French beauty giant Lancôme has announced a new initiative that will see it fight illiteracy among women across Morocco, Guatemala and Thailand.
Dubbed "Write Her Future," the initiative sees the brand partner with CARE, an NGO operating in 94 countries that works to combat extreme poverty. A number of celebrity ambassadors will be supporting the campaign via their social media channels, including Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyong'o, Lily Collins, Isabella Rossellini and Taylor Hill.
According to Lancôme, these three programmes will directly benefit more than 8,000 women and indirectly benefit more than 40,000 people.
"Today, 76 million young women lack basic reading and writing skills,” said Lancôme International President Françoise Lehmann.
“Often hidden, this handicap causes young women to face exclusion and dependence, with serious consequences for themselves, their families and their close ones.”
"We read and write – that's how we communicate, how we share, how we express our feelings, and how we learn to understand the world,” added Julia Roberts.
“To not have that accessible to everyone everywhere is really a crime. It's so great for Lancôme to be involved and get serious about supporting young girls in the world through the work of Write Her Future."
