Marking 10-year partnership, UNICEF and Gucci celebrate education successes across Africa and Asia
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is celebrating its longstanding partnership with luxury goods brand Gucci and marking a decade of successes in bringing access to quality education to more than seven million children across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the agency announced.
“UNICEF is grateful to Gucci and its employees for their commitment to improving children’s lives and futures through education,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a press release. “Every child should have a fair chance in life. That begins with a fair chance to learn.”
At an event held yesterday in New York, the UN agency and the 94-year old fashion house underscored the wide reach of their accomplishments with the screening of Growing Tall – a short film directed by Brooklyn-based filmmaker Christina Voros that highlights the “power of education to transform lives, especially for girls and women.”
The issue of accessibility to quality schooling for children in the least-developed and developing world remains a critical area of concern for UNICEF. According to UN data, since the year 2000, 34 million more primary school-aged children have attended school than would have done so if earlier trends had continued. However, despite this progress, some 58 million children of primary school age remain out of school worldwide.
Over the past 10 years, in fact, Gucci’s support for UNICEF has helped train more than 8,700 teachers and educators, construct nearly 300 school classrooms, and supply 14,600 school desks. In addition, the partnership has also led to the construction of more than 1,800 water and sanitation facilities in schools, ensuring clean water for drinking and hygiene, and has facilitated government policy changes on education and improving school curricula.
The benefits, UNICEF noted in its press release, have reached more than 7.5 million children in both Africa and Asia and will now extend through the UN agency’s “Chime for Change” campaign targeting children and families affected by the Syria crisis with learning opportunities and support services.
“Through our long and successful partnership, Gucci has helped provide that chance to so many children who might otherwise be excluded – and in doing so, provided them with the tools to build a better world for themselves and their communities,” Mr. Lake added.