Impactful leadership and creative futures: UNESCO and Dior renew partnership

LTR - Delphine Arnault, Chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture and member of the LVMH Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee, and Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO. Thomas Chene. All rights reserved

Impactful leadership and creative futures: UNESCO and Dior renew partnership to advance women’s leadership and savoir-faireOn 16 March, UNESCO and Dior renewed their partnership aiming to empower women leaders, cultivate the transmission of savoir-faire, and advance their mentorship programme.

The agreement was signed by Delphine Arnault, Chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture and member of the LVMH Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee, and Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO. They were joined by mentees from the Women@Dior & UNESCO programme, who shared their personal experiences and discussed the skills of the future, including creative leadership, social sustainability and transmission. The renewed partnership is structured around two core commitments: empowering women leaders and cultivating the transmission of savoir-faire. It builds on an initial five-year collaboration (2020–2025) and aligns with Dior’s participation in UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition since 2020.

“Dior’s renewed partnership with UNESCO brings to life our shared values through concrete actions aimed at education and the transmission of savoir-faire for the empowerment of women. This ongoing alliance is driven by a durable ambition: that of making a meaningful and responsible impact around the world,” shares Delphine Arnault.   

Education is the passport to freedom. It gives young women the confidence to choose their own path, make their voices heard and contribute to their communities. Through our partnership with Dior, UNESCO is proud to help young women around the world unlock their full potential through education and mentorship,

Stefania GianniniUNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for EducationWomen@Dior & UNESCO is an international mentorship and education initiative, supporting more than 2,800 young women across over 60 countries and nearly 90 nationalities since its creation. Partnering with more than 75 academic institutions, the programme offers mentorship by Dior professionals, online learning modules, and the “Dream for Change” initiative, through which mentees develop community-based projects. From 12,000 applicants, 300 new mentees were selected to join the 2026-2027 cohort, symbolically joining on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2026. This programme will mark its 10th anniversary next year. Under the renewed agreement, both partners aim to expand educational content, strengthen mentor networks, and share methodologies developed through an impact assessment.

Every young woman who enters this programme brings with her a unique story, a spark of creativity, and the determination to shape her own future. At UNESCO, we strive to give that spark the space to grow. Our partnership with Dior builds on this shared conviction that mentorship, education and culture are powerful drivers to support young women and uplift entire communities,

The programme will mark its 10th anniversary next year. Under the renewed agreement, the partnership introduces a strengthened framework informed by a comprehensive impact assessment, aimed at formalizing methodologies and key learnings to be shared more widely. It also expands the programme’s learning platform, which offers more than 20 courses structured around five core values: self-care and awareness, autonomy, creativity, inclusion, and sustainability. Efforts will continue to reinforce connections between mentees and mentors across regions.
Dior’s renewed partnership with UNESCO brings to life our shared values through concrete actions aimed at education and the transmission of savoir-faire for the empowerment of women. This ongoing alliance is driven by a durable ambition: that of making a meaningful and responsible impact around the world.

Women@DiorCreated in 2017, Women@Dior is an international mentoring and education programme designed to support young women’s professional and personal development. It brings together participants from leading business, engineering, art, and fashion institutions across more than 60 countries, aiming to teach skills which are not taught such as self-confidence and daring to aim for one’s career destiny.
This partnership reflects a shared vision to make savoir-faire a lever for education, training, and leadership in support of sustainable impact. By combining Dior’s expertise in craftsmanship and creative industries with UNESCO’s mandate to promote inclusive and equitable education, lifelong learning, and cultural heritage, the cooperation aims to create concrete opportunities for learning and decent work. Through mentorship, education, and the transmission of knowledge, both partners seek to support young women and contribute to sustainable socio-economic development.
UNESCO and LVMH GroupIn October 2025, UNESCO and LVMH Group renewed their longstanding partnership dedicated to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. This new agreement, “For the Beauty of the Living”, strengthens and expands the cooperation first initiated in 2019 around UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme. Now extending beyond its scope, the partnership aims to intensify joint actions by mobilizing all of UNESCO’s education, science and cultural programmes. Together, the two partners aim to scale up concrete actions that protect biodiversity, support local communities, and promote sustainable economic models across UNESCO-designated sites worldwide.


Dior and UNESCO have renewed their partnership centered on empowering women leaders and cultivating the transmission of savoir-faire. Delphine Arnault, Chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture and a member of the LVMH Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO, signed the renewal of this unique partnership. They were joined by Mentees from the Women@Dior & UNESCO, who shared their personal experiences within the program and discussed the skills of the future, creative leadership and passing on savoir-faire. This renewed partnership is structured around two core commitments: empowering women leaders and cultivating the transmission of savoir-faire.   
Since its creation, the Women@Dior & UNESCO program has partnered with over 75 schools and supported more than 2,800 young women in a variety of disciplines, from business and engineering to art and fashion, hospitality and a host of other fields. Mentees from 60 plus countries represent nearly 90 nationalities. Over the years, the impact of this initiative has continued to grow, connecting talent, creativity and ambitious vision, registering some 12,000 applications for the 300 new Mentees who have joined the 2026/2027 cohort.  
For this new edition of the partnership, Dior and UNESCO conducted a comprehensive impact study to formalize the program’s methodology and key learnings in order to share actionable frameworks with potential to inspire and inform broader ecosystems. The partnership is also adding to the more than 20 exclusive educational courses available on the Mentee learning platform, covering a variety of topics linked to the program’s five core values of  Self-Care & Awareness, Autonomy, Creativity, Inclusion, and Sustainability. At the same time, it will continue to strengthen Mentee and Mentor communities by fostering engagement and interactions across regions, working very closely with UNESCO.