Unique models of religious and civilian buildings in wood, ceramic and cardboard are at display in an impressive exhibition: “Tolerance: beacon for faith and life”, at the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria.

The miniature models exhibited represent houses of religious diversity primarily from Bulgaria but also from Russia, Italy, Norway, Romania and France and highlight the importance of tolerance.

Plamen Ignatov, Vihren Mihaylov, Todor Nanchev and H.E. Stefano Benazzo, the four artists of this exhibition, all invested a great deal of passion and painstaking detail into their creations.  For instance, the UNESCO-listed “Rila Monastery” model took 17 years to make,  as it required 6 million partially burned matches to make the work the same colour as the original.

The exhibition, which opened on January 10th, 2012 is under the patronage of Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov and the mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova, This event has been organized by the Italian Ambassador in Bulgaria, H.E. Stefano Benazzo, with the support of main monotheistic religions in the country.

As part of its global commitment to fight discrimination and promote diversity and in line with its pro-active social responsibility policy in Bulgaria, BNP Paribas S.A. – Sofia Branch is  supporting this outstanding exhibition.

See the catalogue of the exhibition

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The concept of the anonymous CV was first floated by M. Bébéar in 2004 to promote diversity in the recruitment process and to fight against discriminatory hiring practices. The CVs have been wiped clean of names, ages and addresses of the candidates, leaving only their training and career history, in order help the candidates breach the barriers that stand between them and the initial interview. It should also reduce self-censorship.

The anonymous CV is not an end in itself, insists the Commissioner for Diversity, Yazid Sabeg, but “is a useful measure for breaking down the walls barring entry to the first interview, and makes it possible to neutralise prejudices. For a company, this is a very strong symbolic position to take.”

Prepared by Yazid Sabeg’s team, this experiment will take place in Paris and in six other départements, or counties, in France: Seine-Saint-Denis, Nord, Rhône, Bouches-du-Rhône, Bas-Rhin and Loire-Atlantique. The experiment is open on a voluntary basis to all companies regardless of size, from listed CAC-40 enterprises to Small and Medium Enterprises.

The results and tangible effects of this experiment will determine whether or not the anonymous CV will become obligatory for companies of more than 50 employees.

BNP Paribas has made the fight against discrimination a priority by defining discrimination as one of its key operational risk factors.

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The objective is to apply these principles in professional relationships, both internal and external.

As an extension of the initiatives already implemented internally in support of gender equality, BNP Paribas Assurance has signed a partnership with the association Aide et Action. Founded in 1981, Aide et Action is an international solidarity organisation present in 22 countries. Its stated objective is to give everybody access to good quality education as a tool for acquiring knowledge and developing skills.

The purpose of this partnership is to support the association’s programmes that aim at promoting women’s and girls’ access to education in less developed countries. The project relates to 4 countries in West Africa, a region of the world most affected by the problem of girls’ education: Benin, Mali, Niger and Senegal.
This support will enable future students to enjoy a comprehensive and good quality education in a sound and secure environment. This is an essential means of enabling them to be active stakeholders in all areas of family, economic and social life.

 
Access of women and girls to education will over time allow additional annual growth of 0.8% of GDP in these African countries.*
Today there are still some 45 million girls and women in the world who do not have access to education. They account for 60% of all children who are deprived of education. 

As Claire Calosci, General Manager of Aide et Action International, explains: “Young educated girls have twice as high a chance of being spared the AIDS virus. Their income rises by 10 to 20% for each year of studies completed. The education of girls and women is the single most effective tool in the fight against malnutrition and infant mortality.”

*Source: Forum for Partnership with Africa – September 2007

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BNP Paribas is the only bank among the first seven companies to  obtain the “Diversity” label

AFNOR is a French state-authorised organisation  which  specializes in standardisation and certification of companies in line with the international norms in  management systems, products, services and people.

Diversity Label is assessed on the basis of five specific reference points: the state of play, the diversity policy, internal communication, initiatives within the organisation and finally, and areas of improvement.

“The Diversity Label represents the recognition of BNP Paribas’ global commitment to diversity. (…)  Diversity promotes social cohesion within the organisation and a mixture of backgrounds favours both creativity and efficiency”, says Elisabeth Karako, Head of Diversity at BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas is commitment to foster diversity focuses on four key criteria:

• diversity of origin
• gender equality
• employment and integration of disabled people
• age diversity

Specific measures for promoting diversity have been taken for some years now: for example, Projet Banlieues, the Parenthood Charter, the Train for Employment and Equal Opportunities, the “Mix City” initiative (a pun on the French mixité, meaning gender balance) set up to facilitate the inclusion of women in senior management positions, etc.

HR managers talk about diversity

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