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IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN SUPPORTS CAMBODIAN LITERACY EFFORT WITH SCHOOL AND MOBILE LIBRARY

Siem Reap, Cambodia, March 2014 – The Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has opened two school buildings with a library in Roluos, Cambodia. Their construction was made possible partly by the proceeds from the auction of a platinum IWC watch, which went under the hammer for CHF 173,000 in November 2013. In the future, the company’s commitment will give 1200 children access to a school education. A new mobile library is also part of the joint efforts undertaken by IWC in conjunction with the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation and the Sipar organization to combat illiteracy in the country.

As of last weekend, the Hun Sen Roluos Primary School officially has nine fully equipped classrooms and a modern library. Here, just 13 kilometres from Siem Reap, the capitalof one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia, 1200 children will be able to benefit from an education and the chance of a better future. In a country where almost two-thirds of the population is unable to read, this is an encouraging prospect. In order to give more people access to reading material, a new mobile library has also gone into service and will pay regular visits to many remote villages. The minivan is colourfully painted with images of the little prince, in acknowledgement of Saint-Exupéry’s masterpiece and of the Foundation that his descendants set up for the benefit of children and young people. Working together as partners and with the help of Sipar, a locally based organization, IWC Schaffhausen and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation completed the project in just 6 months. One of the school buildings was renovated and the second was newly built. They were inaugurated in the presence of UNESCO representatives, local government officials, French delegates and representatives of the media. “The Cambodian education system is short of teachers and specialist staff because the generation of thirty- to forty-year-olds is virtuallynon-existent,” said Georges Kern, CEO of IWC. “We take our social responsibility very seriously and believe that everyhuman being is entitled to an education. We are especially grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the education of the youngest generation with the school and mobile library.”

TOGETHER AGAINST ILLITERACY

Since teaming up with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s descen¬dants in 2006, IWC has honoured the memory of the great French writer and pilot with a series of limited Pilot’s Watch special editions. Several unique pieces in platinum have since fetched high prices at auctions, and IWC has used the proceeds to support a wide range of projects organized by the French Foundation for the benefit of dis¬advantaged children. As recently as November 2013, one of these unique timepieces came under the hammer at an auction held by Sotheby’s Geneva. The watch, a Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” in platinum (Ref. IW502801), changed hands for the sum of CHF 173,000. IWC and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation used the proceeds to finance the school whose inauguration was celebrated last weekend. “Without the support of strong partners like IWC Schaffhausen we could not possibly fulfil our mission,” explained Olivier d’Agay, great-nephew of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Director Saint-Exupéry – d’Agay Estate. “We liaise closely with Sipar, a non-governmental organization that has been working to combat illiteracy in Cambodia for the past 22 years and supports a wide range of school- and education-related initiatives here on the ground.” An inscription on the newly opened school building in Roluos commemorates the participation of the three organizations: “This school building was built by Sipar with the support of the Antoine de SAINT-EXUPÉRY Youth Foundation and IWC Schaffhausen – March 2014”. (...)


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