Annual Report - Sonova Holding AG

A high level of social commitment
Through its Phonak and Unitron Hearing Group companies,
the Phonak Group is involved in numerous projects to raise
general awareness about better hearing and the benefits of
hearing instruments. It also supports a number of social projects
to improve the quality of life for people with hearing impairment,
especially children.
In 2005/06 Phonak increased the level of financing for the
Eduplex project. The Eduplex School is a unique educational
program, opened by Dr. Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, South Africa,
in 2002, providing equipment to ensure that deaf children are
fully included in the regular school program. The Eduplex program
proves that today’s technology, in combination with an inclusive,
language-enabling environment, makes it possible for deaf
and hearing-impaired children to acquire fluent spoken language
and good academic results. The success of this program can be
seen in the lives of talking deaf adults who have achieved their
full academic potential.
Unitron Hearing supports children attending courses at the
KidsAbility Centre for Child Development in Cambridge, Ontario
(Canada). These courses include therapy sessions attended by
the whole family in which students learn to improve their language
and speech skills through listening.
Unitron Hearing is also involved in the Ontario Infant
Hearing Program. This program conducts hearing tests on over
1,000 babies and infants every year, and the families receive
assistance with the difficult task of bringing up small children
who suffer from hearing loss.
Unitron Hearing also helps fund the China aid campaign
run by the University of Iowa, whose purpose is to supply hearing
instruments to orphans and disadvantaged Chinese children
suffering from hearing loss and to train medical personnel to fit
hearing systems.
Phonak New Zealand has a project that cares for hearingimpaired
children in Lautoka School, Fiji. In a five-year program
named “HearAid project”, Phonak New Zealand is contributing
funds, staff resources, and hearing instruments to the school.
Last year, a teacher also received additional training in how to
teach deaf pupils. Phonak staff regularly visit the Lautoka School
to test children’s hearing and adjust hearing systems.
Phonak New Zealand also supports the Federation for Deaf
Children and each year awards academic prizes to deaf children
who excel at their studies.
Phonak Denmark supports the Danish Auditory Processing
Disorders (APD) Group, providing not only funding but also
organizational and administrative assistance. The APD Group
holds seminars and conferences on the topic “Auditory processing
and perception disorders”, thus contributing to research
and the exchange of know-how.
Phonak Denmark also subsidizes research projects with
autistic children. The focus here is on whether the use of sensory
enhancers can effectively improve the exceptionally poor
concentration of these children.
We will continue our projects and intensify our contribution
to the community in 2006/07 onwards.
Sustainability
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