ANA and Ashoka Launch a First-of-its-Kind Program
to Change the World

Five "Changemakers" to be given transportation and financial support

TOKYO, February 4, 2014 –ANA, Japan’s leading airline, has partnered with Ashoka, headquartered in Arlington, VA, to launch a new initiative to increase the impact of some of the world’s most inspiring social entrepreneurs. The "Blue Wing: Wings for Changemakers" program was unveiled today at wingsforchangemakers.com. Under this innovative collaboration, ANA will offer transportation to five Ashoka Fellows ("changemakers") within its route network. In addition, ANA has also pledged to provide financial support to cover their travel needs outside of its network with the participation of visitors to the program’s interactive website.
Participants can read about the inspiring stories and recent activities of each changemaker on the program’s website and cast one vote a week to the cause of their choice ("Vote"). For every vote cast, ANA will contribute $0.50 to the respective changemaker. These funds will help offset their travel-related costs which could be utilized more effectively to grow their impact. In addition, participants will be able to book a flight on ANA via the Blue Wing website and have 1% of the ticket proceeds directed to the changemaker of their choice ("Fly"). This unique program empowers travelers by allowing them to make the air travel they already do positively impact the world. The website will also make it easy for participants to share the stories of changemakers to their personal networks to help spread the word about important changemaking activities ("Share").
The "Vote" "Fly" and "Share" features will give participants the opportunity to raise awareness, champion a cause, and make their travel impactful. The website will also introduce an innovative platform that will allow participants to track their individual impact in a tangible, meaningful way and communicate directly with the changemakers they are supporting.

The Blue Wing: Wings for Changemakers program, which is currently scheduled for 6 months, is built upon ANA’s core values and is a reflection of its commitment to enrich lives and communities. As the program name states, ANA aims to give wings to those who believe they can change the world and those who do.

For more information, please contact ANA Public Relations:
Nao Gunji n.gunji@fly-ana.com

About ANA
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the eighth largest airline in the world by revenues (2011) and the largest in Japan by passenger numbers (2012). Founded in 1952, ANA flies today to 31 international destinations and 50 domestic cities with a fleet of 232 aircraft serving a network of 175 routes. ANA has 14,000 employees. In 2012, it carried 45 million passengers and generated revenues of $15.8 bn. ANA has been a core member of Star Alliance since 1999 and has joint-ventures with United Airlines on trans-Pacific and Asia routes and with Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines on Japan-Europe routes. Its Frequent Flyer Program, ANA Mileage Club, has more than 24 million members. ANA was voted Airline of the Year for 2013 by Air Transport World Magazines, and was awarded five stars by the world's leading Airline and Airport review site, SKYTRAX. ANA is the launch customer and biggest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

About Ashoka
Ashoka is known for its relentless insistence on finding people with a fundamentally new vision of what is possible to actually change the world. Ashoka believes there is nothing more powerful than a new idea in the hands of a leading social entrepreneur. Since 1980, we’ve identified and supported close to 3,000 of these leading social entrepreneurs (Ashoka Fellows) in more than 80 countries around the world; more than 200 in the United States alone since 2001. These are men and women with innovative solutions to today’s most difficult social problems, who possess the skills and drive to create entirely new patterns in their fields—from education to health to the environment. Today, we're working to shape what we call an Everyone a Changemaker® world, where people of every age are equipped with agency and the empathy, teamwork, and leadership skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

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Follow Ashoka on Twitter: twitter.com/Ashoka