June 12 marks the eighth World Day against Child Labor, announced by the International Labor Organization. According to UNICEF data, throughout the world more than a quarter of a billion children are forced to work, primarily in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Telefónica O2 supports the global fight against child labor by executing projects aimed at protecting underprivileged children all over the world.
One of these activities is the support of FAIR TRADE, which places emphasis on social and ecological aspects. This emerged as support for small farmers and traders in third-world countries and guarantees them a fixed price for their products, enabling them to provide themselves and their families with a respectable life. Conditions to participate in the program include the high quality and origins of their products, as well as, primarily, absolutely no child labor.
On Friday afternoon, hostesses at selected O2 brand stores will give out FAIR TRADE products and informative flyers to customers. The objective of the event is to inform as many people as possible about the issue of child labor and ways of fighting against it. Telefónica O2 has made a long-term commitment to supporting FAIR TRADE. For instance, in 2008 it bought nearly six thousand Christmas packages with FAIR TRADE products with a total value of three million CZK.
"Our company feels a massive responsibility to its surroundings and is trying to improve it on a long-term basis. Thanks to FAIR TRADE, we are enabling less fortunate families to live a more respectable life, and we are helping fight against child labor and the destruction of the environment,"< /em> says Veronika Řečníková, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Telefónica O2 Czech Republic.
Telefónica O2 is also participating in the Proni?o international employment program. This is part of the international "UN Millennium Development Goals", the objective of which is to improve the quality of basic education in the world by 2015. The Proni?o program aims to help children from poor countries of Latin America sit at school desks instead of the workplace. Volunteers from the Telefónica O2 Czech Republic staff are helping children in developing countries for three weeks, devoting attention to them in areas that normally go neglected. Telefónica O2 is covering all costs connected with this program.