Angelina to establish next Women for Bees program in Cambodia in 2022

Los Angeles, Sep. 19 (IANS): Hollywood star Angelina Jolie was named the “godmother” of the Women for Bees program earlier this year, which aims to train 50 women in beekeeping within the next five years, as well as building 2,500 hives in 25 Unesco biosphere reserves and restocking 125 million bees.

The 25 Unesco biosphere reserves are located in countries including France, Italy, Russia, Slovenia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and China.

Jolie, who has also completed humanitarian work as a Special Envoy for the UN Refugee Agency, has unveiled her plans to travel to Cambodia in 2022 to establish the next phase of the program in the region of Samlout, where she has a home, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The actress said: “We wanted to make sure there was at least 50 women from 25 biospheres, to understand the biospheres and why it was important to map out and build the team.

“We are going to be working further with Unesco to understand how to expand how we are working with some of these countries and biospheres — the next training will be in Samlout, in my home in Cambodia.”

The ‘Salt’ star added that she finds it “insane” that a woman’s right to education is still being discussed in many parts of the world.

She told People magazine: “It’s angering, really, isn’t it? That we somehow have to keep explaining this – it’s their right.

“When a young girl is born, she has the right to education, it’s her life. The real question is why do we continue to limit that girls’ access to education, why do we continue to question it?”

“For anyone, education will help them be more capable, where they can communicate and they can contribute to their family, their community and society.”

Jolie was announced as the “godmother” of the Women for Bees program in March this year.

In a statement at the time, Jolie, who met with the beekeepers in training and tracked their progress, said: “When women gain skills and knowledge their instinct is to help raise others. I’m excited to meet the women taking part in this program from all over the world. “I look forward to getting to know them and learning about their culture and environment and the role bees play in that. I hope the training will strengthen their independence, their livelihoods, and their communities.”