November 27, 2006, Manila, Philippines— NEC Foundation, Inc.’s (NECFI) 20th year celebration started with a morning media briefing at the Wasabi Bistro and an afternoon awarding of scholarships to 16 deserving students at the Bahay ng Alumni at University of the Philippines.

The media briefing was participated in by NEC Foundation Executive Director Professor Edgardo Atanacio, NEC Corporation’s Adviser, Member of the Board-Corporate Officer Hirofumi Okuyama, NEC Solutions Asia Pacific CEO and NEC Philippines President Tomohiro Yagi, NEC Philippines Executive Vice President Leonardo Santos and NEC Philippines Director for Business Development, Marketing and Support Marivic Gamo. Friends from the Philippine and Japan press came to interact with some of the officers of NECFI, NEC Corporation, NEC Solutions Asia Pacific and NEC Philippines.

The awarding ceremony was graced by the Board of Trustees and other NEC affiliates. Emmanuel Lallana and Timoteo Diaz de Rivera from the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and also members of the Board of Trustees were also present. Commissioner Lallana gave the welcome remarks during the ceremony saying that skills in science and technology are crucial in creating a competitive and highly productive workforce in the Philippines not only in the fields of high-technology and research but in other industries. He also awarded the certificate of scholarships with Mr. Santos and Dr. Roman. Mr. Santos gave an inspirational talk saying that he himself was an Engineering scholar at the University of the Philippines. He encouraged the students to think “Bayan Muna” (Country First) and let the Philippines have “first crack at your talents, zeal and youthful passion”. Dr. Roman said the same in her closing remarks— that the scholars, upon graduating should contribute to the development of the country. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Mr. Okuyama and Mr.  Yagi assisted in the awarding, with Mr. Yagi giving the Congratulatory Speech. Other special guests who attended were Toshiya Matsumoto President of NESIC Phils., Hideaki Amakawa Executive Consultant NEC Corporation–Manila Representative Office, Shinichi Kimura President of Japan Aviation Electronics, Masaru Ishikawa President of NEC Logistics, and Sumio Horike President of NEC Toppan Circuit Solutions.

The NEC Foundation has been instrumental in producing the top graduates from all over the country in the fields of B.S. Electric and Communications Engineering, B.S. Computer Engineering and B.S. Computer Science. The Foundation has been granting scholarships since 1989. Today’s batch, the 17th one, comprises of students coming from as far as Mindanao and was chosen from 152 applicants all over the Philippines. Former scholars also attended the event to share their experiences.

The scholarship is granted to students who excel academically but who face financial challenges.