UniCredit Foundation: over 3 million euros to the winners of Call for Education 2023
- 18 non-profit programs combating educational inequalities across 10 UniCredit countries announced as winners
- The winning projects in Austria are “CAPE 10 die gemeinnützige Stiftung” and the non-profit organisation “Vienna Hobby Lobby”
UniCredit Foundation is excited to announce the winners of “Call for Education 2023”, awarding 18 projects by non-profit organizations with a total of nearly 3,250,000 euros to support their work with secondary school students (age range 11-19) in 10 different UniCredit countries.
The UniCredit Foundation, the corporate foundation of UniCredit Group, launched its “Call for Education 2023” in June. The latest initiative to combat educational disadvantage across Europe invited the Group's banks to identify up to five outstanding social projects in UniCredit’s territories that are focused on tackling early school leaving, encouraging university attainment and providing youth with adequate skills to enter the job market.
A total of 175 candidates were put forward and reviewed by an especially established Evaluation Committee, who selected the winning initiatives across 10 UniCredit Group countries: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
This follows the “Call for Education: Romania & Bulgaria”, which awarded 500,000 euros to 4 projects by non-profit organizations aimed at addressing educational disadvantage in the two countries. These pan-European initiatives to promote educational equality for school students, along with the Foundation’s recently announced partnership with global education network Teach For All, are further proof of the UniCredit Foundation’s firm commitment to unlocking the potential of Europe’s next generation.
Silvia Cappellini, General Manager of the UniCredit Foundation, said: "Giving our youth across Europe the power to unlock their full potential takes more than just financing. It means fostering equal educational opportunities for them where they are in Europe. This entails forging partnerships with educational institutions and local entities to co-create tailored programs that address the unique needs of the communities we serve. UniCredit’s pan-European presence gives the UniCredit Foundation the unique opportunity, through the Group’s network of banks, to empower disadvantaged youth across the continent and help create a brighter future for Europe’s next generation. I am immensely pleased with the outcomes of this initiative, and I look forward to seeing how these 18 projects make an impact for young people in their respective regions.”
Robert Zadrazil, Chairman of the Management Board of UniCredit Bank Austria: “I am delighted that the UniCredit Foundation is providing substantial financial support to two outstanding non-profit educational projects in Austria as part of the 'Call for Education 2023'. Both the association 'Hobby Lobby', which has already been awarded the Bank Austria Social Prize Lower Austria 2023, and 'CAPE 10 die gemeinnützige Stiftung' contribute to the important goal of creating equal educational opportunities for all children and young people.”
About the winners in Austria:
CAPE 10 die gemeinnützige Stiftung
Project: Cape 10 Education Academy (to impact 1,000 children and 500 teachers)
Geopraphy: Vienna
The Education Academy focus is providing future perspectives and career opportunities, equipping the students with school materials as well as cultural experiences, sport and leisure programs. Through therapies, participation, networking & opinion forming, youngsters should be given the opportunity to discover their own strengths and resources. In collaboration with education, business, health, art, and culture experts, the organization creates interactive programs for young individuals to enable holistic support and to achieve fewer school dropouts, successful career prospects and equal opportunities.
Vienna Hobby Lobby
Project: Hobby lobby Skills acquisition through informal education (to benefit 3,000 children/young adults)
Geography: Salzburg, Graz, Lower Austria, Innsbruck and Vienna
Over the next two years 420 free leisure courses will be offered at ten Austrian locations for children and young people from socially disadvantaged communities. Through the intensive work in the courses, the participating children and young people achieve improvements in their social skills and further development of their personalities. The acquisition of these skills will enable participants to access the labor market more easily in the long term.
UniCredit Foundation, https://www.unicreditgroup.eu/en/unicreditfoundation.html
This Third Sector Body (TSB) is the corporate foundation of UniCredit Group whose purpose is to unlock the potential of Europe’s next generation. Its mission is to empower young people across Europe by creating equal opportunities in education and to support them in making their way in life and the professional world. The Foundation's initiatives aim at combating school drop-out, enhancing employability, encouraging university attainment, and promoting study and research. The Foundation is committed to supporting communities in all countries where UniCredit Group operates.
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, Tel.: +43 (0) 5 05 05-52809
E-Mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at