On 27 June 2016, the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation and its historical partner, IWC Schaffhausen, inaugurated a new educational kitchen garden and multimedia laboratory at the Hospitality & Catering Training Centre (HCTC) in Mae Sot in northwest Thailand.

These new facilities will help provide underprivileged young Thais, mainly from the minority Karen population, with the professional training they need to break the cycle of poverty and earn a living in the hospitality sector in Thailand. This was made possible by the proceeds from the sale of a unique IWC Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” in red gold at a Sotheby’s Geneva auction held in November 2015.

The kitchen garden allows students to grow and use fruits and vegetables within the context of their training. The students now also have access to a new multimedia laboratory, which features computers, photo and video cameras, books and manuals. The funds from the auction also cover the schooling fees of 60 students and enable the centre to carry out much-needed renovation work.

The HCTC was set up in 2009 and focuses on helping Thai youth. Many of them are poorly integrated into the Thai educational system and speak little or no English. Because they lack marketable skills, they stand little chance of achieving success in the job market. Through a two-year educational programme, the school provides them with the necessary training they need to earn a living in the booming Thai hospitality sector.

French visual artist Arnaud Nazare-Aga donated a sculpture of The Little Prince to the HCTC during the inauguration ceremony, in the presence of Hélène Pichon, Member of the Patronage Committee of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, Matthieu Dupont, Managing Director of IWC Southeast Asia, Pierre Colliot, Cultural Counsellor of the French Embassy in Thailand, Simon Martin, Director of the HCTC School, Estelle Degabory, Educational Coordinator of the HCTC, and Nicolas Delsalle-Mun, Secretary-General of the Foundation.

For further information :
http://thehctc.org/

Photo Credits : © PHOTOPRESS/IWC

1) The students of the school in Mae Sot.
2) Matthieu Dupont, Managing Director of IWC South East Asia, Simon Martin, Director of the HCTC School, and Hélène Pichon, member of the patronage committee of the Antoine de Saint Exupéry Youth Foundation.
3) Presentation of The Little Prince sculpture by French visual artist Arnaud Nazare-Aga.
4) The HCTC’s new multimedia laboratory.