OVS S p A : and Save the Children, together for the future of girls of all ages

OVS AND SAVE THE CHILDREN, TOGETHER FOR THE FUTURE OF

GIRLS OF ALL AGES

For International Girls Day, the OVS campaign to empower girls of all ages is now under way: from 11 October, OVS stores will be selling a special sweatshirt and giving part of the proceeds to the Save the Children projects that aim to give the many girls in Italy and the rest of the world, the future that is their right.

Actor and writer, Chiara Francini, face of the OVS project #LaMiaVoce [#MyVoice]

Just a few days from International Girls Day, which is celebrated on 11th October every year, OVS and Save the Children are turning their attention to the millions of girls of all ages who, in Italy and the rest of the world, are being deprived of their rights to a childhood and to the possibility to build a future for themselves.

The special partnership between OVS and Save the Children has been continuing for ten years, and this year, it is back with a brand new, important initiative that will give lots of girls the possibility to regain personal awareness and to cultivate their passions and aspirations. As part of the OVS #LaMiaVoce campaign, from 11 October, selected OVS stores will be offering the possibility to purchase a sweatshirt made exclusively for Save the Children (also available on line at ovs.it). Part of the proceeds will be given to Save the Children's empowerment projects in Italy and many other countries.

The sweatshirt, which will be available on line for early bird purchases from 10 October, is white with the wording "Wonder(ful) Woman" for women and "Wonder(ful) girl" for girls. Because behind every wonderful woman is a wonderful girl But not all girls have the opportunity to express their full potential. This is the message at the heart of the campaign, developed through a contest launched by OVS on social media in June, asking followers to suggest a phrase to dedicate to the girls of today and the women of tomorrow.

Child marriages and pregnancies, the denial of their right to an education, violence, and serious forms of gender discrimination are - as stressed by Save the Children, the international organisation that for 100 years has been fighting to save children at risk and to give them a future - the everyday reality for millions of girls around the world, with devastating consequences for their development and their future. In the world today, Save the Children is keen to point out, over 575 million girls experience serious gender-baseddiscrimination, 15 million primary-school-aged girls will never have the chance to learn to read and write and, every year, 12 million girls are forced into marriage, often with men who are far older than they are, and they encounter serious health risks through early pregnancy. In our country too, the consequences of educational poverty still prevent many girls from developing their skills and talents.

The face of the campaign is actor and writer Chiara Francini, who, in a very powerful video, is shown reading a letter she wrote to herself as a child, thanking herself for the many experiences, the challenges faced and the ability to think big, and to have been able to accept the help of those who believed in her.

"It is an honour and a pleasure", says Chiara Francini "to be an ambassador for this wonderful and important project that OVS and Save the Children have created with hands filled with love. Every girl should have the possibility to colour her life as she sees it. Only this way can she become the rainbow that is every woman."

"We are extremely grateful to OVS for working with us over the last ten years, and for the loud and clear message launched by this new campaign to give a future back to girls who all too often, see it taken away from them. Today's girls are tomorrow's women, but many of them, all over the world, continue to see their right to be children, to be educated, experiment, cultivate their own interests and pursue their dreams taken away from them, due to many factors, such as poverty, discrimination, and war. Simply put, they are denied the right to grow up as they would like to, and this is unacceptable. That's why we have to do everything we can to make sure none of them, in Italy or the many other countries all over the world, continues to be left behind", says Daniela Fatarella, Deputy CEO at Save the Children.

"OVS has always been committed to working for more vulnerable children", says Monica Gagliardi, Marketing Director for the brand, "And it has been doing this in partnership with Save the Children for over ten years now". With the #LaMiaVoce project, OVS and Save the Children want to draw attention to the plight of young girls, victims of violence, prejudice and gender discrimination that prevent them from becoming self-aware and from expressing their full potential and desires, denying them the possibility to build themselves a future. And that is why, from 11 October, we are making our network of stores and our website available to help raise public awareness on this important subject.

For more information:

Save the Children Press Office Tel [phone]/82 [e-mail] www.savethechildren.it

OVS Corporate communication & PR

Vania Rinaldi [e-mail] T. 340 1882274

Danila Barbieri [e-mail] - Tel. [phone]

www.ovs.it