Blog BNP Paribas | The bank for a changing world

BlogTV: a France-Senegal Friendship, « Les Amis de Gandiol »

Isabelle Palsky — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:31:27 +0000

Les amis de Gandiol organisation is born of a crush between Violaine Belval, President of the association and Gandiol, a small village of 500 inhabitants situated in the heart of Senegalese bush.

Their objective: to rework a school, to provide school materials, to build a cultural center, a library …

And also, to give to children the possibility of continuing their studies without quitting prematurely due to the lack of meanings or materials.

This is the reason why this association helps in finding sponsorships for children and offers its personal and financial support (it takes 20 euros to assure one year of schooling for one child).

Les Amis de Gandiol has been supported by the Coup de pouce programme of the BNP Paribas Foundation.

Tennis Ball Recycling Program

Sauveur Menella — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:57:56 +0000

In 1973, an important partnership was created between BNP Paribas and tennis with the beginning of the banks’ sponsorship of the Roland Garros tournament. After almost 40 years, BNP Paribas now sponsors several other tournaments around the world, notably the BNP PARIBAS OPEN in Indian Wells, California.

As title sponsor since 2009, the bank’s North American team in charge of tennis events has taken this opportunity to create a few initiatives. One of these initiatives includes the tennis ball recycling program which began the first year of the BNP PARIBAS OPEN. This program was developed with the help of the American company reBounces* and IWTG (Indian Wells Tennis Garden, owner of the tournament).

During one weekend on the tournament’s site, individuals were able to exchange 6 or more used tennis balls, for a canister of 3 new ones. More than 4,000 tennis balls were recycled with this new project. For the 2010 edition of the tournament, the program was setup over two weekends where 15,000 tennis balls were collected. Year by year, the project continues to increase in volume.

In 2011 and 2012, the recycling program was expanded to include a contest with tennis clubs in Southern California where 125,000 tennis balls were recycled in 2011 and 145,000 in 2012.
We are very proud of this program, which aligns with our CSR initiatives and has also allowed reBounces to increase their visibility in the United States and now, internationally.

*reBounces provides tennis balls with a second life (approximately 85%) through a re-pressurization system. The remaining tennis balls (15%) are shredded and converted into tennis court surfaces.

BlogTV: Encounters for change with Ania Polaczek

Isabelle Palsky — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:42:20 +0000

Ania, President of the Employees Representative Committee at BNP Paribas Securities Services in Luxemburg, decided to actively participate in several social initiatives in South East Asia.

But, how does she balance her personal and professional life? How does she find time to constantly and actively work with different associations?

Ania explains what motivates her to help carry out the initiatives of the associations she supports.

A woman with a huge heart who, day after day, back to work or away from it, constantly shows great courage and humour.

Pour un Sourire d’Enfant has been supported by the Coup de Pouce programme of the BNP Paribas Foundation Luxembourg.

BlogTV: Chaplin over the years…

Lizette Rivera — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:05:02 +0000

The Musée de l’Elysée (Elysée Museum), located in Lausanne, Switzerland dedicates itself entirely to photography.

Since 2011, the Musée de l’Elysée preserves the photographic fund of Charlie Chaplin which covers the artist’s overall professional career.

Thanks to its partners, the museum carries out a complete inventory, digitalization and funds conservation project to give value this unique heritage as well as to to share with future generations Charlot’s personality.

The BNP Paribas Foundation in Switzerland supports Charlie Chaplin’s photographic fund and archive at the Musée de l’Elysée.

Women Changing India exhibition sets off across the country

Sophie Maurice — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:59:34 +0000

The bank’s acclaimed Women Changing India exhibition will travel to another four Indian cities where BNP Paribas has branches. After last year’s successful showing in Europe, the exhibition will travel to Bangalore and Pune later this year, and has already stopped in Ahmedabad.

Last month, the exhibition was shown at Hyderabad’s Kalakriti Art Gallery. The opening was attended by dignitaries and artists, and received good media coverage.

Noted social worker Begum Bilkees Latif: the Consul General of France in Bangalore, Dominique Causse, and Jacques Michel, the chief executive and country head of BNP Paribas India, opened the show.

Georgina Kumba, an entrepreneur has been born

Aurore Zlatev — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:01:00 +0000

The bank recently stepped up its commitment to the “Projet Banlieues” or “Suburbs Project” with an investment of €4.5 million per year. Meanwhile, BNP Paribas is pursuing its CSR policy by extending its support to ADIE, a French micro-finance organisation.

It is also supporting an initiative dubbed “Together for employment” aimed at encouraging French Retail Banking branches to help people with a project in mind to seek financing from ADIE. Georgina Kumba talks about how she benefited from the initiative.

BlogTV: Encounters for change with Leïla Bahsoun

Isabelle Palsky — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:06:34 +0000

Diagnosed with a rare disease (retinal degeneration), Leïla Bahsoun decided not only to accept her handicap but to live with it…

Thanks to the different activities in which she is involved (professional sports, public speech), Leila wishes to spread awareness regarding her visual impairment to a large audience.

