Clichy, March 2, 2021 – Last November, UN Women, the UN agency for gender equality and women's empowerment, chose to observe the 2021 edition of International Women's Rights Day with the theme of "Women's Leadership: For an Equal Future in the Covid-19 World".
In honor of this theme, which celebrates the efforts of women and girls around the world to shape a more egalitarian future, as well as recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the BIC Corporate Foundation for Education and Rêv'Elles worked together to develop a unique charity collection to show their (four) colors.
A collaboration built on shared values
The BIC Corporate Foundation, founded in 2016, supports projects that inspire, innovate and make a difference to ensure quality education for all. Supporting more than 40 projects around the world, the Corporate BIC Foundation has been able to support 115,000 children, youth and adults through its initiatives since its inception.
One of the Foundation's three investment areas is support for associations that facilitate access to education for girls and women around the world.
Created in 2013, Rêv'Elles has already helped 700 young women from modest backgrounds to develop their potential and find their vocations by giving them all the tools they need to do so with peace of mind. This assistance is provided in particular through nine-month support programs designed to meet the needs of these young women.
"Place aux femmes!", a new 4-Color pen special edition created to support the cause of International Women’s Rights Day
This collection of five BIC 4-Color pens features five women, each of whom embodies a value dear to Rêv'Elles and BIC: freedom, sharing, openness, determination and equality. The women's drawings are accompanied, on the pen body, by an inspiring slogan related to these five values.
What makes this collection unique is the fact that the designs and slogans on each of the five pens were created by young women working with Rêv'Elles, Laure, Onelia, Aliya, Lauryne and Fatoumata, with support from Nourchaine and Emine. This project has allowed them to assert themselves, to become active in society and to leave their mark with this unique collection.
Beginning March 1, 2021, the collectors' box is available exclusively to European consumers on BIC.com website for 14,99 €.
With the purchase of each box, 1 € will be donated to the Rêv'Elles association. The funds donated will finance the programs of the Alumnae community (i.e. young women who have already completed the Rêv'Elles Ton Potentiel entrance program and who continue to invest in the association by taking part in outings, activities and areas of involvement).
"We are happy to see a large group like BIC speak out on such an important subject as the education of women and the construction of their future. The BIC Foundation has been supporting our projects since 2020, and this collaboration on the creation of the special edition ‘Place aux femmes !’ has allowed our participants to express very concretely what it means for them to be a woman today. The money raised from these sales will allow us to go even further in our approach and to support more young women," explains Athina Marmorat, founder and CEO of Rêv’Elles.
Alison James, Executive Director of the BIC Foundation, adds: " Writing and creative expression are part of our DNA, which is we wanted to go beyond the financial support we provide to Rêv'Elles. This is what gave us the idea to partner with this wonderful association to create together this box set to mark this years’ International Women's Rights Day. Through this project, we wanted to contribute in a very concrete way to the wider development of the young women that Rêv'Elles supports and mentors."
SIX PROJECTS TO EMPOWER WOMEN SUPPORTED BY THE BIC CORPORATE FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION:
- Carolina for Kibera (Kenya): giving young Kenyans the keys to becoming self-sufficient through education.
- Children of the Mekong (Philippines): educate, train and accompany children and young adults in order to enable them to improve their material living conditions and to build themselves, intellectually, emotionally and morally.
- Fundación Paiz (Guatemala): provide access to quality education for girls in rural areas, so that they can finish their studies and have a better future.
- Rêv’Elles (France): to inspire, motivate and help young underprivileged women to imagine and realize their professional and personal future.
- Rede Nami (Brazil): Reducing violence against women through the education of Afro-Brazilian women. They offer a six-month leadership training program focused on women's personal development through urban art.
- Girls With Impact (USA): Equipping girls with the knowledge, confidence and skills to be tomorrow's entrepreneurs.