Mécénat Servier committed to access to education worldwide
To mark the International Day of Education 2024, the Mécénat Servier Charity Fund is putting the spotlight on its commitment to access to knowledge. Focus on two key partnerships (among many!) and their tangible results.
As the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed, “Everyone has the right to education”. Yet too many children are excluded from schooling and learning for a variety of reasons, including poverty, ethnicity, gender, disability, lack of teachers, and so on.
From the outset in 2016, the Mécénat Servier Charity Fund has made education – and more broadly, access to culture – one of the main pillars of its work.
By providing financial support to dedicated associations and enabling Servier Group teams to take part in solidarity initiatives, we want to give as many children as possible a chance to learn and thus gain access to employment and income,
Corinne Massin, Director of Corporate Philanthropy and General Delegate of Mécénat Servier Charity Fund.
Education, which fosters dialogue, understanding, and respect for others, is also a means of combating violence, intolerance, and all types of conflict, as UNESCO reminds us through this year’s theme: “Learning for lasting peace”(1).
In France, partnership with nonprofit 1001mots helps prevent school dropouts
With its long history in the Paris region, the Servier Group has forged close ties with local communities and non-profit organizations. This proximity is reflected in some of the partnerships of the Mécénat Servier Charity Fund, such as the one with the nonprofit 1001mots (1001 Words), which has been in place since 2022. Across four departments of the Île-de-France (Paris region), as well as in the Loiret, Moselle, and Rhône regions, the 1001mots organization helps parents to awaken their children’s language skills between the ages of 0 and 3.
Since the beginning of our partnership, the Mécénat Servier Charity Fund has been a vital partner in helping us expand our program in the Yvelines region. In just over a year, we’ve already helped 1,200 children, and within 2 years we’d like to have reached over 3,000. The long-term support of Mécénat Servier has also enabled us to strengthen our local presence in the area and make a real difference to children’s academic success, particularly through parent-child workshops. And we’re also thrilled to be able to call on Servier employees for one-off skills-based sponsorship missions, as was the case with the book drive carried out in November 2023.
Valentina Stankov, Corporate Philanthropy Officer for 1001mots
Carole Laloum, Head of Serialization and Traceability Monitoring, is one of two Servier employees who took part in the book drive:
I’d wanted to take part in a solidarity initiative for a long time, but I lacked the time and sometimes the organization. Being able to do it in a work-related context was a good compromise. What’s more, I feel very strongly about 1001mots, because I believe that reading should be accessible to everyone, whatever their background or means. During this assignment, we sorted books, packed them up, and sent them to families helped by 1001mots. In the afternoon, we made toys from recycled materials. I had a great time, in good spirits, with people I didn’t know, and what’s more, I came away with ideas for recycled toys!
In Vietnam, 220 children and young people have received support since 2020 through our partnership with Enfants d’Asie.
Although Vietnam is undergoing significant economic development, children from poor families have limited access to schooling and often drop out early to work and support their families. The Enfants d’Asie non-profit organization works with these underprivileged children and students to help them stay in school and build a better future for themselves.
The support Mécénat Servier provides is multifaceted, and includes financial assistance to pay school fees, health and accident insurance, social support, access to cultural and educational activities, as well as a substantial involvement by the Servier teams in Vietnam, who regularly organize activities for the children. Mécénat Servier is also involved in a program for female students from ethnic minorities in central Vietnam, and supports Xuan Phuong, a day-care center for children aged 0 to 12. Many children have been able to continue their schooling, graduate, go on to higher education or vocational training, and find better-paying jobs because of this partnership.
Camille Boquien, Partnerships Officer at Enfants d’Asie
Trinh Le Dinh Diem, Executive Assistant at Servier Vietnam, who is in charge of this partnership, is very enthusiastic about the initiatives undertaken:
Our support has enabled Enfants d’Asie to expand from a local program in Hô-Chi-Minh and surrounding areas to a more global scale, reaching hundreds of students with four different programs. I’m extremely happy to be able to take part in this project. It is particularly focused on skills-based sponsorship, which offers Servier Vietnam teams a unique opportunity to get involved with students through follow-up, training, coaching, and mentoring, to help them realize their dreams and find stable employment. This will enable them to become agents of change in their communities, motivating the next generation. I’m proud to be part of a company that’s so committed, it gives an extra dimension to my work.
To see the Mécénat Servier’s activities, visit the website!
(1) education-day-2024-cn-en.pdf (unesco.org)
