Thursday September 24, 2009
Strokes for literacy
By WONG LI ZA
Montblanc is raising funds through paintings to educate children.
THERE’S no doubt that Ruth Yeoh has unbridled passion for the environment. The 27-year-old director of investments with YTL Corporation Bhd sits on the board of several conservation groups like Rare and Reef Check Malaysia.
She is also a director at YTL-SV Carbon, the company’s in-house carbon credit consultancy, and she pioneered Climate Change Week, YTL’s educational campaign on climate change. Yeoh also leads the environmental division at YTL where she reports on the organisation’s environmental activities.
‘My painting is very much about the environment and the need to educate people about the importance of preserving it,’ says Ruth Yeoh. Recently, she was one of five women invited to work with Montblanc by contributing a piece of art for auction. Funds raised will go towards Unicef to promote literacy among children. The charity initiative is called the Montblanc Signature For Good 2009 campaign and this year marks the third time that Montblanc is co-operating with the children’s aid organisation.
The artworks will be sold via a silent auction that goes on from now until December. All proceeds from the sale of the paintings will go to Unicef Malaysia to support education and literacy programmes for underprivileged children.
Each woman painted a piece that depicted her thoughts on why education is important to children.
“Education has always been a priority in Malaysia and I respect the fact that we strive to promote education for the future generation,” said Yeoh, a Bachelor of Architecture graduate (organic architecture and sustainable design) from University of Nottingham, Britain. She also has an MSc in Management from Cass Business School, London.
She feels that developing countries still need a lot of help in promoting literacy in children but that in general, Malaysia was doing well. According to a 2007 Unicef study, the literacy rate of youths in Malaysia (aged 15-24) is 98%, while the adult literacy rate is 92% (aged 15 and above).
Yeoh’s painting. “The literacy rate among children in Malaysia is great but in rural areas, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, a lot still needs to be done,” said Yeoh, eldest daughter of business personality Tan Sri Francis Yeoh.
“It is my hope that Malaysia will reach its target of 0% illiteracy as our country moves towards Vision 2020. Being literate is every child’s right as it is the best asset that he/she can have to seize opportunities that lie ahead.”
Yeoh’s acrylic art piece portrays the three elements of sea, earth and sky and a girl on a canoe crossing the different strata.
“The (latter) represents sustainability being a journey,” said Yeoh, who also incorporated animal drawings based on ancient Peruvian culture and civilisation in her painting.
Yeoh drew inspiration for the piece from her travels to Peru last year where she spent time at the Wildlife Research Centre in the Amazons and hiked to Machu Picchu (the ancient Inca city), ending her trip at the Galapagos Islands.
For a good cause: Works of art contributed by Datin Hafizah Zakaria, Datin Natasha Hudson are being auctioned under Montblanc’s Signature For Good 2009 campaign to help children in Malaysia and abroad read and write. Even though she described her travels as a “truly educational experience”, she also witnessed devastating effects to the environment in the Amazon area.
“People think environment is about philanthropy but it is something we have been given to look after now for the future generation,” she stressed.
“My painting is very much about the environment and the need to educate people about the importance of preserving it,” said Yeoh, who started painting as a child.
“We can educate a child in different ways. What and how we choose to educate our children will affect the future.”
For a good cause: Works of art contributed by Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina and Datuk Bridget Lai are being auctioned under Montblanc’s Signature For Good 2009 campaign to help children in Malaysia and abroad read and write. Besides Yeoh, the other women who contributed an artwork to the campaign are actress/producer Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd director and group chief executive officer Datuk Bridget Lai, actress/model Datin Natasha Hudson, and Datin Hafizah Zakaria, a homemaker.
For this charity initiative, Montblanc also created a special collection of writing instruments, jewellery and accessories called the Meisterstück “Signature for Good” Special Edition, with the overall aim of raising at least US$1.5mil (RM5.25mil) globally for Unicef.
Half of the funds donated by Montblanc from sales of this collection will go to Unicef’s Schools for Africa programme while the other half will benefit Unicef education programmes in Asia and Latin America. (The Schools for Africa is a joint campaign founded by Unicef and the Nelson Mandela Foundation in 2004 to promote education for children in Africa.)
Montblanc celebrates the 85th anniversary of its Montblanc Meisterstück writing instrument this year.
■ The five artworks are currently exhibited at Montblanc boutiques at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur ( 03-2144 3323) and Suria KLCC ( 03-2166 2886) in Kuala Lumpur. Each piece is complemented with a Meisterstück ‘Signature for Good’ Special Edition writing instrument contributed by Montblanc.
The opening bid for each art piece starts from RM10,000. Bids can be placed at the Montblanc boutiques.
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