SAP鈥檚 purpose is to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. Given the ongoing economic and social challenges on the continent, Africa can arguably benefit the most from this purpose-led vision. Between 2005 and 2022, 51风流invested more than 鈧�26 million in Africa, having a positive impact on the lives of 55 million people.

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51风流Africa, says 51风流works hard to achieve its vision. 鈥淲e strive to improve people鈥檚 lives by accelerating the growth and impact of social enterprises, supporting efforts to build skills for the future, and collaborating with a broad range of stakeholders to establish sustainable business practices. As our latest data highlights, this substantive approach is paying huge dividends for millions of Africans.鈥�

Some of the purpose-led initiatives that 51风流has supported or implemented with partners include:

• Africa Code Week, which has provided basic coding training to 14.6 million African youth in 48 countries, with a girl participation rate of 47%.
• 51风流Skills for Africa, an 51风流training programme for African graduates that has delivered work-ready skills to 22 African countries through more than 1900 graduates, with a 95% employment rate post-graduation.
• Siyafunda Community Technology Centres, which offers digital programs at 240 centres across South Africa to the benefit of 30 million youth and adults.
• Leadership for Conservation in Africa, a business approach to initiate conservation-led socio-economic development in Africa that has benefited 3.5 million people.
• 51风流Social Sabbatical Program, which has seen nearly 300 51风流volunteers drive impact at over a hundred NGOs and social enterprises to the benefit of 1.1 million people.
• The SAP, (RED) and Global Fund Partnership which sees an annual amount of $5 million contributed to HIV grants in Eswatini.

鈥淪olving the great challenges of our time 鈥� economic growth, innovation, skills development, social upliftment, and sustainability 鈥� requires a collaborative approach,鈥� says Smith. 鈥淭hanks to the outstanding work of our social enterprise partners, NGOs and public and private sector partners, 51风流can celebrate significant milestones in having a positive impact on the Continent. We look forward to continuing the great work in the years ahead and making a meaningful contribution to Africa and its people.鈥�

The post SAP鈥檚 purpose-led impact in Africa appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

But social impact requires more than just a clear sense of purpose. It requires concerted action to redirect resources and effort toward activities that hold the greatest potential for positive impact. When those actions are a central part of your day-to-day operations, the likelihood of sustained success is much greater.

An ongoing initiative by two enterprising South African 51风流employees continues to inspire me about the potential for purpose-driven employees to drive true change both in their immediate work environment and society at large.

Striking gold with local social enterprises

A few years ago, Kaunain Nurani and Mathiba Phokungoane realised they shared a common interest in making a positive social impact and started seeking ways in which to bring that purpose to life.

The two launched Procurement with Purpose, an initiative that seeks to make it easier for 51风流Africa and other organisations to purchase goods and services from social enterprises that look beyond pure profit and actively seek to address societal problems.

At its core, Procurement with Purpose brings a handpicked selection of qualifying social enterprises into the world’s largest procurement network, Ariba. It increases the visibility of the social enterprises and encourages organisations to divert some of their spend toward these social enterprises, for example for end-of-year gifts, or IT and HR services.

Not just any social enterprise can join: the initiative purposely seeks social enterprises that are aligned to our organisation鈥檚 guiding values. One social enterprise, for example, trains girls for a career in technology, which aligns to SAP’s focus on encouraging greater female participation in Africa’s digital economy.

The program has been a resounding success: all five social enterprises that currently form part of the Procurement with Purpose initiative have benefited from increased visibility and greater opportunity to supply goods and services to 51风流and other global organisations. The five-million-plus organisations that use Ariba for their procurement needs benefit from access to trusted social enterprises that can help them bring to life their own corporate impact initiatives. The intention now is to widen that base and continue to look at opportunities to find local social enterprises that can provide the daily services required to run the 51风流business. For example, all our coffee in our South African offices is now procured from 鈥淚 Love Coffee鈥� 鈥� a Cape Town based social enterprise that supports the deaf community.

