This week, we embark on an exciting new partnership with UNICEF as part of its shared commitment to to reduce inequalities and help tackle child poverty.

Our CEO, Leonor Diaz Alcantara, has shared a personal insight into why this piece of work is particularly poignant in her career.
Leonor said. “I am incredibly proud that our first partnership this year in Croatia, is with UNICEF Croatia and that we will be implementing the first steps of the partnership in Čakovec.

This is especially emotional for me, not just because of the important impact we will have working with Roma children and children with special needs, but because of my personal connection to Croatia, working in refugee camps there during the war.

As one of the locations where I worked was Čakovec, I feel like I’m coming full circle. It is what inspired me to start working in the NGO sector.

Now, after 30 years, I have the honour and responsibility to do that as CEO of the Montessori Group, together with UNICEF, as one of the most significant organizations in the field working to change children’s lives”.

Education, especially in the early years, is so critical to giving every child the opportunity to thrive. Our ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ with UNICEF in Croatia is a recognition that it takes a village to break the cycle of poverty.

We are thrilled to combine the incredible power of Montessori, with one of the world’s most influential organisations committed to children’s rights, which in turn supports children, families, and the Croatian government’s commitment to equalising opportunity for every child.