Dove launched theĀ Dove Self-Esteem Project South Africa in 2014, reaching almost 600,000 girls with self-esteem education locally. According to the beauty brand,Ā DSEP has helped more than 35 million young people across the globe to develop a positive relationship with the way they look, by encouraging conversations with women and young girls, addressing issues of beauty, confidence and self-esteem.
The project is now striving to reach its goal of impacting 40 million young people by 2020 with positive self-esteem messaging through DSEP.
Recently, on the International Day of the Girl Child, Dove and its influencer partners attended one of the hundreds of in-school DSEP programmes at Bordeaux Primary School in Randburg, where 200 Grade 5 to 7 learners were immersed in discussions around self-esteem and body confidence.
The workshop, hosted by trained facilitators and assisted by Dove campaign partners including Sthandiwe Kgoroge, Lesego āThick Leeyonceā Legobane, Siyanda Dzenga, saw the students tackle issues such as appearance pressures, the state of professional media and how images are manipulated, and personal and social media and the issues faced by comparison and unrealistic expectations, culminating in their personal pledge to empower them on their own journey towards building self-esteem and body positivity.
From working with young people to navigate unhelpful friendships at school to tackling appearance ideals and comparing the way they look to others, the DSEP programme provides accredited educational tools and resources to address some of todayās biggest barriers to a young personās self-esteem.
These evidence-based resources, developed by Dove, in partnership with leading experts in the fields of psychology, health, are available to download for free from https://www.dove.com/za/dove-self-esteem-project.html, and are on hand to assist parents and teachers, individuals and professionals alike to ensure that low body confidence and anxieties over appearance donāt stop young people from cultivating their potential.
Sphelele Mjadu, Senior Public Relations Manager for Unilever Beauty and Personal Care for Africa, highlights that āAs a brand with real purpose, the Dove Self-Esteem Project is an initiative at the core of what Dove believes in, with a mission of ensuring that the next generation grows up to enjoy a positive relationship with the way they look, in order to help them to reach their full potential.”
Visit the Dove website to explore the resources and have a conversation with the young person in your life to help build positive body confidence and self-esteem.
