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The most important
people in the world
At IKEA we believe that children are the most important people in the
world. So when creating products, we think about children’s joy and
imagination, development, and safety. Because every one of them
should be free to play and learn.
But this is not easy for all children. Every year an estimated 9.7
million children under the age of five die totally preventable deaths
due to illnesses, conflict, malnutrition, poor hygiene and lack of clean
water. Millions more will never get an education.
The best interest of the child should always come first. That is
why we – through IKEA Social Initiative – work with UNICEF and Save
the Children. Our long-term activities concentrate on creating lasting
change in South Asia.
With the money raised during the annual Soft Toys campaign,
IKEA Social Initiative also supports Save the Children and UNICEF
projects in places like China, Vietnam, Africa, Central and Eastern
Europe.
The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many
people. And fighting for the rights of children is the least we can do
for the most important people in the world.
www.IKEA.com
CLICK ON EACH CHAPTER TO FIND OUT MORE:
ikea social
initiative
soft toys
ACTIVITY
soft toys 2008
the collection
IKEA SOCIAL
INITIATIVE
www.IKEA.com
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IKEA Social
Initiative
sides with
children
IKEA works closely with our partners
UNICEF and Save the Children to support children’s rights.
The story begins in the mid-nineties
when our initial focus was on preventing
child labour in the supply chain of IKEA.
Save the Children was a strong influence
in formulating IKEA’s child labour code of
conduct, “The IKEA Way on Preventing
Child Labour”, which states that the best
interests of children should always come
first.
In 2005, an organisation called IKEA
Social Initiative was created to broaden
and coordinate investments in social
involvement on a global level. We work
together with UNICEF and Save the Children on projects that fight for children’s
rights to a healthy and secure childhood
with access to quality education.
These projects take a holistic approach; improving the health of women
and children, creating access to a quality education, and empowering women
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IKEA Social
initiative
IKEA Social Initiative fights for children’s rights to a
healthy and secure childhood with access to quality education. The best interests of children always come first.
to create a better future for themselves
and their communities.
“We want to create lasting change,
and this takes time and dedication. We
could just give a mother a little money
to help make things a little easier for
her children, at least for a while. But if
we give her the confidence and tools
she needs to earn money on her own,
we help transform a community,” says
Marianne Barner, head of IKEA Social
Initiative.
On the following pages, we’re highlighting a major project in India, where
the needs of children and women are
great, and where IKEA has long conducted business.
For more information about IKEA
Social Initiative and the projects it
supports, please visit
www.IKEA.xx/About IKEA/Our
Responsibility/Community Involvement
IKEA Social
initiative
M. Barner
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Marianne Barner,
head of IKEA
Social Initiative.
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initiative
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Healthy
Start for
Children
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In parts of India many children fall seriously ill or die as a result of malnutrition, worm parasites, infant diarrhoea
and the fact that too few children and
women are immunised. Illness also often
leads a family into a spiral of debt,
which can subsequently force children
into work.
Keeping children healthy is an
important step in our fight for children’s
rights. That is why IKEA Social Initiative supports the UNICEF “Healthy Start
for Children” project in several Indian
states aimed at providing mothers and
young children with the immunisations
and vitamin supplements they need. The
project also focuses on providing proper
Manju Kumari has brought her two-month old
son to get his first oral polio vaccine and a DPT
vaccine injection to protect against diphtheria,
whooping cough and tetanus. She is one of
many women from her village in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam who have brought
their infants to a week-long special immunisation drive in the area.
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“More than 12 million
children will benefit
from a variety of high
impact health and
nutrition interventions.”
Marzio Babille, UNICEF
Front line health workers can help mothers see
that breastfeeding and hand washing will improve
the health of their children. A common misconception is that newborns need water, and the lack of
clean water in rural India often leads to diarrhoea
or even death among these vulnerable babies.
nutrition to undernourished children.
“More than 12 million children will
benefit from a variety of high impact
health and nutrition interventions. We
have particular focus on newborns and
children under three, reaching them
both at home and helping to refer those
who need special care at facility level,”
says Marzio Babille, chief of health for
UNICEF India country office.
Children and mothers are immunised against common illnesses such as
measles, polio, diphtheria and whooping cough. They also receive preventive
medical treatment, such as deworming
medicines and vitamin supplements,
and are given mosquito nets to protect
against malaria. Mothers are encouraged to breast-feed their babies, which
greatly reduces child mortality.
