NEST ANNOUNCES ITS CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE (CGI) COMMITMENT TO STRENGTHEN SKILL DEVELOPMENT FOR ARTISAN WOMEN
Non-profit Nest and partners IF Hummingbird Foundation/Hearts on Fire, Kering Foundation, and West Elm will invest more in vocational training for the artisan sector
September 20, 2016 (New York, NY): Nonprofit Nest announces today its Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action to advance the underserved global artisan workforce, in support of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for women and girls. Nest’s commitment is supported by partners IF Hummingbird Foundation/Hearts on Fire, Kering Foundation and West Elm with a goal to reach 100,000 women in the artisan industry, the 2nd largest employer of women in developing economies.
Nest joins No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project, Vital Voices Global Partnership, WEConnect International, and a coalition of over 30 core partners from the public, private, and multilateral sectors to address significant gender gaps and advance the gender equality targets of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
With its CGI Commitment to Action, Nest commits to strengthening the skill development and vocational training needed to advance artisan businesses. Within Nest’s Guild network of global artisan businesses, nearly 80% of businesses report a dedication to employing and empowering women. In support of this Commitment, the organization will expand its Nest Professional Fellowship Program, which matches artisan makers with high-caliber industry experts to benefit from much needed technical expertise.
Says Rebecca van Bergen, Founder and Executive Director of Nest: “Together with our partners, Nest is furthering our dedication to a globally scalable, business needs-based approach to artisan development. By investing in Nest’s Professional Fellowship Program, we will bring more artisan women the high-level training and market readiness they need.”
Nest’s three-year Commitment will span September 2016 through September 2019, impacting artisan businesses based in 43 countries. It comes at a time when addressing gender inequality is integral to global development. Gender is a central feature of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Outcome Document where it is highlighted as a standalone outcome and goal (SDG 5), and is integrated throughout the agreement.
Says Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation, on-stage at the 2016 CGI Annual Meeting: “This coalition demonstrates that a broad range of partners from the private sector to the grassroots community to the UN offers us a powerful opportunity to accelerate opportunities for girls and women worldwide,” said Chelsea Clinton, who announced this group of commitments on-stage during a plenary session titled, Girl, Uninterrupted: Increasing Opportunity During Adolescence. “No Ceilings data show us that achieving gender equality doesn’t only change the lives and opportunities for girls and women, it changes the world. When girls and women participate fully, societies, nations, and our global community are all more secure.”
Nest’s Commitment directly supports its nonprofit mission to bring transparency, data-driven business development and widespread industry advocacy to the global workforce of artisans and homeworkers.
Press Contact:
Kristin Lane
Nest Chief Marketing Officer
[email protected]
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About Nest
Founded in 2006, Nest is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) committed to the social and economic advancement of global artisans and homeworkers through supply chain transparency, sustainable business development, and widespread industry advocacy. By providing artisans tailored and replicable support while building scalable solutions to global sector challenges, Nest is helping to create economic opportunities that alleviate poverty, empower women, and preserve cultural traditions of artisanship. For the past ten years, Nest’s innovative approach to advancing artisans and homeworkers has established the organization as a trusted industry leader and innovator. Learn more at www.buildanest.org and follow the movement @buildanest.
About Kering Foundation
Launched in 2009, the Kering Corporate Foundation combats Violence Against Women.
To enhance its social impact, the Foundation focuses on one cause in each of the following three regions:
– Sexual Violence in the Americas
– Harmful Traditional Practices in Western Europe (France, Italy, United-Kingdom)
– Domestic Violence in Asia
The Kering Foundation supports NGOs’ projects and social entrepreneurs and organizes awareness campaigns involving the 38 000 Group’s employees. Learn more at www.keringfoundation.org @KeringForWomen
About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together 190 sitting and former heads of state, more than 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 3,500 Commitments to Action, which have improved the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.
For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
About No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project
No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project is an initiative of the Clinton Foundation which aims to advance the full participation of girls and women around the world. Through a data-driven analysis on gender equality, an in-depth conversation series, innovative partnerships, and CGI commitments, No Ceilings builds an evidence-based case to chart the path forward for the full participation of girls and women in the 21st century. For more information, visit noceilings.org.
About Vital Voices Global Partnership
Vital Voices Global Partnership invests in women leaders who improve the world. Guided by the belief that women are essential to progress in their communities, it has partnered with leaders from more than 140 countries who advance economic opportunity, increase political and public leadership, and end violence against women. Programs in strategic planning, business, advocacy and communications build critical skills needed for creating transformational change at scale. Through its global platform, women leaders expand their connections and visibility, accelerating shared progress for all. Visit www.vitalvoices.org to learn more.
About WEConnect International
WEConnect International helps women-owned businesses succeed in global value chains. It identifies, educates, registers, and certifies women’s business enterprises based outside of the U.S. that are at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by one or more women, and then connects them with qualified buyers. Visit www.WEConnectInternational.org to learn more.