Canon provided support for the "Youth Summit for Environment in Kobe," held from May 22 to 24, in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture.

This program had been held prior to the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting in Kobe, in advance of the 2008 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit to be held this July. It was organized by the "Executive Committee of Youth Summit for Environment in Kobe," composed of representatives from the NPO Japan Education and Resource Network, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology -Japan and the Kobe City Government among others.

Children from the 21 countries and territories participating in the Environmental Ministers Conference gathered in Kobe to exchange views on the future of the planet and on the environment and prepare and release a message for the future. This message was presented by hand to Minister of the Environment Ichiro Kamoshita by representatives of the participating children, as well as introduced at the Environmental Ministers Conference.

Canon provided support for this youth summit as a part of the company's environmental preservation activities. In addition, in order to support the continued exchange of information among children hereafter, Canon donated compact digital cameras to the children.

General Manager Sumiko Sawada of the Canon Social and Cultural Program Division presented the compact digital cameras to the children at the closing ceremony of the "Youth Summit for Environment in Kobe."