To create lasting change, it is important that communities are able to help
themselves. Part of our work is to support the empowerment of families and
communities by training local women in
health and nutrition topics.
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Pict. 1:
Just a few drops make all the difference. The number of polio cases in
India has dropped significantly in the past decade, but the paralysing
disease is still prevalent. Thanks to the oral vaccine provided by UNICEF
with support from IKEA, two-year old Rinku should be safe.
Pict. 2:
Meena Chetia has training in nursing and midwifery. She
has given thousands of vaccinations to young infants, and
Lakhamani Karmakar knows that her baby Sapna will
soon overcome the brief pain from the needle sting.
Pict. 3:
It doesn’t always take much to improve children’s health,
or even save lives. Thanks to the UNICEF project supported
by IKEA Social Initiative, local health workers have the supplies needed to prevent many common illnesses.
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Declaration of the
Rights of the Child
In 1959, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration
of the Rights of the Child, which defines children’s rights to protection,
education, health care, shelter and good nutrition. In simplified language, the 10 principles of the declaration read as follows:
1. All children have the right to what follows below, no matter their
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, or where
they were born or who they were born to.
2. Children have the right to grow up and to develop physically and
spiritually in a healthy and normal way, free and with dignity.
Save the Children is the world’s largest independent organisation for children,
working to secure children’s rights and improve children’s lives in over 125
countries worldwide.
From emergency relief to long-term development, Save the Children helps
children achieve a happy, healthy and secure childhood by securing and protecting children’s rights to food, shelter, health care, education and to freedom
from violence, abuse and exploitation. Save the Children listens to children,
involves children and ensures their views are taken into account.
For more information, please visit www.savethechildren.net
3. Children have the right to a name and to be a member of a country.
4. Children have the right to special care and protection and to good
food, housing and medical services.
5. Children have the right to special care if handicapped in any way.
6. Children have the right to love and understanding, preferably from
parents and family, but from the government where these cannot help.
7. Children have the right to go to school for free, to play and to have
an equal chance to develop and to learn to be responsible and useful.
8. Children have the right always to be among the first to receive help.
9. Children have the right to be protected against cruel acts or exploitation. Children should not work before a minimum age and never when
working hinders their health or moral and physical development.
10. Children shall be taught peace, understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all people.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
UNICEF works in 191 countries through country programmes and National
Committees. Some 88 percent of its approximately 7,200 posts are located in
the field. There are eight regional offices and 126 country offices worldwide,
as well as a research centre in Florence, a supply operation in Copenhagen
and offices in Tokyo and Brussels. UNICEF headquarters are in New York.
UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and
to expand their opportunities so they’re able to reach their full potential.
For more information, please visit www.unicef.org
PE222656
THE SOFT TOY
ACTIVITY
www.IKEA.com
SOFT TOY
CAMPAIGN
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The IKEA Soft
Toy ACTIVITY
Since 2003 IKEA has made donations from
the sale of teddy bears and soft toys to
children’s projects all over the world. For a
number of weeks every year IKEA donates
1 euro for every soft toy sold – a total of 11
million euro so far – to UNICEF and Save
the Children. Every cent is earmarked for
various projects run by these organisations, whose overall goal is to improve
children’s lives around the world.
So far the money has helped fund
projects in 22 countries, including Albania,
Bangladesh, Russia, Vietnam, Ivory Coast,
Uganda and China.
“IKEA’s innovative partnership with
UNICEF is an important contribution to
ensuring access to quality education for
all children. Opportunities to go to school
will empower girls and boys in developing
countries, to build better lives and realize
their dreams,” says Philip O’Brien, Director
of UNICEF’s Private Fundraising & Partnerships Division.
“Thanks to IKEA we have been able
to improve the rights and lives of many
children around the world. Thousands of
Children on three continents, from Albania
1 euro is a fortune. Together with
our customers IKEA can make a
real difference. 1 euro alone is
enough to provide five children
with schoolbooks for one whole
year. Just imagine how much
IKEA stores and our customers
all over the world can accomplish
– schools, teacher, books…..
€1 is a
fortune!
