Montblanc and UNICEF are marking their 13 successful years of collaboration that have raised over US$10 million to benefit education programmes around the world. “With a further US$1.5 million pledged this year through the launch of new product range, we are continuing our initiative to help unfortunate children be literate,” Matthieu Dupont, President South East Asia Montblanc, tells Registry Indonesia during his short visit to Jakarta.
“This year’s initiative is titled ‘Passing on the Gift of Writing’, and we are in our new chapter to further help thousands of children from various parts of the world have access to quality education,” Mr. Duppont explains while showing limited edition writing instruments, timepieces, accessories and leather goods – all that are featured in the latest Montblanc for UNICEF collection.
Montblanc and UNICEF shares one strong belief, that writing is a special gift that every child should have access to. It’s the same passion that gave birth to Montblanc over 110 years ago. Throughout its history, the Maison sees writing as a precious gift that has the power to change the world. “And we are now raising awareness for child literacy, and help those children make a difference to the world we live in,” Mr. Duppont says.
Through its partnership with UNICEF, Montblanc aims to help improve learning for over five million children across the world. The funds raised by the initiative will help UNICEF to support national education quality standards that cover pedagogy, reading and writing, the learning environment, community involvement, infrastructure and measuring of learning outcomes. In addition, the funds will go towards teacher training programmes, as well as guidance and tools to ensure teachers have the knowledge necessary to deliver quality education to students.
Montblanc’s collaboration with UNICEF began in 2004 with “Sign Up for the Right to Write” initiative, which saw the Maison raise funds through the sale of a limited edition of 4,810 pens. Another chapter continued the initiative with the “Power to Write” campaign in 2007, supporting UNICEF education programmes through the sale of a special edition writing instrument. Renewing its commitment towards eradicating child illiteracy, the “Signature For Good” initiative between 2009 and 2010 benefitted the UNICEF education programs in Asia and Latin America, as well as UNICEF’s “Schools for Africa” initiative, a joint initiative established in 2004 by UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Foundation to promote education for all children in Africa.
In 2013, Montblanc renewed the “Signature for Good” initiative with a collection of writing instruments, leather pieces and jewellery featuring a brick design that symbolised the joint effort of building a better future for all children and their communities by improving access to quality education, including the construction of schools.
Without doubt, the huge funds raised since 2014 through Montblanc-UNICEF partnership have given significant impacts in improving children education in many countries. “We’re not going to stop here. We will continue the partnership with more initiatives to help educate children with the power of words,” Mr. Dupont concludes.
Originally published on RegistryE.com
