To mark this milestone, the Swarovski Foundation honored its philanthropic heritage in Austria by bringing together global partners, advocates, and colleagues in Wattens to reflect, exchange and build further impact through a series of workshops, panel discussions and activities.

To start the week, the Swarovski Foundation hosted a series of interactive workshops with its global partners across key focus areas equity, water, and creativity – including impact and communication. These workshop sessions offered a collaborative space for partners to learn about the Swarovski Foundation’s new strategy, strengthen current partnerships and identify new synergies to build an even greater impact.

Next after joining a series of creativity workshops hosted in collaboration with the Swarovski Group, global partners and colleagues attended in-person and online a Swarovski Foundation panel discussion hosted at the Swarovski Manufaktur. The panel discussion was introduced by Marisa Schiestl-Swarovski, Chair of the Swarovski Foundation and moderated by Jakhya Rahman-Corey, Director of the Swarovski Foundation, bringing some of the Foundation’s longstanding partners together to discuss ‘How we can reduce inequality and promote sustainable livelihoods’.

Lucie Brigham, Chief of Office for the United Nations Office for Partnerships spoke about the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals, whilst Toni Kronke, Deputy Director for Teach for Austria spoke on the theme of equity in education, Maryam Omar, Design Center Manager for Turquoise Mountain shared her insights around creativity and Jennifer Mandeville, Waterschool Coordinator for the National Great River Research and Education Center discussed her work around water.

Mid-week the Swarovski Foundation showcased the work of its Waterschool Austria program alongside partners Hohe Tauern National Park, Teach for Austria, and the Swarovski Group in Wattenberg. Members of the local press, global partners and advocates joined the outdoor event which presented six stations demonstrating the work of each of these partnerships.

Three stations were hosted by partner Hohe Tauern National Park and engaged guests in the work of the Waterschool Austria program by demonstrating student activities which looked at water experiments, ecological stream surveys and microplastics. One station was hosted by partner Teach for Austria and encouraged guests to reflect and share their wishes for the next generation.

Another station was hosted by Swarovski Optiks where they shared an overview of their outdoor products and their sustainability efforts including their recent work in Costa Rica. As well as a station hosted by Swarovski Crystal Business which offered a unique tour of the Hydropower station and engaging speakers talking about the history.

We are delighted to share The Story of the Swarovski Foundation: A Decade of Empowering Change impact report that reflects 10 years of our efforts of giving back by supporting causes that align with our ethical and business values. Over this decade, we have reached over 2 million people through 85 partnerships across 93 countries.

As we move forward into the future, we remain dedicated to upholding these values and our mission to promote sustainable livelihoods through education to reduce inequality. We acknowledge that this mission cannot be achieved alone. We are thankful for the people and partnerships that enable the Swarovski Foundation to deliver meaningful impact globally.