“IKEA’s innovative partnership with UNICEF is an
important contribution to
ensuring access to quality
education for all children.”
Philip O’Brien, UNICEF
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to China to the Ivory Coast, are now supported and receive an education thanks to
this activity.
Together we have the knowledge,
the resources and the power to make a
difference to millions of vulnerable children
around the world,” says Charlotte Petri
Gornitzka, Secretary General Save the
Children.
This year’s activity – aiming to improve
children’s education – will enable UNICEF
and Save the Children to start up new
projects in 14 countries, as well as financing ongoing projects.
On the following pages, we’re highlighting two ongoing projects in China and
Albania, established to create a safe and
inspiring learning environment for children.
Albania
Angola
Bangladesh
Belarus
Bhutan
Bulgaria
Cameroon
Chad
China
Democratic
Republic of
Congo
Guinea
India
Ivory Coast
Kyrgyzstan
This year’s Soft Toy Activity enables UNICEF and Save the Children
to start new projects in 14 countries. Including the new projects,
IKEA Activity proceeds have, do or will benefit projects run by the
organisations all over the world.
Macedonia
Moldova
Niger
Pakistan
Romania
Russia
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Tajikistan
Uganda
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
SOFT TOY
CAMPAIGN
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Children affected
by migration in
China
Millions of people in China are leaving the countryside
to seek work in the cities. Save the Children works to
protect children who are living in difficult conditions
after migrating, as well as those left behind in the rural
communities.
Save the Children liaises with local authorities to ensure that children have access to education and healthcare. With proceeds from the IKEA Soft Toy Activity, the
charity also builds activity centres and playgrounds so
children have an opportunity to play.
One example is the Chil“My parents have worked dren’s Activity Centre started
outside of this town since in 2006 at the Yangzhen
I was five or six years Primary School in the Chinese
province of Anhui.
old. My mom is a salesThe majority of the students
woman. My dad is a car- here were left behind by their
penter. They come home parents who work in the cities.
once a month or every two The Centre provides a safe
months.” space for children to play and
Hu Jun Ji spend time together, helping them cope with being far
away from their parents, and to build self-confidence.
Several migration groups are set up for the left-behind children to help one another, with a supporting
adult volunteer in each group. Training and workshops
are provided for both children and teachers to raise
awareness of children’s rights – especially about nondiscrimination and child protection.
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© Save the Children/3
Pict. 1: The Children’s Activity
Centre is managed by children selected by the children
themselves, with some necessary support from teachers. All
children are welcome to read
and play at the Centre.
Pict. 2: Hu Jun Jie likes basketball and table-tennis the
best, but doesn’t mind a game
of soccer. “I like mathematics,
but my English teacher is my
favourite because he is funny
and always tells jokes. I also
like to play ping-pong and
basketball. Every two weeks, I
do activities at this (Children’s
Activity) centre. I read and play
ping-pong there,” he says.
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Pict. 3: At the Yangzhen Children’s Activity Centre, 13-year
old Hu Jun Jie can play and
read with other children who
have also been left behind by
parents that have migrated to
urban areas. “My parents have
worked outside of this town
since I was five or six years old.
My mom is a saleswoman. My
dad is a carpenter. They come
home once a month or every
two months.”
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© Save the Children/2
© Save the Children/1
SOFT TOY
CAMPAIGN
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Providing books
for ‘Albania Reads’
Education quality in Albania plummeted during the transition to a market
economy. Limited public resources and
tight family budgets mean that a whole
generation of Albanian children is growing up without books and encouragement to read. Not surprisingly, a recent
UNESCO study revealed more than half
the nation’s 15-year-old students are
unable to complete any more than the
simplest reading tasks.
‘Albania Reads’ is a government
initiative launched in 2006 to restore a
culture of reading among the country’s
youth. UNICEF supports this project with
proceeds from the IKEA Soft Toy Activity.
The project provides 850 schools with
the building blocks for a school library;
packages of 150 books, shelving and a
manual on library management. Already
more than 190 schools have created
libraries.
Reading corners are set up to encourage children to read. In addition, parents
and the wider community get involved
through awareness campaigns that promote the benefits of reading.
“First you learn to read and then you
read to learn,” says Carrie Auer, UNICEF
Representative in Albania. These are
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truly vital steps to ensuring a learning
culture for children and their community.
