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Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2018
Management Overview Foreword
of sustainability
Responsible
banker
Fair partner –
Human Resources
Fair partner –
Inhouse ecology
Engaged
citizen
GRI index and
Assurance report
Caritas closed “Haus Roshan” in June 2017. The inhabitants moved into various permanent residences in Lower
Austria. However, this was no reason for the Roshan core team to stop working for youth integration in Austria. In
November 2018, the corporate volunteering project looked back at a number of success stories on the occasion
of its third anniversary. Some of the young people have already found employment or apprenticeships, largely
with the help of the core team. However, most of the “Roshanis” are still looking, hindered by still imperfect German
skills or their respective asylum status.
Contact with all of the “Roshanis” is maintained through hikes, cultural excursions, and celebrations on holidays
such as Eid, Nowruz (New Year), Christmas, and Easter. This commitment is not limited to the Management
Board: The help of employees is also still required, e.g. when it comes to teaching assistance for compulsory
school courses or vocational diplomas, support letters, or providing personal accompaniment to meetings with
the authorities. The scholarship program of RBI AG and the entire Management Board is currently allowing some
particularly gifted and hard-working students to attend a trade school or trade academy. The weekly mathematics
course, which is given by RBI employees with the help of retired teachers, remains popular.
All children have the right to education irrespective of
the environment into which they were born. However,
only one-third of vulnerable children in Romania
complete elementary school. When parents are
struggling with everyday life, their children’s education
often loses out. Without real opportunities and access
to education, there is a high risk that these children will
experience economic difficulty when they grow up.
This is where United Way comes in. The organization
believes that dropping out of school is the problem not
of the individual child, but of society as a whole. With
its comprehensive intervention program “Learn to
© Rut Center
Succeed”, it works with parents, teachers, caregivers, and volunteers to solve the problem. The aim is to provide
socially disadvantaged children, children with serious intellectual impairments, children on the autism spectrum,
and young adults with the necessary educational services. In addition to help with homework and obtaining
learning materials, the children are given daily meals and can participate in extracurricular activities like excursions
and creative workshops.
In 2018, Raiffeisen Bank S.A. in Romania supported the United Way organization as part of its corporate
volunteering program. Raiffeisen Bank employees in Bucharest, Cluj, and Timis˛ oara got involved by establishing
mentoring/care relationships with the children in line with the high standards of the cooperation partner. This
helped to expand the children’s horizons, show them positive lifestyles and motivate them to achieve better results
in school through various extracurricular activities. More than 160 children between six and 15 years old took
part in the activities offered. These ranged from canvas/T-shirt painting, napkin folding workshops and cooking
workshops to reading sessions, basketball, football, and workshops for making Christmas decorations.
Education and financial education initiatives (Financial Literacy)
Education is one of the most important issues of the 21st century. RBI contributes to the improvement of education,
an important tool in the fight against poverty. It actively promotes an understanding of financial products and
services, and imparts banking expertise as part of its advisory role in day-to-day operations. It is closely linked
with the subject of financial education, i.e. the competent handling of money and financial matters, also referred
to under the term “financial literacy” due to its core business. Raiffeisenbank a.s. in the Czech Republic supports,
for example, Junior Achievement, Europe‘s largest provider of educational programs for entrepreneurship,
willingness to work, and financial literacy. It has awarded the „Raiffeisen Students Leadership Award“ every year
since 2014/15. Raiffeisenbank employees also provide IT security and financial education expertise at the
„Bankers to School“ corporate volunteering initiative as part of high school workshops. Junior Achievement is
also supported by Raiffeisen Bank Sh.A. in Albania (see page 143).