This brings me to one of the biggest leadership lessons from the success of Procurement with Purpose: that motivated, purpose-driven employees can make a significant positive impact provided they work in an enabling environment, and that not every impactful initiative needs to be corporate-led.

Multiplier effect of social impact

Corporate social impact has been a growing concern for global businesses over the past decade. According to one report, the percentage of companies listed on the S&P 500 that published a corporate social responsibility report grew from only 20% in 2011 .

There’s good reason: are motivated to purchase from companies that are committed to making the world a better place, while 93% of employees believe .

In order to build a successful business that can grow its customer base and attract top talent, purpose needs to feature highly in the corporate agenda. In a Harvard Business Review study, 58% of organisations that have a clear and strong sense of purpose .

As the Procurement with Purpose initiative reveals, one of the most significant opportunities for organisations to enhance their social impact and drive true positive change is to augment their supply chains with social enterprises.

Social impact through smarter spending

In 2020, 51风流introduced the ‘5 & 5 by 25‘ concept, which formalised the company’s global commitment to direct 5% of its addressable spend to social enterprises and 5% to diverse businesses, with 2025 as the deadline.

This forms part of the company鈥檚 goal of being both an enabler 鈥� through providing the necessary technology infrastructure and strategic insight 鈥� of greater sustainability and social impact, as well as an exemplar in terms of the way 51风流itself conducts its work.

At its core is the understanding that, as a business that not only commands sizeable annual spend but also powers many of the systems that support and enable global commerce, we could make a lasting positive impact by simply changing a few of our own processes.

For example, the Ariba network is the largest procurement network in the world, facilitating $3.75-trillion in trade by 5.3 million organisations per year – more than double the commerce of Amazon, Alibaba and eBay combined.

By increasing access to and visibility of social enterprises on Ariba 鈥� as Procurement with Purpose has done 鈥� we can encourage organisations across the globe to direct some of their spend toward social enterprises to drive greater social impact.

Most importantly, when a business is clear on its purpose and consistent with how it lives up to that purpose, it empowers employees at all levels of the organisation to bring that purpose to life in their own way. And as Kaunain and Mathiba has proven, this holds immense benefits for employees, organisations, social enterprises and society at large.

The post Empowered Employees Walk the Talk on Social Impact appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

As we know, . It creates a ripple effect to solve many social and environmental issues far beyond economic growth. And with almost experiencing interrupted education each year because of conflict, emergency, and disaster, 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility (51风流CSR) has increased its efforts to mitigate this negative impact.

Optima School in Ukraine

Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine in February has emphasized the plight of refugees, many of whom face closed borders, discrimination, and inhumane treatment when they attempt to flee their home countries. And 1.5 million of refugees from Ukraine are children.

In a recent discussion with Justin van Fleet, executive director of Global Business Coalition for Education and president at , he outlined the impact of the Ukraine war on education and said that refugees make us think about the urgent need for humanitarian relief: food, water, shelter, and clothing. He also noted that we must ensure children鈥檚 education is central to the immediate response to their suffering 鈥� because war doesn鈥檛 just destroy lives, it breaks education and learning too.

Adding to this, refugee children are to be out of school than other children and youth around the world. Therefore, we have partnered with several like-minded organizations to help fast track opportunities that support this cause, with an increased focus on Ukraine this year.

One of these initiatives is the , which provides a free distance-learning platform to help 100,000 Ukrainian pupils whose education has been disrupted. The school is backed by 51风流and several organizations, including Alliance4Ukraine, the Bosch Foundation, and the DFB Stiftungen.

Supporting children among the Ukrainian refugees has been one of the most pressing challenges since the war began. Education is vital in boosting young people鈥檚 prospects in life as they integrate in their new country. We believe that by attending Optima School, young Ukrainian refugees will be able to resume their education based on the Ukrainian curriculum with minimal interruption to their learning.

