Blog BNP Paribas | The bank for a changing world » Education

A professional training session for all..

Marta Fernandez Mur — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:48:14 +0000

For the third year in a row, BNP Paribas handed over its facilities in Madrid to the San Patricio Foundation in order to carry out the training course “Take Care of Me”.

Last week, 22 people attended a session of this programme, whose main objective is to train immigrants and people over 45 years who need a job and want to become caregivers. Through these sessions, attendees reinforce their social integration and awareness on how important their educational work is.

The goal of the Spanish San Patricio Foundation is that of planning and promoting courses, congresses, conferences and seminars that can provide an educational, cultural, artistic, scientific, ethical and social training to professionals and future professionals in the area of education and culture.

Providing guidance and business know-how to students

Emma Oliver — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:23:57 +0000

For the second consecutive year, BNP Paribas and its Community and Charity Programme,
will support Rise Up, a pilot programme designed to help students at risk of dropping out of the education system.

Rise Up is a project developed by the Westminster Education Business Partnership (EBP). EBP helps bring business employers and schools together so as to inspire young people and promote educational achievement through volunteering programmes that support schools in the local area. BNP Paribas has been part of this partnership for several years now.

This year, several employees at BNP Paribas will volunteer to work as mentors or ‘business coaches’ for five students aged 14 to 16 years. The goal is to help them develop their communication skills and to obtain a BTEC Level 2 Media Production qualification.

The role of ‘business coach’ will imply for BNP Paribas employees to impart the skills gained through their working life. This task will involve showing students how to:

•   plan and organise tasks
•   write a delivery plan
•   generate ideas
•   solve problems
•   set targets
•   work to tight deadlines

And, besides motivating and guiding young people through this role, the program also aims to help employees to develop coaching skills that can be useful for their own professional lives.

To accomplish this project, all participating employees will be asked to meet once a week for a total of 8 weeks, starting on 1st February 2012.

200 Hours Devoted to Literacy

Isabelle Palsky — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:05:18 +0000

Twenty volunteers from Cardif Taiwan spent more than 200 hours with over 60 students from Zhongjiao Elementary School (New Taipei City) throughout the months of October and November.

The purpose of this initiative was to teach good reading and financial management habits to students. This project included a visit to a bookstore and lessons to teach children how to manage their money.

“In addition to developing good reading habits, we also expect that children extend their learning out of school and hope that literacy can open a door towards a better future for children,” said Cardif Taiwan (Vie) General Manager Ruth Wu.

“We believe that this volunteer programme is just the beginning. It is a great way to build on our commitment to promote literacy, but it is also a way to convey love and care to disadvantaged children, so as to help them build a great future.”

A New Playground for a School in Bulgaria

Krasimira Antimova — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:26:22 +0000

At an inauguration ceremony in Varna, the French Ambassador to Bulgaria H.E. Philippe Autie told the fairy tale of a school: one that has grown at a very fast pace since it first opened 3 years ago, and which has reached a high academic level. This school is called, “Charles Perrault”, the first international school in Varna, which just celebrated a fully renovated building that will accommodate 83 young pupils from 9 nationalities mid-November.

The school is very important for the black sea capital in Bulgaria. In only a couple of years, thanks to its professional team, the support of the French Embassy in Bulgaria, the French Institute Sofia, as well as the active contribution of the parents, results are visible: the excellent achievements of the pupils are the clearest evidence.

BNP Paribas has contributed to the development of this educational entity. In line with its global commitment to corporate social responsibility through partnerships in educational, cultural and social projects, BNP Paribas Bulgaria donated funds for the construction of a new playground for the younger pupils in the school.

Hong Kong education effort helps the less fortunate

Joyce Leung — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:12:09 +0000

BNP Paribas Hong Kong has joined the Hong Kong Association of Banks and Hong Kong Council of Social Service to deliver a new financial education programme. There are 12 workshops to help low-income and single-parent families better understand saving and credit.

Bank staff joined three workshops in April, June and October to deliver their expertise to about 100 participants.

Research from the Hong-Kong Council of Social Service in first half of last year found there were 1.26 million Hong Kongers living in poverty.

In an inflationary environment where the wealth gap is widening, financial planning could help many families build assets and create wealth, their improving standard of living and reducing chance of intergenerational poverty.

The language of money

Rosaria Galfo — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:04:39 +0000

What actually is money? How did it develop and how important is it in our everyday life? Since end of March 2011, the exhibition “The language of money” tries to give answers to such questions.

The exhibition is shown in the Museum for Communication in Nuremberg. It is particularly addressed to school classes and guided tours under the name “Money stories for little investors” are offered for elementary school children. Cortal Consors Germany actively financed the programme’s conception and development, as well as the entry fees for the school children.

Additionally, employees of Cortal Consors and their families could experience the exhibition in a 60-minute guided tour for free. They could see former means of payment such as coffee beans, furs and historical coins. Special attractions were the machine to print counterfeit money and a house account book of Inge Meysel, a famous German actress. The visitors were also given the possibility to participate in a money quiz and print their own personalised bank note. According to Dr. Stefan Kley, the curator of the museum, the programme sponsored by Cortal Consors Germany has been a great success.

