10.08.21
In recognition of the “International Day of the Girl Child” on Oct. 11, Beiersdorf will expand its “Empowering Girls” mission to Europe in the form of a new regional partnership with Ashoka, the world’s pioneer and leading organization in social entrepreneurship.
The mission launched a year ago with two long-term nonprofit organization partnerships with Plan International and CARE, in Latin America and Africa.
The manufacturer’s vision of an inclusive society plays a key role in its sustainability agenda, Care Beyond Skin. With this, empowering girls and fostering systemic change is at the heart of the company-wide initiative.
“We are committed to invest in a sustainable and diverse world by empowering girls,” said Vincent Warnery, CEO of Beiersdorf. “It is our contribution to foster a cohesive society, where girls play an important role. Thanks to our trusted partnerships with Plan International, CARE and Ashoka, we can make a difference.”
All Empowering Girls projects are part of the 50 million Euro Covid-19 Aid Program, which was launched by Beiersdorf in March 2020 aimed at supporting communities in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The actions to mitigate Covid effects for girls and young women have to date shown measurable progress. Since the partnership with Plan International and CARE, almost 100,000 people across nine countries have been reached with the dedicated local programs. By 2023, Beiersdorf wants to reach more than 300,000 people through its “Empowering Girls” projects.
In its new partnership with Ashoka, Beiersdorf kicks-off the second wave of support for girls and women. With 3,800 Ashoka fellows, in more than 90 countries, Ashoka has built the world’s first and largest network of social entrepreneurs. Beiersdorf will be providing financial support in the form of stipends to five leading female social entrepreneurs. The donation will focus on their projects that strengthen and empower girls and women. The five female social entrepreneurs from UK, Poland, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland address different facets of female empowerment in the Covid-19 crisis and beyond. They help to eradicate violence against women, overcome gender stereotypes, empower girls to dream big and work towards a new economy with gender equity allowing for new perspectives in the workplace.
‘Amazing Leaders for Positive Change’
Since Ashoka and Beiersdorf’s successful collaboration, the entities have brought “Changemakers United,” a digital collaboration program for social entrepreneurs, from Europe to Africa, Latin America and South Asia.
“We now live in a world that is more interconnected than ever – and we believe the strength of societies in the future will also lay in the number of people who are active changemakers for the good of their communities,” said Marie Ringler, director of Ashoka Europe. “Girls and women are and can be amazing leaders for positive change in many areas – and we are partnering with Beiersdorf to foster and unleash that potential – to build societies that work for all.”
With the expansion of its engagement, Beiersdorf also reviews first results of the ongoing partnership with the NPOs Plan International and CARE. The support of projects in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan has thus far reached almost 100,000 people consisting of girls, their families and communities. Building on this substantial progress, the targets could be adjusted from 250,000 to 336,000 people to be reached with the programs in 2023.
The projects across the nine countries foster inclusive quality education and promote protective environments for girls and women. Above all, they strengthen equitable and quality health services and work on increasing the economic resilience of girls and young women.