At the TEDxWomen luncheon, Salma Hayek Pinault has announced CHIME FOR CHANGE, founded by Gucci, a new global campaign to raise funds and awareness for girls’ and women’s empowerment.
Representing fellow co-founders Frida Giannini and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as she launched the initiative, Hayek Pinault presented a short film that she narrates, with new music by Beyoncé, which introduced CHIME FOR CHANGE to the world. Hayek Pinault will also present the first of ten CHIME FOR CHANGE short films, an extended trailer for THE SUPREME PRICE produced and directed by Joanna Lipper.
The film tells the story of Nigerian democracy activist Hafsat Abiola, who together with filmmaker Joanna Lipper will be present at the luncheon for a conversation moderated by TEDxWomen host Pat Mitchell. THE SUPREME PRICE is a 2012 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund recipient and winner of the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award.
CHIME FOR CHANGE serves to convene, unite and strengthen voices speaking out for girls and women around the world and will focus on three key pillars: Education, Health and Justice. The campaign comes at a historic and pivotal moment for girls and women globally as the world’s attention is drawn to international stories ranging from Malala’s personal fight for education in Pakistan to headlines of violence against women in all corners of the world, including India, Ireland, South Africa and the United States.
More than just raising awareness, CHIME FOR CHANGE, through its partner Catapult, encourages people throughout the world to support girls’ and womens’ projects in a personalized, individual way. Catapult enables citizen philanthropy and is the first crowd-funding platform dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women. Catapult connects CHIME FOR CHANGE community members directly to organizations and projects focused on the causes that matter most to them, and currently represents over 50 organizations in 38 countries.
“This is the emergency and the opportunity of today,” said Gucci Creative Director and CHIME FOR CHANGE co-founder Frida Giannini. “We have reached a significant moment in the history of girls’ and women’s empowerment and now is the time for change. I think it is essential for girls and women to see and celebrate what is possible. I hope that through CHIME we can help the voices calling for change to become so loud that they cannot be ignored.”
Gucci has a long history of engagement with girls’ and women’s issues, including a seven-year relationship with UNICEF in support of girls’ education. In addition, the company founded two women’s film awards, the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award with the Tribeca Film Institute and the Gucci Award for Women in Cinema with the Venice Film Festival. Gucci also actively supports the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights; both Frida Giannini and Salma Hayek Pinault are members of the Board.
“I am proud to be joining the growing international movement on behalf of girls and women around the world,” said Salma Hayek Pinault, co-founder of CHIME FOR CHANGE. “I believe that by working together we can change the course of history to ensure that girls and women are empowered to realize their potential and thrive.”
Co-founder Beyoncé Knowles-Carter said “I have always felt strongly about equal opportunity for women. Girls have to be taught from early on that they are strong and capable of being anything they want to be. It’s up to us to change the statistics for women around the world. I’m honored to be in the company of women who live fearlessly and set an example for the next generation of young ladies.”
Gucci recognizes the capacity that it has as a globally influential brand to effect real change, and is bringing together a range of leading organizations and individuals to strengthen the impact of CHIME FOR CHANGE. Strategic partners include the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, Hearst Magazines, and Catapult. Additionally, The Huffington Post has joined as a digital media partner.
“I am convinced that across the planet, women are at the heart of the equilibrium of our communities. There is a need to transform words into action and find new ways to enable and empower girls and women,” said PPR Chairman François-Henri Pinault. “I am excited and proud that PPR, through Gucci and our Foundation, is able to support CHIME FOR CHANGE. At PPR, women form the majority of our employees as well as the majority of our customers. I hope that this initiative, shared with other individuals and organizations, will contribute to making a change for the better for women and their communities around the world.”
CHIME FOR CHANGE leadership is joined by an Advisory Board of issues experts, advocates and global leaders, including Hafsat Abiola, Muna AbuSulayman, Jimmie Briggs, Gordon and Sarah Brown, Lydia Cacho, David Carey, Joanne Crewes, Waris Dirie, Yasmeen Hassan, Arianna Huffington, Musimbi Kanyoro, John Legend, Pat Mitchell, Alyse Nelson, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, François-Henri Pinault, Jada Pinkett Smith, Julia Roberts, Jill Sheffield, Caryl Stern, Meryl Streep, and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu, among others.
The movement aims to provoke, collect and share powerful stories of girls and women globally. Managing Editor Mariane Pearl leads a journalism platform of original content, further supported by the International Herald Tribune and the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Salma Hayek Pinault will be executive producer of a film unit dedicated to creating ten short films about inspiring girls and women from around the world, and will curate and highlight user-generated short videos submitted to the CHIME FOR CHANGE community.
CHIME FOR CHANGE will continue to update its community with exciting news, including a major announcement in mid-March about a global CHIME FOR CHANGE event that will put girls’ and women’s issues on the world’s stage.
Find out more here.
