TEN YEARS OF DREAM FUND PARTNERSHIP AND JLR’S IMPACT ON GLOBAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Social impact is ingrained within JLR ’s purpose. Our mission is simple - to take care of the communities and environments in which we operate.?

The actions we take, the decisions we make and the urgency with which we act will all have a lasting effect on the world we will leave to our children and grandchildren.??

The youth of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. The global population aged 10-24 years amounts to 1.8 billion people and almost 90% of them live in developing countries. It’s vital they are given the necessary skills and opportunities to thrive - the better equipped they are, the stronger their impact can be in supporting sustainable development.?

Although British at heart, we are a global citizen, and our influence has international reach.?

This year marks our 10-year anniversary of JLR China and the Soong Ching Ling foundation establishing the Dream Fund Partnership - the first fund of its kind in the Chinese auto industry dedicated to supporting young people. In 2014, a devastating earthquake severely damaged a school in Zhaotong, China. As part of the relief efforts, JLR China immediately donated RMB 5 million (over ￡550,000) to support with rebuilding the school, following which it was named JLR Hope School. In the decade since, we have continuously resourced the school through the Dream Fund Partnership to allow children to continue their education.??

To mark the occasion, members of the JLR team visited the school earlier this year, taking part in the Dream Class programme which is in partnership with Teach Future China. The programme encourages volunteers from varying backgrounds and experiences to deliver specialist sessions for pupils, helping improve the student: teacher ratio and providing an expansive and engaging curriculum. A real highlight of the trip saw former pupil Tang Binghua return – Tang was the first Hope School graduate to be accepted into a Chinese university where he studies engineering and hopes to become a JLR employee once he graduates. A real full-circle moment and great to see him reaching for the stars!?

To date, the Dream Fund has supported a wide range of youth initiatives, benefitting over 700,000 young people across China over the last decade. This is just a snapshot of our efforts, with many more across our global footprint such as in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.?

In the UK, our JLR Schools Partnership Programme delivers regular and sustained interventions to 40 schools across the UK, reaching 40,000 pupils annually. Schools are targeted across our local communities with a higher-than-average percentage of under-representation. This approach aims to raise the aspirations of young people who are representative of our diverse communities and inspiring them to consider careers in STEM. An example includes educational sessions led by our colleagues including an introduction to Formula E led by our Jaguar TCS Racing team.?

We are continuously reassessing and challenging ourselves to do more, to affect change and to have a bigger impact.?

I’m so proud of all we’re doing, but as with everything, the journey is only just beginning!