Evidently, it is for this reason that the ProRaris association asked her to become their sponsor.

ProRaris, an alliance made up of 42 associations of patients living with a rare disease, must and wants to create a solid group that can openly talk about and raise awareness on rare diseases among the general public and public authorities. Leila, argues in favor of this association and becomes their spokesperson in 2010.

A medalist in professional swimming several times, Leila explains: “what we can do inside a swimming pool, we can do in society”.

The ProRaris association has been supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation in Switzerland.

The French Spring Festival in Ukraine

Lizette Rivera — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:56:53 +0000

The French Spring Festival in Ukraine is a widely-anticipated public event in the Ukrainian cultural calendar.

It’s an entire month (April) of events dedicated to French culture and to encounters between France and Ukraine. This year, for the 9th French Spring Festival, 60 to 70,000 spectators are expected to attend the more than 60 public events to be held in 6 cities: Kiev, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odessa.

Included in the programme:

A street show to herald the opening of the Festival in Kiev on April 4.

Street arts will rise to new heights with a spectacular aerial performance that combines music, theatre and physical and artistic feats performed by Les Maudits Sonnants (the Wild Bell Ringers) of the Transe Express Company.

A cocktail party for 300 invitation-only guests and prestigious partners, including Ukrsibbank-BNP Paribas, Moët & Chandon, Hennessy and Renault, has also been organised to mark the opening of the event.

A week entirely dedicated to French cinema in each city, including a selection of film pre-premieres in Ukraine

“Poulet aux prunes” (Chicken with Plums) with Matthieu Amalric, André Téchiné’s “Impardonnables” (Unforgivable) with Carole Bouquet, “L’exercice de l’Etat” (The Minister) with Michel Blanc (2012 Cesar for best screenplay), “Polisse” by Maïwenn (Jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2011, awarded 2 Cesars), “L’art d’aimer” (The Art of Love) with François Cluzet and “La clé des champs” (The Field of Enchantment) are just some of the films included in the programme. There will also be an entire night devoted to French short films, with screenings from 11pm through to 6am!

A contemporary circus tour by the Barolosolo circus troupe in 4 Ukrainian cities

Barolosolo, a circus company that has toured France and Europe since its creation in 2006, will be performing “O temps d’O”, a clown show for young and old alike.

A contemporary art exhibition

“Figure vivace”, an exhibition on the representation of the body, was held in Toulouse at the Espace Croix-Baragnon between 15 December 2011 and 25 February 2012, with the participation of Ukrainian artist Anataloy Bielov.
It has now moved to Kiev where it will be displayed in the two exhibition halls of the Ya Gallery Art Centre (in the Podil district).

Meetings in anticipation of the “Euro 2012” European Football Championship

Pierre-Louis Basse is a journalist, author, and a leading sports broadcaster for many years on the French radio station Europe 1. The author of “Guy Môquet, une enfance fusillée”, “Ma ligne 13” and “Séville 82, France-Allemagne: le match du siècle” and other works will be presenting his latest book on the “death match” that took place in Kiev in 1942 between German soldiers and a Ukrainian team of former professional footballers. He will be meeting the public to discuss the France-Germany match of 1982.

In addition, Pascal Boniface, geopolitician, creator and director of the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS, a French research centre for international and strategic studies) and author of numerous books on international relations and “the state of the world”, will be meeting the public for conferences/discussions on the theme of “Football and globalisation”.

“Paris Combo”, a closing concert on April 27 in Kiev

Performing for the first time in Ukraine, the pop group “Paris Combo” has gained widespread popularity among young people in Ukraine, who are celebrating the release of the band’s new album.

And many classical music concerts!

For more information, visit the Institut Français d’Ukraine website.

Women’s Empowerment Principles Round Table

Elisabeth Karako — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:12:17 +0000

New-York, United Nations Headquarters, 6 March 2012. The annual Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) event brings together stakeholders in this joint initiative by the United Nations Global Compact and the Unites nations Development Fund for Women.

BNP Paribas head of Group Diversity Elisabeth Karako presented the major actions deployed by BNP Paribas in support of women to representatives of businesses from around the world who signed the CEO Statement of Support and specialists on gender equality issues.

Entitled “Transforming the Leadership Pipeline to Advance Gender Equality and Sustainability”, the round table in which Elisabeth Karako took part provided an opportunity to note that BNP Paribas has identified gender equality as a strategic priority.
This commitment is backed by the engagement of the CEO, stable HR processes to fight discrimination and manger awareness building. The conference was opened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile.

The UN Secretary General said: “The world is full of distinguished women but women are the least utilized resources”.
President Bachelet added: “Promoting women is not the right thing but the smart thing to do for developing quality in business”.

The WEP, which companies sign on a voluntary basis, offer guidance on how to promote gender equality, training and professional development. The WEP provided a forum for exchanges of the best practices among signatory companies.