SHAPING FUTURES
Transforming Lives Through Hairdressing
Shaping Futures offers a brighter future to disadvantaged youngsters by teaching them the craft of hairdressing. What started in 2008 as a local Japanese project with Cambodian street children, evolved into a global initiative in 2010 when Schwarzkopf Professional partnered with SOS Children’s Villages - a leading non-profit organization – to launch Shaping Futures. Voluntary teams from our partner salons have been bringing their hairdressing knowledge and expertise to disadvantaged youngsters in twenty-five countries. For the poorest communities, any education at all can seem out of reach, with children often working rather than attending school. Shaping Futures gives these young people the opportunity to learn a valuable vocation, for free, instead of a life of unfair working conditions and low wages.
Our 5 training blocks mentor and guide the youngsters through the basics in hairdressing, but since we want to make a real and lasting difference, we provide follow-up apprenticeships, support and job placements and ensure that every student is able to take full advantage of the opportunity and can become independent through the hairdressing profession.
Thanks to the co-operation of famous hairdressing schools across the globe, additional scholarships have been offered to our Shaping Futures youngsters to ensure the long-term sustainability of this project.
Our team from Japan continue their long relationship with Cambodian youngsters in need, helping launch careers.
India is one of our most successful Shaping Futures countries, with 11 Shaping Futures programs having already taken place, training over 245 students.
The Shaping Futures team in Colombia work, for the fourth time, with youngsters from the SOS Children’s Village in Bogota. Since it begun, 81 students have been trained.
Our Croatian volunteers have already taught 40 disadvantaged UNESCO youngsters the basic skills in hairdressing at our Zagreb academy.
In July 2013, Shaping Futures started its first training in Slovenia with UNESCO. In May 2014, our youngsters met again for a follow-up training in Maribor.
By now, 23 teenagers from the SOS Children’s Villages Siedlce, in Poland, will have learned the art of hairdressing.
In Jordan, hairdresser's education is one that only few can afford, yet a top-class hairdresser can earn three times more than the average local salary – even more reason for us to pass on our skills and help to break the cycle of poverty.
After a successful start last year, Shaping Futures training continued in Lipa City in the Philippines. So far, 52 students have been trained there.
We offered 20 refugees hairdressing training in June 2015, after a successful start in 2013.
Shaping Futures trainings were offered in the SOS Children’s Villages in Go Vap and Da Nang, as well as in the Viet Hair Academy to help youngsters fulfill their hairdressing dreams. So far 46 students have been trained in Vietnam.
Our Portuguese and Brazilian volunteers work with youths from Brazil’s poorest state, whose lives have been scarred by poverty.
In South Africa, 85 disadvantaged adolescents from the Sharpeville Foundation and SOS Children’s Villages can now benefit from the Shaping Futures training, opening up new opportunities to start a career in hairdressing.
In Romania, 11 youngsters from SOS Children’s Villages were offered scholarships at the five most famous hairdressing schools in the country.
Hong Kong hosts the biggest Shaping Futures training. Altogether, 95 youngsters have extended their hairdressing knowledge and now have everything in their hands to start a professional career.