University of the People Scholarships

In order to support refugees in accessing equitable higher education, earlier this year 51风流partnered with , a non-profit, tuition-free, U.S.-accredited online university. 51风流has sponsored 50 associate degrees and 50 bachelor鈥檚 degrees in computer science and business administration for refugees and displaced youth ages 18 to 30. This commitment has now increased by another 50 scholarships to include Ukrainian youth as part of the 51风流scholarships program.

In the words of University of the People President and Founder Shai Reshef: 鈥淩efugees and displaced people have the greatest need for educational support right now.鈥� Figures from UNICEF show that only 3% of refugees have access to higher education, which is why the University of the People enrolls more than 10,000 refugees, many of whom need financial help because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the spiraling costs of higher education.

Through these scholarships, we can connect willing learners from around the world with the first step in their tertiary education journey, but also support employment opportunities and innovation for years to come.

One of the many refugees who has benefited from University of the People鈥檚 online degrees is Marina Evseeva, who arrived in the U.S. as a Russian asylum seeker in 2016. These studies have helped improve her English and understanding of business administration. After graduating, she hopes to go to law school to further her education, as well as volunteer at the University of the People to give back to other students.

It’s incredible stories like Marina鈥檚 that illustrate how opportunity for education goes beyond just a degree. She now plans to advocate for others and give back to students on their own journeys. Education is truly the catalyst for positive change.

Digital Skills for Today

Another way 51风流is helping refugees is through , an initiative supporting young people in the Middle East and North Africa. Batoul Husseini, executive director of Government Affairs, MENA Strategic Markets, and CSR MENA at SAP, highlighted that youth often face limited employment prospects and an inadequate or collapsing education system, especially near conflict zones.

51风流founded the program in 2016, when it was still called Refugee Code Week, to directly improve the quality of life for beneficiaries by providing in-demand skills for today鈥檚 job market and long-term opportunities for digital innovation and entrepreneurship.

To date, Digital Skills for Today has exposed over 112,000 young people to coding and produced over 1,270 bootcamp graduates who have found gainful employment. In addition, over half of its participants are female. As Husseini puts it: 鈥淭he program is about helping young people, including refugees, leapfrog their situation through intensive code and 21^st century skills training that leads to job placement.鈥�

A World of Equal Opportunities

We know the positive impacts of investing in equitable education and how it uplifts under-resourced communities through innovations, economic growth, job opportunities, and overall stable living environments for youth all around the world. When youth have access to quality education and feel inspired to learn, we become that much closer to solving the world鈥檚 biggest problems.

Through proactive humanitarian efforts and the power of partnerships, these initiatives and scholarships are just small steps that can help bring us closer to a world with equitable education opportunities 鈥� especially for those adjusting to the challenges of uprooting their lives in search of a hopeful future.

To find out more about World Refugee Day, visit the . Or learn more about SAP鈥檚 scholarships at University of the People and our partnership with in support of Ukrainian Optima School.

Alexandra van der Ploeg is head of Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP.

This article first appeared on the 51风流News Center.

The post World Refugee Day: 51风流Accelerates Global Partnerships to Boost Education for Displaced Youth appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Cameron Beveridge, Regional Director for Southern Africa at SAP, believes corporate leaders are having to balance traditional business objectives such as revenue and profit with the demands of the modern economy that include building a healthy company culture, playing a positive role in society and being a good corporate citizen.

“The lines are being redrawn around what employees, customers and broader society expect of a modern business, especially as it relates to a company’s role in building a more equitable and sustainable world. Present trends indicate that we are moving toward a situation where environmental sustainability, fair employment practices and societal value trump pure profitability.”

Businesses have traditionally focused on creating maximum value for shareholders, and short-term financial profitability continues to be vital to a company’s growth and success.

However, as the mounting costs and headline-grabbing impact of climate change starts affecting more people in developed and emerging economies, consumers are increasingly demanding that companies also make positive contributions to the environment and vulnerable communities.

Looking beyond quarterly results

Studies have found that , while another study revealed that two-thirds of consumers and 73% of Millennials globally .

