Guerlain and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in partnership with French Observatory of Apidology (OFA) and Angelina Jolie, have welcomed the first beekeeping graduates from the Women for Bees programme.
As reported, Women for Bees is a five-year programme that offers training and education for aspiring female beekeepers. By 2025, the programme will have created 2,500 beehives within 25 UNESCO biosphere reserves with the aim of repopulating 125 million bees.
The graduation was celebrated with a private press conference on 21 July. The virtual event outlined the key elements of the Women For Bees programme and featured expert panel discussions and testimonials from the inaugural group of beekeepers.
Some noteworthy attendees included Guerlain President and CEO Véronique Courtois; Guerlain Chief Sustainability Officer Cécile Lochard; Unesco Ecological and Earth Sciences Division Director Man and the Biosphere Programme Secretary Noëline Raondry Rakotoarisoa and OFA Founder and President Thierry Dufresne.
It also featured Guerlain Global Brand Ambassador and Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Angelina Jolie and two new graduate beekeepers, Angelina and Leopoldine. The event was moderated by Paris-based journalist Lindsey Tramuta.
“I am personally very proud of the Women for Bees Guerlain x UNESCO programme, which links two essential pillars of our House’s commitment: protecting bees and empowering women,” commented Courtois.
“We are dedicated to making a concrete contribution to the protection of bees, one of nature’s most precious wonders, whilst having a positive social impact. Each of us within our organisation, has a role to play in making the world a better and more responsible place. Guerlain is keen to do its part, with humility and conviction.”
The graduates of the inaugural Women For Bees month-long training programme learned theoretical and practical beekeeping knowledge to mount and manage their own sustainable beekeeping operations. The women will become part of a worldwide community of beekeepers that aim to strengthen biodiversity and pass on their own beekeeping knowledge. The objective, according to Guerlain, is to empower aspiring women beekeepers with expertise-driven training and sustainable livelihoods.
The Women for Bees project is taking place at various UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The locations include Iles et Mers d’Iroise in France, Sila in Italy, the Central Balkans in Bulgaria, Kozjansko and Obsotelje in Slovenia, Sap in Cambodia, Kafa in Ethiopia, Volcans in Rwanda and Xishuangbanna in China.
“We think of a future without bees as science fiction, but bee populations are declining globally, due to human activity,” commented Jolie. “The implications for our food supply, for biodiversity if we continue on this path, are apocalyptic. As I started to work with Guerlain we spoke often about bees, and then we really started to talk about what could we do to improve the situation — what could we do for both for the bees and for women. This global sisterhood that is forming with this Women For Bees programme is very exciting.”
Guerlain has always been committed to sustainable innovation and biodiversity protection, with a particular focus on the protection of bees. Bee honey is the core ingredient in Guerlain’s hero Abeille Royale skincare line. Bees have also inspired the brand’s Aqua Allegoria fragrance collection and have been a constant reference point since the creation of the Guerlain ‘Bee Bottle’ in 1853.
The bee has also become a symbol for the house’s long-term sustainable commitments. The ‘Guerlain For Bees Conservation Programme,’ which embraces the Women for Bees campaign, is built on four key pillars: bee protection, bee welfare, bee repopulation and education on bees.
The Women for Bees project is the latest in a series of bee conservation initiatives by Guerlain. Since 2011, the programme has launched research, conservation and philanthropy partnerships with the Ouessant Brittany Black Bee Conservation Association, the French Observatory of Apidology, GoodPlanet Foundation and ELYX Foundation. In 2018, the programme also launched a ‘Bee School’ campaign to raise awareness about bee protection among primary school children.
https://youtu.be/AYZgDjW-pRE
