The New World Group and UNICEF jointly announce "Create a New World for Children" Corporate Alliance Campaign
The New World Group and UNICEF jointly announced today the launch of "Create a New World for Children" Corporate Alliance Campaign, a 2-year partnership between the two organizations aiming to promote the survival, protection and development of the underprivileged children in the Mainland. "Girls' Education" is the main theme highlighted in the first-year campaign.
During the alliance period from 1 September 2003 to 31 August 2005, a series of fundraising and advocacy activities, with the active support from various business units of the New World Group, will be launched in the Mainland and Hong Kong. Engaged in a diverse range of business, including property, hotels, service, telecommunications and retail, these business units will work closely with the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF to achieve a fundraising target of HK$10 million in the two-year period.
Dr. Cheng Yu-Tung, Chairman of the New World Group said, "As a leading conglomerate based in the Mainland and Hong Kong, with businesses affecting people's daily lives, New World Group's strategic alliance with UNICEF will help ease the plight of the underprivileged in our society. We both share the same commitment to creating a better environment for disadvantaged children and improving their education opportunities, which are critical to their growth and development."
Mrs. Anson Chan, JP, Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF valued the importance of education and said, "Everyone should have an equal opportunity to receive education. However, in the Mainland, millions of girls are deprived of formal education. The combined effects of poverty and the conservative belief of male dominance worsen the situation. Thus, I do hope that the lives of the needy girls in the Mainland can be improved through various different fundraising programmes."
The Corporate Alliance Campaign will be kicked off by "Walk for a New World for Children" cross-border charity walkathon on 28 September 2003 (Sunday). New World China Land Limited has demonstrated its full support of this event by making a donation of HK$700,000 to the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF.
With over one thousand participants walking across the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border through Sha Tau Kok check-point for a worthwhile charity cause, the event is the first of its kind in the Mainland and Hong Kong. Miss Kelly Chen and Mr. Daniel Chan, Ambassadors of the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF, will take part in the charity walkathon on the event date. The funds raised in the event will be channelled to support UNICEF's "Girls' Education" Programme in the Mainland, aiming to help improve girls' education opportunities.