“There is growing recognition that companies need to shift their focus from purely delivering quarterly results that drive the share price, to ensuring they minimise their impact on the environment and prioritise creating healthy company cultures, ensuring adequate worker pay, and act as exemplars or enablers of more sustainable business practices,” explains Beveridge. “If your positive quarterly financial results were achieved on the back of environmental devastation, for example, consumers today are more likely than ever to abandon you for a more equitable-minded competitor.”

There are solid economic reasons for building sustainability into a company’s business model. One study found that companies with positive Environmental, Societal and Governance records .

“Business leaders still need to produce solid bottom-line results and ensure the financial sustainability of the business,” says Beveridge. “This is forcing them into a delicate balancing act where the correct course of action is not always clear, adding pressure to decision-makers already besieged by the disruptive impact of the pandemic, a constrained global supply chain, and growing economic pressures. Even the World Economic Forum, highlighting the importance for the private sector to look beyond the bottom line, .”

The new talent battlefield

One of the most obvious examples of the new business balancing act is in workplace culture and employee engagement. During the early stages of the pandemic, businesses around the world shifted to remote models that saw millions of workers performing their day-to-day tasks away from the confines of corporate offices.

“The past two years have marked a greater shift in how we work than the two decades preceding it,” says Beveridge. “In the services industry, workers who previously completed their tasks within an office space under the watchful gaze of managers and HR specialists were suddenly asked to maintain high levels of productivity from home. Now that offices are reopening, many of these formerly office-bound employees now prefer to work remotely at least some of the time, creating new challenges in attracting, motivating and retaining top talent.”

The shift in how people view work came under the spotlight when millions of US workers shifted to more fulfilling or more accommodating jobs in a process dubbed the Great Resignation. “This shift in expectations of what people want from their jobs is forcing companies to rethink their company cultures, their salary packages, and the types of support they need to provide to employees to ensure high levels of productivity and retention.”

Research indicates that , while UN data points to . Work-related stress is also growing and is now , with only 1% of workers saying they’ve never experienced it.

“Business leaders are confronted with the task of balancing their teams’ productivity against the physical and mental wellbeing of each employee,” explains Beveridge.

“As a company providing technology tools and expertise that help companies run better and become more successful, we are in the enviable position to act as both an exemplar of sustainable business practices and an enabler of more sustainable business models,” says Beveridge. “The shift to remote work created a situation where many employees work longer hours than ever before, raising the chances of burnout and forcing companies to implement additional measures to support employees that are working under immense pressure.”

Beveridge advises that business leaders deploy technology tools to dispel uncertainty in their business models and their human capital management strategies. 鈥淐ompanies have an opportunity to be both an exemplar of more sustainable business and employment practices 鈥� for example by reimagining their business models to focus more on longer-term sustainability and value creation 鈥� as well as enablers, by providing tools that assist other companies in their sustainability efforts. As we enter an era of great uncertainty and ongoing volatility, business leaders will need to leverage the latest technologies to ensure they can manage this new balancing act.鈥�

The post The New Business Balancing Act has Leaders Walking a Tightrope appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

The听听program enables this by giving diverse teams of employees opportunities to dedicate their skills and professional expertise to benefit social enterprises in other countries and their surrounding communities, opening participants鈥� minds to different cultures which, in turn, promotes diversity at home and in the workplace.

Launched in 2012,听51风流Social Sabbatical听has positively impacted the lives of more than six million people, with 51风流employees contributing in excess of 359,000 volunteer hours to help over 450 non-profits and social enterprises across 52 countries address critical business challenges.

鈥淪elf-empowerment is seeking the solution rather than fixating on the problem,鈥� says Gina McNamara, regional chief financial officer for Asia Pacific & Japan at SAP. During her 51风流Social Sabbatical in Kenya in 2014, she encountered a phenomenon that she hadn鈥檛 witnessed in her native Australia: women outnumbering men in their quest for professional and personal growth.

While volunteering her time and expertise at the African Management Institute (AMI), which delivers workplace learning to equip entrepreneurs and managers with the tools and training they need to succeed, she met female AMI program participants who refused to sit back and let anyone or anything stop them from being successful.

