News

15 March 2007 - MyKnowledgeMap put social responsibility principle into practice with charity film for A-CET

A new film narrated by acclaimed broadcaster and journalist Martha Kearney and written and produced by MyKnowledgeMap is all set to raise awareness on the life-changing work carried out by A-CET, the charity we support.

“Giving children a second thought” has been produced to highlight the important work undertaken by A-CET and the young lives they have helped to transform. Speaking of the film, David Stables, CEO of A-CET said, “This really will support our work tremendously. Our Ethiopian students were so very proud of it and particularly identified with the students’ stories… I feel confident that it will be of great help to us”. The charity will distribute 1,000 copies far and wide, sending a large number to donors and 100 to Ethiopia as well as using it to support project funding proposals and charity competition entries. The production is also due to be screened at an upcoming talk in the Royal Geographical Society and an International Seminar in Luxembourg of the Global Issues Network (presented by Sammy Ayalew, just one of the many young Ethiopian children A-CET have helped to gain an education). 

A-CET (African Children’s Educational Trust) is a small, independent charity which supports over 1,000 African young people in Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, enabling them to pursue and continue their education. The charity provides financial assistance, scholarships, clothing, tools and books and works to help local communities build and equip their schools, so that more of their children can go to school.

MKM became involved with A-CET after Managing Director Rob Arntsen saw Birhan Woldu, the "miracle girl" who defied death in the Great 1984 Famine and A-CET’s ‘star student’, step on to the stage at Live8 in 2005. After the event, Rob immediately contacted David Stables to pledge our full support and ever since, MyKnowledgeMap has been a proud partner of the charity.

Corporate social responsibility has always been at the heart of MKM’s core values. But it is an aspiration that can be difficult to achieve for a young, busy and growing company. The key to our approach was to focus on our strengths and what we had to offer. We were fortunate to find A-CET, an organisation of a similar profile to ours, and a cause related to the field of education. In doing so, we managed to find the ‘ideal fit’.

The success of this project is testament to the fact that all businesses, no matter what size, ought to consider the economic, social and environmental impacts of their activities and the way that they operate. Managing Director Rob Arntsen says of our commitment, “No matter what their size, every business can do something to contribute to the important work carried out by charities like A-CET. Our investment in the project is just one example of the work we are doing to try and integrate socially responsible behaviour into our activities.”