“First you learn
to read and then
you read to learn.”
Carrie Auer, UNICEF
Pict. 1: Three boys read, sharing a desk
in the compulsory school in the village of
Tomin in Peshkopia, one of the country’s
poorest regions. The children are waiting
for their new books.
© UNICEF/HQ08-0141/Giacomo Pirozzi
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Pict. 2: A Tomin boy tends an old wood
stove that provides the only heating in his
classroom. Children help collect wood to
heat their classrooms in winter.
Pict. 3: A teacher reads to his class.
‘Albania Reads’ also promotes teacher
training and quality literature standards.
© UNICEF/HQ08-0140/Giacomo Pirozzi
© UNICEF/HQ08-0146/Giacomo Pirozzi
PE218532
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PE212445
1. FABLER KROKODIL soft toy £5.99
2. FABLER KO soft toy £3.99
3. GOSIG TERRIER soft toy £6.99
4. GOSIG GOLDEN soft toy £6.99
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SOFT TOYS 2008
THE COLLECTION
www.IKEA.com
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The
Collection
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Introducing some new friends of ours.
Soft, cuddly, and made to love. A soft toy can be so many things to a child – a pet, a companion,
even a lifelong best friend. When we designed these animals, we wanted them to feel soft and
floppy, not overstuffed. In short, huggable. They vary in sizes, so some fit in pockets and some sit
on your lap. And there are more even more cuddles to be had - what you see here is just part of
the larger soft toy collection for IKEA. Let the lovefest begin!
1. GOSIG KANIN soft toy £1.99
2. FABLER KROKODIL soft toy £5.99
3. GOSIG BULLDOG soft toy £6.99
4. FABLER GRODA soft toy £1.99
5. FABLER KO soft toy £3.99
6. FABLER BJÖRN soft toy £1.59
7. GOSIG MUS soft toy 79p/ea
The
Collection
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We’ve made our GOSIG collection of soft
toys with loads of real-life personality.
This way, all children can have a pet. Even
if it is only a toy to us adults...
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G
GOSI
1. GOSIG BULLDOG soft toy 55 brown/white £8.99
2. GOSIG SPANIEL soft toy 40 brown £6.99
3. GOSIG TERRIER soft toy 40 white £6.99
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1. GOSIG PUDEL soft toy 35 grey £5.99
2. GOSIG BULLDOG soft toy 40 brown/white £6.99
3. GOSIG GOLDEN soft toy 40 yellow £6.99
4. GOSIG GOLDEN soft toy 70 yellow £10.99
5. GOSIG KATT soft toy 30 orange £2.99
6. GOSIG MUS soft toy 14 assorted colours 79p
7. GOSIG TERRIER soft toy 40 white £6.99
The
Collection
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1. GOSIG RÅTTA soft toy assorted colours 79p
2. GOSIG MARSVIN soft toy 25 brown £1.99
3. GOSIG RÅTTA soft toy assorted colours 79p
4. GOSIG MUS soft toy 14 assorted colours 79p
5. GOSIG KANIN soft toy 40 brown £6.99
6. GOSIG KANIN soft toy 20 beige £1.99
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The
Collection
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Designer Annie Hulden
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We’v
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if its fl found a c
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The
Collection
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“Rabbits, mice, cats and
frogs - they all talk, didn’t
you know that?”
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Designer Silke Leffler:
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“Rabbits, mice, cats and frogs - they all
talk, didn’t you know that? When I gather
inspiration to new drawings for the FABLER
collection I try to see the world from a child’s
perspective. Together with my children, I let
my imagination run free. What mischief is the
crocodile going to get into next? How will the
mouse make friends with the cat? For hundreds of years, fables have helped children
to talk about emotions and relationships. I
hope the FABLER collection will inspire many
families to continue with this tradition.”
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1. FABLER KATT soft toy white 55cm £4.99
2. FABLER GRODA soft toy 28 green £1.99
3. FABLER MUS soft toy 28 grey £2.99
4. FABLER BJÖRN soft toy 24 beige £1.59
5. FABLER KATT soft toy white 40cm £3.99
6. FABLER KO soft toy 40 black/white £3.99
7. FABLER HUND soft toy grey 60cm £4.99
8. FABLER KROKODIL soft toy green 170cm £5.99