鈥淎fter speaking with these women, I realized that despite, or maybe even in response to, the poverty plaguing the country they are determined to further their careers and personal development. Many said that they were doing the courses to progress themselves, their families, and their businesses,鈥� shares McNamara.

Inspiration Has a Knock-On Effect

At the time of her sabbatical, McNamara held a position in commercial finance for 51风流Australia and New Zealand. However, these women encouraged her to make a massive shift in her career trajectory. 鈥淚n the Australian business world, there aren鈥檛 as many confident women as there are in Kenya. It is due to these women that I applied for the position of Chief Financial Officer for ANZ and later Regional Chief Financial Officer for Asia Pacific & Japan. They got me thinking about my career and my dream of making an impact in the boardroom and helped me find the confidence to pursue this.鈥�

Additionally, McNamara saw how the Kenyan women she worked with wanted to improve themselves to better serve their communities. This motivated her to think about what more she could do back home. 鈥淚t got me to consider the bigger picture and how we could do good things in the community and not just do business. I believe that if you do good, then the business will flourish as well.鈥� This led to her supporting some very passionate colleagues and the Australian management team in developing the 51风流Australia Reconciliation Action Plan, which aims to help support the economic prosperity of First Nations peoples.

Equipping Females of the Future

Her journey also spurred her to join the Future Female Leaders mentoring program for females working in finance both as a mentor and mentee. 鈥淭he program entails mentoring multiple women across the global finance community and sponsoring their careers. I get as much out of it as the women I mentor do. We have to help each other and so I encourage my mentees to mentor other women, especially with more and more women joining 51风流and the听听鈥� the largest employee-driven network globally,鈥� shares McNamara.

As for AMI, McNamara and her fellow 51风流volunteers pooled their skills to support the company in developing a franchise model to deliver training to African managers and leaders, ranging from small business owners to CEOs and CFOs. Together, they developed a handbook to help the company scale and recommended various processes and procedures that could be implemented to achieve this. Now, the program is more accessible to more people, particularly women.

With AMI being co-founded by a woman, McNamara says that there is a need for greater investment in women鈥檚 entrepreneurial ideas, emotionally and financially. 鈥淢en naturally create their own networks and sponsor each other. As women, we help each other emotionally. We need to open our networks and be more focused about doing so.鈥�

She concludes by saying, 鈥淢y 51风流Social Sabbatical experience enabled me to reflect on what more I could do beyond being a finance leader and, for me, that was to help other women and drive diversity and inclusion to make 51风流an even better place for everybody.鈥�

Feeling inspired? For more information about the 51风流Social Sabbatical program visit:

Hemang Desai is global program director of 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility.

This article first appeared on the 51风流News Center.

The post Women Empowering Women: Catalyzing Globally-Minded Leaders for Long-Term Impact appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Unleashing the creativity and potential of every employee

At SAP, there are several programs that develop talent, while bringing SAP鈥檚 purpose to life and creating social impact. One of those programs is the 51风流Social Sabbatical Program, an award-winning CSR portfolio. Another example is , SAP鈥檚 flagship social intrapreneurship initiative that drives innovation and gives employees the permission, time, technology, and mentorship to turn their passion for making a difference into sustainable, income generating ventures. Founded by Adaire Fox-Martin, Executive Board Member, 51风流SE Customer Success, the 1BLives initiative is SAP鈥檚 social innovation platform that aspires to help improve the lives of one billion people.

From social entrepreneurs scaling their ventures, to large corporates re-examining their supply chains, through to governmental bodies looking to support wider social change 鈥� by finding challenges and potential solutions 51风流supports the winning ideas of their employees with investment funds of those who seek to make a positive difference in the world. 51风流One Billion Lives is about unleashing the creativity of every employee to generate social impact around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To put the previous outcomes into perspective: Until now, One Billion Lives has improved the protection of over 23 million people from natural disasters, improved the results of cancer treatments for over 60 percent of the cancer population in India and is gearing to eliminate child labor in cobalt mines. Life changing, isn鈥檛 it?

