RATP Dev conducts a number of citizenship actions. I am fortunate enough to participate in a mentorship program with young people from underprivileged families living in Alexandra Township, in the suburbs of Johannesburg, in partnership with the Sizanani NGO. We offer them scholarships, financial support and – just as important –personalized mentoring.
36 staff from Bombela Operating Company (BOC) – RATP Dev's subsidiary in South Africa – have already signed up as mentors. Our role is to counsel these young people, whether they are at school or college, and help them reach their professional goals. We also try to widen their horizons by organizing cultural outings, and by giving them access to various tools (computers, Internet connection, etc.).
It is a highly enriching experience, both for the young people and for us, their mentors
25,000
beneficiaries of actions conducted around the world by the RATP Group Foundation in 2016
10
aid programs in 8 countries across 4 continents
2,023
volunteer hours contributed by RATP Group staff in 2016
Process
Reduce distances between different worlds; open doors, bring people together. RATP Dev is committed to solidarity. Through the RATP Group Foundation, we contribute to numerous programs in France and throughout the world, in order to promote access to education, employment and culture.
Access to education
Education is the best path to success. By financially encouraging talent and supporting initiatives that facilitate education and training, the RATP Group Foundation promotes the success of young people in difficulty–whatever their origins or experience.
Through the Trajets d’avenir program, we grant scholarships to talented students from modest backgrounds to help them gain access to extended studies or sectors of excellence. This financial assistance is supplemented by collective support or mentorship by volunteer RATP group managers. Partner institutions of this program include Siences-Po, INSA Centre Val de Loire and St Mary's School Community in Johannesburg, South Africa.
We also support NGOs that are committed to education for all. This is the case in India, with the association Un Toit à Bombay (A Roof in Bombay), which sponsors girls in a Mumbai slum to help them continue their schooling.
Finally, in collaboration with the French Development Agency and the Delegation of the European Union to Algeria, RATP Dev and the RATP Group Foundation participate in a support fund for youth initiatives to aid young Algerians.
Access to employment
Some people from deprived neighborhoods or modest backgrounds find it harder to gain access to work. To facilitate their integration, boost their confidence and encourage a spirit of enterprise, we work with several NGOs and organizations.
In partnership with Pôle Emploi–the French employment agency–six of our transit systems across France offer one month of transport to people who have just found a job. Because in the first month, before the first pay check comes in, mobility is essential. A "job coach" also enables women who have put their careers on hold to benefit from support and individualised follow-up by specialists.
The projects we run in partnership with ADIE in various French regions and with the NGO Alouette in the Philippines help hundreds of people to create their activity with microcredit. In Manila, ten mothers receive this type of financing in order to develop a craft activity or a small business, for women have a central role to play in their country’s economic and social development.
In 2016 in Morocco, the RATP Group Foundation committed to the creation of a training center in Casablanca, in partnership with the NGO Enfance Maghreb Avenir (EMA). With an unemployment rate close to 35% for young people living in the province of Nouaceur, on the outskirts of the country's economic capital, EMA is developing a range of vocational training courses to fill the gap between demand and supply. As the operator of Casablanca’s first tramway, through its Moroccan subsidiary CASA TRAM, RATP Dev also supports this project for the integration of young people through volunteer work and mentorship.
Access to culture
Widen horizons and open new territories - in the cultural field too, the RATP Group seeks to open up new possibilities. Via support for associations, such as in Charleville-Mézières, where the world puppet theater festival is held. And also through partnerships with renowned cultural institutions, so that a different sort of public can come and admire the works in the Louvre or exhibitions in the Paris Science and Industry museum.
Not to mention sporting events or nature outings, such as in Washington D.C., where children from the underprivileged neighborhood of Wellington Park were able to attend a Washington Wizards basketball game (complete with warm-up!) or discover the joys of life on the farm during excursions to Cox Farm–a 16-hectare farm in the suburbs–thanks to Horton’s Kids and the RATP Group Foundation. These partnerships arebuilt on a shared vision of sharing and exchange.
>> To read more, go to RATP Group Foundation's website and on Twitter @fondationratp.
Glossary
- Access to employment
- Whether young or adults in rehabilitation, the Foundation supports any profile and any career track, committed to the development of gender and professional equity.
- Access to education
- When financing talented persons, when encouraging initiatives in favor of education and training, the Foundation boosts the accomplishment of young people in difficulty, whatever their origin or background.
- Access to culture
- When supporting organizations which give democratic access to culture, when taking actions to develop artistic practice, the Foundation counteracts isolation and obstacles of the underpriviledged. It gives them the preference for discovery.