Summit at United Nations Will Give Voice to Critical Women's Issues
Worldwide
First-Ever Worldwide Women's Poll and Empowerment Index Released by Avon
NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Virtue Foundation and Avon
Products, Inc. announce The Global Summit for a Better Tomorrow,
co-sponsored by UNICEF, UNIFEM, and UN-DESA. The Global Summit for a Better
Tomorrow is a call to action to address the most important issues facing
women today. The Summit was designed to raise global awareness of
International Women's Day, and takes place Wednesday, March 7, 2007, the
eve of the holiday's official celebration, at the United Nations.
The Global Summit for a Better Tomorrow will represent a gathering of
some of the most influential and accomplished leaders in the arena of
women's empowerment around the world, as well as celebrities including
Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Melina Kanakaredes
(CSI: New York), who will share inspiring personal stories. The program
will address three major areas of interest affecting women today:
healthcare, education, and economic empowerment. The Virtue Foundation, who
successfully raises public awareness about these critical global issues,
will bring them to life at the Summit with personal stories from women, who
have overcome great adversity and yet have been inspired to take action.
"Virtue Foundation is guided by the principle that true global change
must begin within each of us -- one person at a time, one act at a time.
Awareness coupled with action will lead to a better and more peaceful
world," said Dr. Joseph Salim, co-founder and Executive Director of the
Virtue Foundation. "We believe the most powerful way to resolve many of the
world's problems is to empower women and girls, especially those most in
need. We are proud to partner with Avon at the United Nations today to help
raise awareness and inspire action on these critical issues affecting women
and girls worldwide."
"As the company for women, Avon is incredibly proud to help lead the
call for worldwide awareness in those areas where women are most affected,
and this Summit is an important step forward on that journey," said Andrea
Jung, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products, Inc. "We share
a similar sense of purpose, commitment and conviction with the Virtue
Foundation, and we are thrilled to partner with them and the United Nations
on this unprecedented event."
In addition to remarks from Dr. Joan LaRovere and Andrea Jung, the
Summit will include a keynote speech from Dr. Shashi Tharoor, United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.
Other speakers slated to appear will include Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Executive
Director, UNIFEM; Ann Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF; Dr. Ebby Elahi,
Assistant Clinical Professor, Ophthalmology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine;
Carol Kurzig, Executive Director, Avon Foundation. Additional participants
include respected members of the media Sara James (Dateline NBC) and Alexis
Glick (Fox News), as well as special presentations by celebrities,
including recent Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and
Melina Kanakaredes (CSI: New York).
Attendees at the Summit will include pre-eminent female heads of
business, members of the media, and key leaders from non-profit
organizations that have made great strides to benefit women. All are
uniting for the cause of helping every woman to seek and embrace a brighter
future for herself.
Avon plans to use the Summit as a springboard for its other
International Women's Day initiatives, all of which fit into the program's
ultimate message of "empower women, change our world:" the Avon Worldwide
Women's Poll and Empowerment Index, the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, and the
Avon Foundation's Breast Cancer Prevention Research Initiative. Avon
believes in empowering women both through knowledge and through seed
capital -- both benchmarks of the company's own corporate philosophy -- and
Avon's International Women's Day programs reflect these ideas.
At the Summit, Avon will reveal the results of its first annual Avon
Worldwide Women's Poll and Empowerment Index. In partnership with GfK
Roper, Avon commissioned a report of women in 16 countries, representing
all of the major regions of the world, to highlight and gauge women's
advancement in six major areas of interest: Education, Employment, Economic
Independence, Personal Safety, Health, and Political Participation.
The Avon Worldwide Women's Poll and Empowerment Index will illuminate
the strides women have already made while also emphasizing those strides
that still need to be made. Avon hopes that the annual Avon Worldwide
Women's Poll and Empowerment Index will be used as a reliable benchmark for
members of the media and other interested parties to track the progress of
women worldwide each year until the world reaches the ultimate goal of
global equality.
Avon also adds to its roster of philanthropic activities the creation
of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, another International Women's Day
initiative which will be announced at the Summit. The Hello Tomorrow Fund
will distribute $5,000 a week to help deserving individuals fulfill their
dreams of creating a better tomorrow for women in the United States. Avon
will also be implementing this program globally in 18 countries.
Beginning Tuesday, April 17, 2007, the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund will
provide one $5,000 award per week to an individual who has submitted a
compelling application to advance the interests of women, and ultimately
improve society in one of three central empowerment areas: awareness and
outreach, business development, and community service.
In addition, the first honorary Hello Tomorrow Fund award winner will
be announced: Dr. Darlene Morgan Brown, a school administrator in New
Orleans whose school was selected to participate in the Virtue Foundation
Katrina Education Initiative, a program that is providing 21st century
technology enabled education to hundreds of children affected by Hurricane
Katrina. Darlene hopes to use the money to start an entrepreneurship
program for 6th and 9th grade girls and their mothers. Many of her students
still live in trailers post-Katrina and Darlene hopes that this program
will encourage female students to think about their future careers while
helping their mothers create future financial stability.
In addition, Avon plans to announce the creation of the $5 million Avon
Foundation Breast Cancer Prevention Research Initiative. Since women in
many countries currently lack adequate access to early detection, Avon
hopes to create a "better tomorrow" by improving the resources available to
them. As a result, the money will go towards developing a new screening
test to detect the earliest changes in the breast prior to developing
breast cancer, enabling women in countries worldwide to increase their
chances of survival by catching the disease early.
Avon is a company committed to corporate responsibility, having donated
upwards of $1 billion of its revenue globally to charitable causes, most
notably through the activities of the Avon Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) public
charity, and its Avon Breast Cancer Crusade program. Together, Avon's
charitable initiatives have founded scholarships, volunteer programs,
domestic violence awareness, breast cancer education, awareness, research,
and care, as well as providing disaster response to national and
international emergencies including the Asian tsunami.
About Virtue Foundation
Virtue Foundation is a public charitable and nongovernmental
organization with special consultative status to the United Nations. The
Foundation's mission is to increase awareness of prevalent global issues,
to inspire people to action, and to render humanitarian assistance through
healthcare, education, and empowerment initiatives. Comprised entirely of
volunteers, Virtue Foundation is guided by the principle that true global
change must begin within each of us -- one person at a time, one act at a
time.
For more information about Virtue Foundation, visit
http://www.virtuefoundation.org.
About Avon Products, Inc.
Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with
over $8 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller,
Avon markets to women in well over 100 countries through over five million
independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty
products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized
brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Solutions, Advance
Techniques, Avon Naturals, Mark, and Avon Wellness. Learn more about Avon
and its products at http://www.avoncompany.com.
SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.avon.com
http://www.virtuefoundation.org
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/079575.html /
CONTACT:
Kimberly Bernhardt, kbernhardt@bncpr.com, or
Dana Waisberg, dwaisberg@bncpr.com, both of BNC|Bragman Nyman
Cafarelli, +1-212-253-4646
|
