UNESCO and CJ Better Life for Girls today signed a partnership agreement that will bring the cartoon character to the fight for girls’ education.

During the signing ceremony at the 2016 Global Education Skills Forum in Dubai, Sang Gill (Tschaik) Lee, Executive Vice President for CJ E&M said the pre-school animation series will be a global effort to support girls’ education with a great story. “Rainbow Ruby follows a six-year old girl named Ruby as she transports to Rainbow Village where her toys come alive. Throughout the series Ruby experiences different professions, introducing preschool girls to the concept of a dream job, letting them imagine how their jobs can improve their lives in the future.”

The partnership builds on the “Better Life for Girls” campaign, launched in November 2014 by CJ E&M and UNESCO, which aims to help address the lack of access to quality education faced by girls in developing regions.

“Global research convincingly shows that girls’ education – a right in itself - is the most powerful breakthrough strategy for unlocking progress across all the development goals, from health to jobs, with positive repercussions across generations,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. “In partnership with CJ Group, we expect to change perceptions from the youngest age to show that girls can have the same aspirations and dreams as boys, and should have access to a full cycle of quality education.”

This is first time that UNESCO joins a global partnership centered on an animation based character for its key initiative. Rainbow Ruby aims to help empower young girls to dream big and look to a bright future. The animation series also brings awareness to the harsh reality that girls and young women in many developing regions may face because of their lack of education, preventing them from reaching their full potential and in turn, hindering economic growth and social progress.

In addition, a share of the sales from Rainbow Ruby character products will be contributed to UNESCO’s global fund for promoting girls’ right to education. CJ E&M will also work with UNESCO to develop Edu-tainment apps and virtual reality content that aim to further the advancement of girls’ education globally, utilizing the digital assets from the CGI animation series. Rainbow Ruby is the first original global animation series by CJ E&M, Asia's leading content and media company, as a co-production project with China Entertainment.

The agreement was signed during the 2016 Global Education and Skills Forum, hosted by the Varkey Foundation in partnership with UNESCO.

For more on UNESCO programmes in education, please visit:  http://www.unesco.org/education and http://www.unesco.org/new/health-education.

About CJ Welfare Foundation

CJ E&M is Asia’s leading content and media company headquartered in Seoul, Korea.

China Entertainment Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of the China Animation Group, mainly engaged in the films and TV serials production.      

DHX Media is the appointed distributor of Rainbow Ruby in the U.S., Canada, and EMEA (excluding France).