NGO AVSI and Intesa Sanpaolo Partner to Support Ukrainian Refugees in Poland

NGO AVSI and Intesa Sanpaolo Partner to Support Ukrainian Refugees in Poland Photo credit: AVSI

(IN BRIEF) Non-governmental organization AVSI, in partnership with AVSI Polska and supported by Intesa Sanpaolo, has successfully trained and placed 150 Ukrainian women in permanent positions on the Polish job market, a year after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The project, “Labour inclusion for Ukrainian refugees in Poland,” combined language training, soft skills courses, technical training, and psychological and legal assistance to help with job placement. The project also included financial aid, vouchers for vulnerable Ukrainian refugee families, and support for 50 Ukrainian minors in Polish educational programmes. Intesa Sanpaolo donated €10 million to support the Ukrainian people, including projects focusing on humanitarian protection, housing, direct financial support, health and psychological assistance, distribution of basic necessities, and integration of refugees.

(PRESS RELEASE) MILAN, 1-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Intesa Sanpaolo Group (BIT: ISP), Italy’s largest banking group, has donated to the NGO AVSI’s “Labour inclusion for Ukrainian refugees in Poland” project, which successfully trained and placed 150 Ukrainian women in permanent positions on the Polish job market. The project was launched by AVSI in partnership with AVSI Polska and support from Intesa Sanpaolo in August 2022, in response to the wave of migrants entering Poland due to the war in Ukraine.

The project focused on the three pillars of integration, training, and women’s empowerment. It combined language training, soft skills courses, technical training, psychological and legal assistance, which culminated in job placement for the Ukrainian refugees. Twenty-five local companies from various sectors were involved in the project, including mechanical engineering and electronics, logistics, financial and insurance services, consulting, and education.

The six-month project also included a financial aid component, with vouchers provided to the most vulnerable Ukrainian refugee families and support given to 50 Ukrainian minors in Polish educational programmes. As part of its commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values, Intesa Sanpaolo promptly donated €10 million to support solidarity and hospitality measures benefiting the Ukrainian people. This includes projects focusing on humanitarian protection, housing, direct financial support, health and psychological assistance, distribution of basic necessities, and integration of refugees.

“In just a few months, the project has responded concretely to the needs of those – especially women with children – who have fled Ukraine. They needed to work to support themselves and to integrate into the new country. To do so, they put their skills to work.” Donato Di Gilio, president of AVSI Polska, commented: “The project’s strength was its ability to match the needs of Polish companies and job market with the skills and training of female refugees.”

“In Avsi’s project, we found those values of solidarity and inclusion that characterise the Bank’s ESG initiatives, and which made it possible to act promptly to seek a long-term solution for numerous Ukrainian families at a time of serious difficulty. When Intesa Sanpaolo decided to make a major donation at the outbreak of the conflict, it identified Avsi as one of the most reliable partners to benefit from the resources,” commented Paolo Bonassi, Head of Strategic Support Intesa Sanpaolo.

For further information:

AVSI – Anna Zamboni – cell. +39 344 0215675 | anna.zamboni@avsi.org

Intesa Sanpaolo

Media and Associations Relations

Institutional, social and cultural activities

stampa@intesasanpaolo.com

https://group.intesasanpaolo.com/it/sala-stampa/news

AVSI

AVSI, which has been operating in Ukraine since after the 2014 Donbass conflict, took action to help Ukrainians in Poland, Romania, Moldova and Italy immediately after the war broke out.

AVSI Polska, founded in 1993, is a founding member of AVSI and devotes its efforts to various areas such as training and job orientation, promotion of local entrepreneurship and emergency projects in response to the war in Ukraine. AVSI Polska also promoted the humanitarian aid initiative Italian Solidarity in Poland in cooperation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland and the Warsaw Committee of the Dante Alighieri Society.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy’s leading banking group – serving families, businesses and the real economy – with a significant international presence. Intesa Sanpaolo’s distinctive business model makes it a European leader in Wealth Management, Protection & Advisory, highly focused on digital and fintech. An efficient and resilient Bank, it benefits from its wholly-owned product factories in asset management and insurance. The Group’s strong ESG commitment includes providing €115 billion in impact lending by 2025 to communities and for the green transition, and €500 million in contributions to support people most in need, positioning Intesa Sanpaolo as a world leader in terms of social impact. Intesa Sanpaolo is committed to Net Zero by 2030 for its own emissions and by 2050 for its loan and investment portfolios. An engaged patron of Italian culture, Intesa Sanpaolo has created its own network of museums, the Gallerie d’Italia, to host the bank’s artistic heritage and as a venue for prestigious cultural projects.

SOURCE: INTESA SANPAOLO