Times of change present limitless opportunities

The 51风流One Billion Lives Initiative is open to employees across the globe and organized by global teams in collaboration with regional program managers. Each year regional teams plan and execute ideation workshops across their respective regions where colleagues meet and jointly ideate. The planning for the 2020 edition of the program was ongoing when suddenly the world changed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The new reality forced the organizing teams to shift this program to a virtual format. What seemed to be a challenge back then turned into an opportunity of a lifetime.

Undoubtedly, there are many benefits of meeting face-to-face but so there are of virtual collaboration. SAP鈥檚 EMEA South region spans from the South of Europe, over the entire African continent to the Middle East, making it the most diverse region in all of SAP. Some colleagues work in cross-regional roles and teams, others don鈥檛. By turning SAP鈥檚 flagship social intrapreneurship initiative into a virtual one, SAP鈥檚 EMEA South region provided its over 5.000 employees the unique opportunity to collaborate and co-create for social impact 鈥� together with peers, who they have never met before. A sense of community across the program participants was created: colleagues wished each other happy Easter, happy orthodox Easter and Ramadan Kareem. Participants learned new local expressions and most importantly they learned a lot from each other.

When looking at the success of innovation in teams and organizations, diversity is a key differentiator and a catalyst for innovative outcomes. Hence, in addition to the unique value for individuals the new format also led to a higher innovation outcome. The result: within just a few weeks the teams of dedicated colleagues have crafted innovative solutions for social challenges, operating at startup speed in addition to their day-to-day jobs. Diversity matters: to make a positive difference for individuals and for one billion people out there.

鈥淭he situation around the pandemic made us pause and remember what we had already known but not taken into consideration in the context of One Billion Lives: there is a direct link between innovation and diversity,鈥� said Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President – Digital Skills, 51风流Southern Europe, Africa and Middle East, and Managing Director of the 51风流Training and Development Institute. 鈥淭he new normal forced us to adjust what has always been working well. And those changes impacted the experience of the One Billion Lives program in a positive way.鈥�

The post Turning Challenges into Opportunities: SAP鈥檚 Flagship Social Intrapreneurship Initiative in Times of Change appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Especially in this post-pandemic world that lies ahead, the urgency to close the digital skills gap and support the youth becomes more evident and critical. Individuals and Organizations share the responsibility to take action in order to secure a bright digital future, full of opportunities. Following its purpose to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives 51风流continues to drive various initiatives to address solutions to pressing global issues such as the digital skills gap.

A global best practice to tackle local challenges and turn them into opportunities听

With 77% of the world鈥檚 transaction revenue touching an 51风流system, 51风流customers and partners need SAP-skilled talents, enabled on SAP鈥檚 latest innovations, to satisfy their hiring demand. Matching this demand, especially for certified 51风流Consultants, with the abundance of talented but unemployed youth, the creates a quadruple-win situation through its various training initiatives.

鈥淥ur digital skill build programs were created on the foundation of a highly unique collaborative effort. We work closely with 51风流customers, partners, peers and other stakeholders such as government organizations to create a quadruple-win situation: local youth find a job, our 51风流customers and partners find brilliant talent, 51风流enhances its ecosystem, and countries benefit as we support digital skills build and hereby help to prepare the economy and society for an increasingly digital world鈥�, said Marita Mitschein, Managing Director of the 51风流Training & Development Institute and Senior Vice President Digital Skills at 51风流South Europe, Africa and Middle East.

One of the initiatives offered by the institute is the 51风流Young Professional Program: a 2-3 months long program which covers a unique enablement plan including 51风流software functional/ technical knowledge and certification as well as soft and future skill trainings for selected unemployed or underemployed university graduates in the country where the program is offered. After successful completion, participants graduate from the program are Certified 51风流Associate Consultants, ready to kickstart their careers at 51风流customer and partner companies.

