EssilorLuxottica is proud to join the global celebration for World Children’s Day for the third consecutive year, standing alongside UNICEF and the United Nations to advocate for every child’s right to health, education and equal opportunity!
At EssilorLuxottica, protecting children’s sight means much more than providing eyewear — it means empowering the next generation to reach their full potential. Through its ‘Eyes on the Planet’ sustainability program and OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, the Group is taking concrete actions to ensure that good vision is a basic human right, not a privilege.
Driving Awareness for Good Vision
This World Children’s Day, EssilorLuxottica is demonstrating its support through the following initiatives:
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A global campaign featured across its corporate channels that highlights the powerful connection between clear sight and a brighter, more promising future. During the week, the Group will focus on how its commitments are helping advance access to eyecare in underserved communities as well as drive awareness around children’s vision health, myopia management and eye protection.
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A live panel discussion on World Children’s Day exploring how vision care transforms young lives through inspiring stories from the field — including how the Group’s long-term partnership with the Special Olympics to provide screenings and glasses to children with intellectual disabilities, ensuring inclusion and opportunity for all.
Local & Global Initiatives Making a Difference
Beyond World Children’s Day, EssilorLuxottica along with the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation continued to champion children’s access to sustainable vision care through ongoing local and global initiatives in 2025, including:
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Myopia – On a global scale, this year EssilorLuxottica celebrated 45 years of research and innovation in myopia management, unveiling new six-year clinical data1 reinforcing the long-term efficacy of Essilor Stellest lenses in managing myopia progression and announcing that the Essilor Stellest lens is the first and only FDA market-authorized spectacle lens in the US to slow myopia progression in children.2
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Africa – In partnership with CooperVision, African Eye Institute, Berkeley Vision, and Peek Vision, the ‘One School at a Time’ initiative brings vision screenings directly into schools and provides free spectacles to children in underserved communities. It also focuses on building sustainable systems to ensure every child has the opportunity to see and learn.
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BeNeLux – Pearle partnered with the non-profit Jeugdeducatiefonds (Youth Education Fund) to visit schools across the Netherlands, holding interactive classes for 5- to 8-year-olds on eye health, myopia prevention, screen-time impact and healthy vision habits. The initiative also provides financial support to families in need of proper eyecare for their children.
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China – The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation is providing free eye exams and prescription glasses as well as delivering vision health education to promote lasting habits and conducting outreach in rural areas to ensure no child is left behind due to poor vision.
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Denmark – The Smarteyes retail chain is launching a ‘Smartkids’ awareness campaign to support children’s eye health. At Synoptik, the ‘Child’s Vision’ initiative features a free educational book that makes eye exams engaging and informative for children and parents.
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India – In Goa, the government partnered with the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation to make school vision screenings part of state education policy, reaching over 230,000 children and training more than 2,400 teachers. This initiative is now expanding to other states, where schools are integrating free screenings, training and vision awareness programs.
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Italy – Vogue Eyewear brought storytelling and vision care together in Milan bookstores from September and October 2025, with a series of animated readings that inspired kids and adults alike to explore imagination and creativity while raising awareness on eye health. Meanwhile in Naples, the Salmoiraghi & Viganò urban art project, Uno Sguardo al Futuro (“A Look to the Future”), celebrated art as a tool for urban and social regeneration with creative workshops on sustainability, community and the future.
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Romania – The Group’s in-store and social media campaigns are raising awareness for children’s eye health, highlighting preventive care and the benefits of regular eye exams from an early age.
Discover the global campaign below!
Notes:
1. The long-term efficacy of Essilor® Stellest® lenses was evaluated over 6 years in 42 Chinese children aged 8-13 at baseline. Myopia progression outcomes were compared to the 72-month progression of an extrapolated control group based on the initial 2-year control group (Bao et al., JAMA Ophthalmology. 2022; 140(5):472-478). The model predicted 72-month myopia progression using an estimated annual reduction rate in spherical equivalent refraction of 9.7% (Smotherman et al., IOVS. 2023;64(8):811). (Unpublished results. Presented at BCLA 2025).
2. Compared to single vision lenses. Results from a prospective, randomized, double-masked, multicenter U.S. clinical trial in myopic children aged 6–12 years at initiation of treatment.
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