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PwC is one of UNHCR's most important corporate partners. Currently, the primary focus of the partnership is our project to bring educational resources to refugee children in Chad who fled the conflict in Darfur. PwC’s involvement with UNHCR dates back to 2004 when it offered its expertise to UNHCR relief efforts associated with the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster.
The following year, PwC joined forces with UNHCR and other companies to launch the Council of Business Leaders, a network of major corporations that have established multi-year partnerships with UNHCR to empower forcibly displaced people. The Council works alongside UNHCR to leverage specific corporate core competencies with a view to helping UNHCR become a more efficient and effective organization, and to raise public awareness about UNHCR and the cause of refugees. Current Council of Business Leaders members include Manpower, Microsoft, Nike, PwC, and WPP.
Through PwC’s role as a founding member of the Council of Business Leaders, PwC is also involved in a program called, Community Technology Access, which helps UNHCR deliver technology capabilities to refugee camps around the world. CTA empowers refugees by providing access to education, vocational training, and livelihoods via technology. By contributing its program management expertise, PwC plays a central role in supporting CTA.
A key factor in the success of the collaboration between the UNHCR and PwC has been the open, ongoing communication between the two organizations in terms of setting expectations, accountabilities, and goals. The involvement of top leadership at each organisation has also been vital to the collaboration’s effectiveness. This year, PwC partner Rick Millen and Director Kathryn Wightman-Beaven will visit refugee camps in Chad to see first-hand the progress being made there in building an educational system for the refugee children of Darfur.
This collaborative effort has been presented at the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies 2009 Congress. INEE is an international network of NGOs, donors, and practitioners that works to ensure all persons the right to quality education and a safe learning environment in emergencies and post-crisis recovery. |
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