ANTA Group will contribute an in-kind and cash donation to support UNHCR sports for protection and education programming across the globe
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ANTA Group and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency today announced a new global partnership focused on empowering displaced children and youth through the lifechanging potential of education and sports.
Photo credit: UNHCR/Azwan Rahim Mr. Lai Shixian, Executive Director and co-CEO of ANTA Group and Ms. Tina Friis Hansen, Global Head of UNHCR's Private Sector Partnerships Service, sign the agreement for the new global partnership, Moving for Change.
The three-year partnership, called 'Moving for Change', will support UNHCR's Primary Impact programming, to improve access to primary education, sports, teaching and learning resources; and to enhance child well-being, resilience and learning readiness through in-kind and cash donation. The donation will support displaced young people in Malaysia, Thailand, Burundi and more across the globe.
"ANTA Group is proud to partner with UNHCR to bring the power and joy of sports and education to displaced children and young people around the world," said Mr. Lai Shixian, Executive Director and Co-CEO, ANTA Group. "As a global citizen, it's ANTA Group's responsibility to contribute to global humanitarian assistance. Over the past 16 years, ANTA has donated more than 2.2 billion Chinese yuan to philanthropic programs and humanitarian aid. This is our first global corporate social responsibility initiative, and we could not ask for a better-positioned partner to ensure we can support some of the most pressing challenges facing our world today. We look forward to partnering with UNHCR and playing a part in realizing sustainable development through enabling quality education and equal opportunities for vulnerable children and youth."
In displacement settings, sports and play-based programming have been used effectively as part of child protection, education and psychosocial well-being interventions. As such, Moving for Change aims to reach 300,000 children and youth who have been affected by displacement across the world by 2025.
Photo credit: UNHCR/Azwan Rahim Mr. Will Wang, Vice President of ANTA Group and Chairman and President of ANTA SEA and Mr. Thomas Albrecht, UNHCR Representative in Malaysia, exchange gifts at the launch of the new global partnership, Moving for Change.
"Private sector partnerships like the one with ANTA Group play an important role in helping forcibly displaced children and youth access quality education and build brighter futures," said Tina Friis Hansen, UNHCR's Head of Private Sector Partnerships.
The global partnership between UNHCR and ANTA Group serves Sustainable Development Goals No. 4 (Quality Education) and No. 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Photo credit: UNHCR/Azwan Rahim Mr. Keane Shum, UNHCR Malaysia Senior Protection Officer, hands part of the contribution from the Moving for Change partnership to Mr. Tony Avbiorokoma, a sports coach at the MSRI learning centre for refugee children in Kuala Lumpur.
About UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. The organisation delivers life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water, helps safeguard fundamental human rights, and develops solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. UNHCR also works to ensure that stateless people are granted nationality.
About ANTA Group
ANTA was established in 1991, while ANTA Sports Products Limited, a widely recognized global sportswear company, was listed on the Main Board of HKEx in 2007 (Stock code: 2020.HK). For many years, ANTA Group has been principally engaging in the design, R&D, manufacturing, marketing and sales of professional sports products including shoes, apparel and accessories to consumers worldwide. By embracing an all-round brand portfolio including ANTA, FILA, DESCENTE and KOLON SPORT, and by setting up an investor consortium to successfully acquire Amer Sports in 2019, a global sportswear group that has internationally recognized brands including Arc'teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance, Atomic, etc. ANTA Group aims to unlock the potential of both the mass and high-end sportswear markets.
Since 2007, ANTA Group has contributed over CNY2.2 billion/USD$30 million in support of international humanitarian aid, poverty alleviation, the improvement of rural sport education infrastructure and public health facilities, and biodiversity conservation.
