics of the nation, and it is believed that this can be achieved through daily habits that every child must practice.

Dr. Maulani Mega Hapsari, S.IP., M.A., Director of Junior High Schools, Directorate General of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, said, “High-quality human resources are the most important factor in achieving Indonesia’s 2045 vision, where the eight core national values – religious, moralistic, healthy, intelligent and creative, hardworking, disciplined, independent, and beneficial – must be cultivated through the practice of the 7 Habits of Great Indonesian Children. We appreciate what Kao Indonesia has done as an official partner of Kemendikdasmen in educating children about clean and healthy living habits. This is certainly a positive step and contributes to the implementation of the 7 Habits of Great Indonesian Children.”

School 2025 Education includes raising awareness of the implementation and practice of Clean and Healthy Living Behaviors, where personal hygiene habits at home and in the school environment are fundamental for children to increase their confidence in daily learning activities, including:

The educational pillars that Kao Indonesia continuously promotes through its annual Anak KAO Education program are in line with the 7 Habits of Great Indonesian Children movement, which includes: Waking Up Early; Praying; Exercising; Eating Healthy & Nutritious Food; Loving to Learn; Being Sociable; and Going to Bed Early.

Meanwhile, Dr. Elvieda Sariwati, M.Epid., Director of Health Promotion and Community Health at the Directorate General of Primary and Community Health, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, also welcomed Anak KAO – Healthy School 2025 Education Program. According to her, the involvement of the private sector is crucial in expanding the GERMAS movement within the community.

“Anak KAO (Creative, Active, Optimistic) – Healthy Schools education program is expected to not only teach children about the importance of practicing clean and healthy habits at school, such as eating a balanced diet, including controlling excessive sugar consumption, engaging in physical activity or exercise for one hour per day, not smoking, washing hands properly, and undergoing health checks; these are important and fundamental points, but also to create a conducive environment and set an example for children to apply these principles in their daily lives. Strengthening TRIAS UKS (School Health Efforts) program in collaboration with local health centers, as well as support from parents and teachers, is also an important aspect that children, especially junior high school students, must receive. Currently, the Ministry of Health is also implementing a free school health check program. It is hoped that Anak KAO – Healthy School education program will also support all schoolchildren in accessing these free health checks and follow-up on the results, so that children can grow up healthy, fit, and intelligent – both physically and mentally – toward Indonesia Emas in 2045.” Elvieda explained.

In addition to the Anak KAO – Sekolah Sehat (Healthy School) educational program, Kao Indonesia also initiated Anak KAO BISA (Waste Wisely) in 10 selected schools as an effort to foster awareness of personal and environmental hygiene by sorting and processing plastic waste with the spirit of “bringing knowledge into practice.” Through the provision of Waste Points, children are encouraged to practice waste sorting, such as collecting used packaging from Kao products, which are then recycled in collaboration with waste management partners to prevent them from ending up in landfills. Additionally, this year’s pilot project for the Anak KAO Ambassador Competition has also begun, where Kao Indonesia is encouraging teachers and students to become agents of change within their school environments.

“This year, we are completing the education program that has been running since 2016. In terms of program coverage, Anak KAO – Sekolah Sehat 2025 involves schools in East Nusa Tenggara and Papua, so it is hoped that it will have a broader positive impact on understanding personal and environmental hygiene. From the behavior change perspective, we aim for children to become agents and promoters of change through Anak KAO Ambassador Competition, where children will complete a series of missions and challenges related to personal hygiene and environmental awareness. Additionally, we are continuing Anak KAO BISA (Waste Wisely) program to encourage children to sort and recycle Kao packaging products,” concluded Shoichi.