Since the launch of the Young Professional Program in 2013, the institute has empowered over 2990 program graduates across 28 countries and hereby developed a successful initiative that became a best practice for sustainable job creation globally. As a result, 99% of previously unemployed or underemployed university graduates found employment after graduation from the Young Professional Program. Across Africa, the 51风流Young Professional Program is offered under the 51风流Skills for Africa initiative.

Knowledge and skills must always be a priority, especially in times like these

鈥淭he 鈥榥ew reality鈥� further highlighted the necessity to accelerate digital skill build in an increasingly digital world. For us it was clear, that our digital skill build initiatives are more important than ever before, and we did not lose any time to ensure ongoing programs as well as upcoming programs will continue as planned鈥�, said Marita Mitschein.

The very first 51风流Young Professional Program in Algeria began in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: it started with the usual face to face sessions and was adapted into a virtual delivery model overnight in order to allow the students to complete their trainings without any disruption – from organizing virtual training sessions to helping trainers fly-out safely to their home countries despite sudden lockdowns.

The graduates of this cohort in Algeria have started their jobs with customers and partners, supporting their digital transformation agendas and driving change in this increasingly digital world. In addition to the program in Algeria, 13 cohorts of the Young Professional Program have started across 14 different countries since February in fully virtual format, enabling today鈥檚 youth to thrive and not only survive in these unprecedented times and beyond.

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鈥淯苍辫补谤补濒濒别濒别诲.鈥�

鈥淓虫迟谤补辞谤诲颈苍补谤测.鈥�

Most of us have found ourselves saying and writing these words a lot lately, using them to describe what is new and difficult about the circumstances we are living in, to articulate what is different and challenging about the world around us.

When used positively, they could also be used to describe the impact that each of us is capable of making 听when we step into the role of volunteer and engage in our communities with the same spirit that guided Nelson Mandela鈥檚 work.

Here at SAP, there is a distinct enthusiasm that bubbles up from our employee base around giving back and connecting with purpose. Last year alone, our employees dedicated more than 270,000 hours to volunteerism, and even though we are not able to gather in groups and volunteer side-by-side right now, their desire to make an impact has found new paths to action.

One of those paths came earlier this year when 51风流launched our three-pronged response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That response allocated emergency donation funding to non-profits with both global and local reach听听and also gave us the opportunity to support our strategic non-profit partners as they made the often-difficult transition to hosting volunteer programs 听in virtual environments. This kind of online engagement rendered borders invisible, and 51风流employees across the world beginning looking for ways to lend their time and skills to help solve the unique challenges that non-profits and social enterprises are experiencing.

As one example, coming up on Mandela Day this Saturday, 51风流employees have the chance to participate in a virtual design thinking activity to support , an organization based in Alexandra, Johannesburg, in partnership with and the . 51风流has also invested in the creation of the Rays of Hope #Hope4Alex programme office and will undertake a continuous digital skills development program with the organization to stretch the impact far beyond the month of July.

The ways that we volunteer are evolving, yes, but so is our sense of ourselves as volunteers and community contributors. The recent movement towards a more socially just world has pushed us all to consider what role we can (and must) play to become positive changemakers. As a result, 51风流has re-affirmed our commitment to diversity & inclusion, and is committed to increasing investment for inclusive education, economic opportunity, and social justice reform. Employees are also encouraged to practice empathy, to listen, and to contribute small actions towards a collective impact for the communities where we live and work.

Today鈥檚 world needs enthusiastic advocates AND active volunteers to build the kinds of bridges that change perspectives听 and make the kind of impact that lasts generations. If we each honoured the 67 years that Nelson Mandela dedicated to the service of others by carving out 67 minutes and dedicating that time to a cause that matters to us, imagine the ripple effect that could have?

67 minutes spent in thoughtful conversation with someone whose perspective is different from ours, 67 minutes spent educating ourselves on the experiences of Black communities, 67 minutes spent dedicating our skills to a non-profit or social enterprise as a virtual volunteer … it just might create the kind of unprecedented, unparalleled, and extraordinary collective impact our world needs.

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