Sophia Swire
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Sophia Swire | |
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| Born | London, England |
| Alma mater | Manchester University |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Relatives | Dowager Marchioness Townshend (mother), Mark Swire (brother), The Right Hon. Hugo Swire MP, Minister for Northern Ireland (brother), Philip Swire (brother) |
| Website | http://www.sophiaswire.com |
Sophia Swire is a British businesswoman and Afghanistan-Pakistan expert.[1]
Overview
Sophia Swire worked for Kleinwort Benson as a merchant banker in the 1980s,[2] but gave up her career in the City to focus on development work.[3][4]
Sophia is a member of the famous British trading family, the Swires. Her brother is Minister of State for the Foreign Office, Hugo Swire.
She co-founded and chaired Learning for Life, an NGO that has established over 250 schools for girls in rural Afghanistan, Pakistan and India for which she was awarded the 2010 Award for Empowering Pakistan.[5]
A founding trustee from 1993, Swire chaired Learning For Life’s board from 1995 to 2000. She finds it ‘profoundly humbling’ to visit the schools which have benefited from Learning for Life. "It is one of the most exciting things to see how a tiny school is changing the values of whole communities. Some children will go back to work in the fields. That’s understood. But at least they will be able to read their street signs; to vote in a more mature and responsible way; to be less vulnerable to the feudal landlords who want to buy their votes. They will be more conscious and intelligent about their choices." [6]
In 1990, she launched and managed an ethical cashmere fashion business, Sophia Swire London, that was carried in leading retail outlets and featured in fashion magazines globally. She is widely credited with having launched the international fashion for pashmina shawls that led to a significant increase in Nepal's GDP.[1]
In 2008, at the invitation of Rory Stewart and the Prince of Wales’ foundation,[7] Turquoise Mountain, she was asked to put her fashion business and life in London on hold and return to Afghanistan to establish a school for jewellers and gem-cutters at Turquoise Mountain.[8] She launched the first Afghan jewellery brand during London Fashion Week. The first students graduated in 2010.[9]
She has recently developed a US $10m development strategy for the gemstone sector in Afghanistan as Senior Advisor on gemstones to Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines and Industry funded by the World Bank.[10]
Supported by the US Department of Defense's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, Sophia initiated Future Brilliance | Afghanistan, a dynamic, women-led, Afghan non-profit organisation employing innovative educational models to offer quality professional training that leads to jobs and creates new business opportunities.[11] Future Brilliance aims to build stability in vulnerable border regions through workforce and enterprise development. The first project is to support jewellery design projects and development for 37 Afghan artisans.[12]
Sophia is campaigning with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Publish What You Pay campaign, as well as Global Witness to implement a global policy for better governance of the mining sector promoting transparency and fighting corruption.
References
- ^ a b British Council, Creative and Cultural Economy
- ^ "A Passion for Pashminas". sophiaswire.com. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ Mike Smith (1 December 1998). "The Bright Side of Black Monday". forachange.net. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ "LEARNING FOR LIFE". anthonygardner.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ http://www.pakawards.co.uk/winners/
- ^ Trust and Integrity in the Global Economy, Giving Girls A Chance, by Michael Smith, pp 49-57, published by Caux Books, 2007
- ^ Gardner, Anthony (25 November 2008). "How Pippa Small inspired ethical jewellery at the likes of Nicole Farhi". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sarah Fane Blog, 2010
- ^ Afghanistan’s sparkling future, The Sunday Times, Deirdre Ferdand, Sun 11 July 2010
- ^ British Council, Cultural Leadership 2010
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]