As part of a three-year agreement, BNP Paribas Fortis is to supply over 50,000 devices to the Belgian non-profit association Close the Gap. This IT equipment includes desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones, digital tablets and printers.
Together with IT service provider Flection, Close the Gap will recondition these devices to give them a second lease of life.
Hundreds of thousands of young people in the world have only limited if any access to information and communication technologies. For these young people, both in emerging countries and here in Belgium, this situation causes serious inequalities in terms of opportunities for personal development and employment.
With a view to increasing its contribution in this area, from now on BNP Paribas Fortis is giving its depreciated IT equipment to Close the Gap, an organisation that works to reduce the digital divide between the western countries and the emerging countries as well as here in Belgium. This agreement is part of the bank’s sustainable development approach.
As regards Belgium, about 400 IT sets will therefore be distributed to Belgian social organisations selected by BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation. An IT set consists of a work station, a screen, a keyboard, a mouse and headphones, along with the necessary logistic support.
“Here in Belgium, Close the Gap has already provided support for over 900 associations and organisations,” says Olivier Vanden Eynde, managing director of Close the Gap. “We are delighted to be able to contribute towards narrowing the digital divide by redistributing equipment to people we wouldn’t have been able to reach without BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation.”
Logistic support via a helpdesk – Since the year 2000, BNP Paribas Fortis, via its Foundation, has distributed over 2,150 second-hand computers in good condition to numerous associations. “In the past, the recipients had to go to the nearest BNP Paribas Fortis branch to collect the equipment” explains Anne-France Simon, Head of Corporate Philanthropy at BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation. “Thanks to our partnership with Close the Gap, from now on we can deliver it directly and in addition, offer one-year’s IT support.”
About Close the Gap
Close the Gap is a Belgian non-profit association that aims to reduce the digital divide between the western countries and the emerging countries as well as here in Belgium by giving a new lease of life to second-hand computing equipment. This enables schools, universities, hospitals, micro-financing institutions and various social projects to offer new opportunities to a great many people and communities. On site, local partners take care of the required distribution, maintenance and training. When the computers reach the end of their second life, they are collected in various countries to be recycled locally. www.close-the-gap.org.
About BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation
Like many other initiatives, the distribution of computing equipment is in line with the social responsibility policy of BNP Paribas Fortis. Through its private foundation, BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation, the bank supports numerous associations and organisations in the fight against social exclusion. BNP Paribas Fortis undertakes corporate sponsorship and combines fourteen years’ experience built up by Fortis Foundation Belgium with the values of the BNP Paribas group.
The BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation sponsorship policy revolves around three main topics: the social integration of disadvantaged children and young people through educational projects, the support provided for solidarity projects in which bank staff are involved and the participation of the bank’s branch network in solidarity actions. More on BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation in Dutch - in French.
Press contacts
Close the Gap – Olivier Vanden Eynde, Close the Gap managing director and founder – olivier.vanden.eynde@close-the-gap.org – 0478 28 40 84
BNP Paribas Fortis
Hilde Junius – 02 565 47 37 – hilde.junius@bnpparibasfortis.com
Valéry Halloy – 02 565 46 50 – valery.halloy@bnpparibasfortis.com
Kim Cauberghs – 02 228 37 94 – kim.cauberghs@bnpparibasfortis.com