Iberchem, Spain's largest fragrance manufacturer, launched its ROOTS programme in October, an initiative to donate computer equipment to public schools. In the coming months, the company will distribute hundreds of computer workstations internationally, including laptops and desktops.
As its name "Bridging the Digital Divide" suggests, Iberchem's aim with this campaign is to narrow the digital divide, that is, to reduce the inequality of access to information, knowledge and education through new technology.
The initiative was launched in Thailand and will then be rolled out to other countries around the world where the company operates, such as Spain (Headquarters), but also in countries where the company has subsidiaries, such as Mexico, France, and China. As it is currently updating the IT equipment of all its centers, the company expects to provide hundreds of computers workstations over the course of the year.
"The events of the last couple of years, triggered by the COVID-19 health crisis, have highlighted the relationship between everything that has happened and the changes that need to be implemented in the education sector" said Guillaume Audy, Director of Sustainability at Iberchem. "It is a fact that integrating technology in schools has been beneficial for the teaching-learning process in the education system at all levels, whilst, at the same time, ensuring that more and more students gain access to IT and digital resources.
This programme is in line with the central core of Iberchem's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme, which focuses on promoting access to multidisciplinary education, regardless of social class or gender, with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.
The company has opted to name its campaign "Roots" fusing the idea of the roots of the plants used in its fragrances with the IT term that refers to a computer file system. It has also employed this term to illustrate our use of technology from childhood, right from our very roots.