Learning with Artists like Aurélien Bory

Joyce Leung — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:34:23 +0000

BNP Paribas Hong Kong and the foundation created a three-year sponsorship called The Artists-in-Residence Project 2011-13. Organised by the Hong Kong Arts Festival, this multi-disciplinary arts education programme aims to enhance the appreciation of performing arts among secondary school pupils, particularly those living in remote area of the city.

This year’s edition runs from mid-October to February. About 30 pupils will be selected to join a series of workshops. They will then perform their own show at the three participating schools next month and the Kwai Tsing Theatre in February.

Festival organisers have selected Compagnie 111, a performing group formed by French artists Aurélien Bory and Olivier Alenda, to host this year’s training. Coincidently, Bory has benefited from the support of the bank’s foundation since 2003. He is a major figure in the contemporary circus scene for his non-standard designs that include elements of theatre, circus, dance, visual arts and music.

Interview with Aurélien Bory, artistic director for Compagnie111:

Aurélien Bory, You are partnering with BNP Paribas and the Hong Kong Arts Festival to host the Artists-in-Residence Project 2012. Is this the first time you’ve worked on this kind of education project in Asia?

It is indeed the first time I’ve participated in an education project in Asia. Animating workshops is always a very creative process and I am always happy to share some artistic views with pupils.

What do you want to deliver to the participating pupils? Will it be the awareness of the relationship between humans and technology, just like your production Sans Objet which you will bring to the Hong Kong stage next year?

Sans Objet is a dialogue between human and technology because technology is taking a growing place in our lives.

I like to question this on stage. Theatre is a good place to consider serious questions, in order to put some distance to them or to make some fun of them.

For this particular workshop I will propose that the pupils play with a video installation that affects our perceptions. I will work on what I call the “existent”, started with my last shows Les Sept Planches de la Ruse, Questcequetudeviens? and Sans Objet. Here, the “existent” will be the video installation.

Could you tell us what will be your major challenges in organising this training workshop? For instance, your shows always involve professional acrobatic moves and giant stage props. How would you make it fit for the pupils’ performance?

I like physical theatre. I don’t work with words but movements and bodies, and besides, I try to work from the abilities of the pupils. They will be actors in the etymological definition; the actor is performing the action. To me, theatre is an art of space. Space remains the wider framework within which everything is created and evolves. This also applies to the dramaturgy in my work and to the fact that it is brought about by the scenographic choices, and not the other way around, like it usually is.

You are one of the supported artists from BNP Paribas Foundation. Could you tell us how it helps with your creation?

The BNP Paribas Foundation has been at my side since 2003 and gives generous support to my works. It really gives me the freedom to create. Its long and faithful support is essential because it secures both my work in progress and my coming creations or activities. This support has two financial forms: one dedicated to the creations, the other one more punctual as a support for our worldwide tours. For instance, thanks to the Foundation, we were able to organise the Asian tour, including the shows in Hong Kong of Les Sept Planches de la Ruse in 2009. This support is also based on the active and attentive relationship with the BNP Paribas Foundation’s Paris team. Moreover, the partnership with the Foundation encourages others to support my works. For all these reasons, BNP Paribas is the best partnership I have ever had.

The BNP Paribas Foundation has recently announced their support of Bory’s new creation, Géométriede Caoutchouc, which premiered in France last month.

For more information:

Compagnie 111
HK Arts Festival
Facebook

BlogTV: Bringing the Child out of the Bubble

Lizette Rivera — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:55:27 +0000

The association, “Autisme Espoir Vers l’Ecole (AEVE)” an entirely volunteer-run project, helps autistic children reach a social and educational life that is as normal as possible.

How? AEVE relies on an intensive pedagogical method that lasts between two to three years called the “3i Method”.

How does it work?
The “3i Method” is a developmental method based on Intensive, Individual, and Interactive play, which takes place between the child and a member of his family or a voluntary worker within the association.

This play method is adapted for all children, as it responds to each child’s developmental problem and personal rhythm.

As of today, 6 000 volunteers and 35 psychologists work with nearly 200 children, but this number keeps increasing, given the positive results obtained.

AEVE is supported by BNP Paribas Foundation’s Coup de pouce programme.

BlogTv: « Lever de rideau19 » or the art of living with others

Isabelle Palsky — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:25:53 +0000

The organisation Lever de rideau 19, based near Paris, was founded in 2004 by 2 professors.

Their daily experience with teenagers who are struggling to communicate and relate to each others has motivated the creation of a theatrical and cultural workshop.

Lever de rideau 19 contributes to their self-development and citizenship training.
For instance, the workshop “LesTêtesDeL’Art” is included in the courses of study of the pupils.
An active pedagogy open to the contemporary art world to make young people develop a cultural opening capacity.

Lever de rideau association is a beneficiary of the BNP Paribas Foundation’s Projet Banlieues, a project that provides support to underprivileged neighbourhoods.