Mumbai: UNICEF and Dove renew their partnership to empower 16.4 million young people in India with vital self-esteem education over the next two years. This collaboration builds on their previous efforts, which began in 2019, to provide educational resources focused on self-esteem and body confidence. In the first phase, the initiative successfully reached over seven million students with the ‘Who Am I’ self-esteem lesson kits, surpassing its initial goal of supporting 6.25 million students by the end of 2023.
In this new phase, UNICEF will work closely with the state governments of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat to enhance the life skills programme. The initiative specifically targets young people aged 11-14 and 15+, addressing self-esteem concerns through engaging learning materials, including comic books that discuss gender stereotypes, media appearance ideals, and harmful body talk. These resources aim to help students become advocates for body confidence.
UNICEF plans to distribute the content through a variety of channels, including in-person training, the government’s e-learning platform Diksha, other state learning management systems, and the Passport to Earning digital platform. The programme encourages parents, siblings, and teachers to actively support boys and girls in becoming self-esteem champions.
“When young people do not feel confident, their ability to be changemakers and build a stronger future diminishes. With the renewal of our partnership with Dove, even more young people will be supported to feel confident in their ability to stand up for their rights and fulfill their promising potential,” said UNICEF, director of private fundraising and partnerships, Carla Haddad Mardini.
Positive self-esteem not only fosters essential life skills but also enhances young people's chances of gaining and retaining employment. This critical work contributes to body confidence and supports the retention, transition, and completion of their education, equipping them with the skills needed to succeed in school, work, and life.
“Since 2004, Dove has supported 114 million young people to build their body confidence and self-esteem. With so many young people feeling pressure to look a certain way, we hope that our partnership with UNICEF can support many more young people to advocate for themselves and challenge beauty standards,” stated Dove Personal Care North America & Dove Masterbrand, chief growth officer, Marcela Melero.
In addition to the programmes in India, the initial phase of the partnership also reached over 130,000 adolescents in Brazil with body confidence and self-esteem materials through both in-person sessions and UNICEF’s Topity chatbot. In Indonesia, over 180,000 teachers attended online training sessions to learn how to deliver self-esteem and body confidence lessons.
