The UN’s International Volunteer Day, which takes place each year on 5 December, is a chance for us to celebrate the contribution of our employee volunteers at Anglo American and recognise the positive contributions they make in the communities in which we operate.
This November, Anglo American colleagues, as part of our Ambassadors for Good programme, collaborated with Ojiji and The Little Artists School in South Africa to create “Pieces of Our Dream”, a youth-centric exhibition showcasing the visualised dreams of disadvantaged art students.
The Little Artists School is a non-profit organisation started in January 1996 by Dulcie Robinson and Edward Selematsela and holds art classes for disadvantaged children.
Located on the art deco avenue of Rosebank in Johannesburg, the Trumpet gallery opened its doors to this emotive and sentimental exhibition. The gallery featured collage-based works from budding artists aged between eight and 18 years, with each piece reflecting the future careers and aspirations of these young talents, from pianists to astronauts, artists and farmers.
The project involved established artists guiding the children through a series of classes, conversations and creative processes, helping them turn their imaginative visions into tangible works of art.
Megan Amy Scott, Art Curator and Ambassador on the project says:
“Art and culture in South Africa is an often overlooked sector in everyday life, despite being linked to society’s complex identity and community spirit. In turn, our local arts and culture scene is underfunded and under-developed; a stark contrast to the incredible talent that lies untapped beneath the surface.
By partnering with Ojiji and the Little Artists School, Anglo American has provided a much-needed platform for the essential and innovative work these organisations are doing with aspiring young minds. By offering children a safe and exciting space to exercise their creativity, Ojiji and the Little Artists School are fostering abilities, as well as a love and appreciation for arts and culture in their students. By supporting such initiatives, Anglo American’s impact through the Ambassadors for Good programme is multi-layered and long-lasting.”
Ambassadors for Good
Ambassadors for Good, which helps us to live our Purpose of re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives, is our skills-based employee volunteering programme. It empowers our people to support and champion the causes they’re passionate about and make a potentially life-changing difference to those around us. It was launched as a pilot in the UK and South Africa in 2018 and is now a global programme, available to all employees across Anglo American and De Beers, backed by funding from the Anglo American Foundation.
Last year, 654 volunteers donated more than 14,236 hours of their time to help 177,233 beneficiaries and 226 charities and NGOs. The donation time of many was supplemented by a grant donation of $1.4 million from the Anglo American Foundation.
Read our most recent Ambassadors for Good Volunteer Report to find out what our volunteers achieved last year.