The Vienna Insurance Group’s activities in the area of social responsibility are also tailored by individual Group companies to match the needs and conditions existing in their particular countries. Assignment of this responsibility to the local management of each Group company is in line with our policy of allowing individual Group companies to be led by local management, whose many years of experience give them knowledge of the prevailing market environment in their countries. However, the Group’s activities on behalf of needy children, promotion of culture and the arts, or support for relief organisations are carried out in every market under the name of the Vienna Insurance Group.
Examples of a few of the Group’s activities are described below.
Vienna Insurance Group Kids Camp 2008
From 2 to 17 August 2008, around 480 children of Vienna Insurance Group employees from throughout Central and Eastern Europe took part in the second V.I.G. Kids Camp. The children could choose between the country camp in Strebersdorf, Vienna, and the mountain camp in Bad Goisern, Upper Austria. Fun, games and sports were part of the daily agenda in both camps. The young people at these international holiday camps had a chance to gather new experiences, make friendships beyond the limits of their homelands, and get to know Austria, home country of the Vienna Insurance Group. A tree planting event on 14 August 2008 marked a special high point in the Bad Goisern Kids Camp, while also representing a proactive symbol of environmental protection. The participants during these two eventful weeks at the Kids Camp were selected in a Group-wide drawing contest.
Kids Camp ‘08 offered children from Central and Eastern Europe exciting new experiences in an international environment and an opportunity to cross boundaries and make contact with other languages and cultures. The Vienna Insurance Group’s Kids Camp ‘07 won the “Crossing Cultures Award” at the Eastern European Mediamixx Festival taking place from 4 to 8 June 2008 on the Black Sea in Bulgaria.
Caritas campaign for South Eastern Europe
The Vienna Insurance Group has for many years sponsored national and international Caritas projects. Under the motto “Cold is no child’s play”, Caritas began a new campaign in February 2008 aimed at helping street children and youth during the winter months in the poorest countries of Eastern Europe. The Vienna Insurance Group also supported this initiative. Around 250 projects in Eastern Europe were financed through donations received by the Caritas campaign in February. As the largest insurance group in Central and Eastern Europe, the Vienna Insurance Group is especially concerned with supporting social initiatives which contribute to long-term improvements in living conditions, particularly for children and youth.
Ringturm once again becomes the “Tower of Art”
Once again in 2008 – and now for the third time – the Ringturm building that is the headquarters of the Vienna Insurance Group was transformed into a “Tower of Art”. The Vienna Insurance Group headquarters were adorned by motifs of the Austrian artist Hubert Schmalix, a giant monument to the art of painting. With these annual artistic transformations of the Ringturm, the Vienna Insurance Group aims to create the broadest public awareness of the country’s cultural creators, of Austrian artists and their works.
“Architecture in the Ringturm” exhibition series
Designed by the renowned architect Erich Boltenstern, the Ringturm, headquarters of the Vienna Insurance Group, has been a place for people to meet and exchange ideas since its opening in 1955. The former cash hall of the Ringturm, which was converted into a modern exhibition centre by Boris Podrecca, has regularly hosted the “Architecture in the Ringturm” exhibition series since 1998. Free admission to this series has made architecture accessible to a wide public.
Over recent years, “Architecture in the Ringturm” has concentrated primarily on Central and Eastern European architecture. Vienna Insurance Group sees these exhibitions as an opportunity to provide the public with exposure to the unique architectural features of the region and the interrelationships between East and West.
The “Architecture in the Ringturm” series presented the following exhibitions in 2008: “Boris Podrecca: Architecture”, “Slovenia: Master and Scene” and “Poland Architecture”. From 21 January 2009 to 20 March 2009, interested visitors could view the most recent exhibition: Vienna Residential Construction – Innovative. Social. Ecological.”
Flow
Flow, the “Festival of Conversation for Culture and Science”, took place in the Serbian city of Novi Sad at the end of May 2008. Creative artists and scientists from ten countries along the Danube came together for an opportunity to establish valuable contacts and develop projects in tandem. A conscious effort was made to bring together people from different realms of European experience so as to generate the maximum creative potential. Participants were selected by an advisory board established for the event. Eighty participants from ten countries entered into animated discussions aimed at making a reality of ideas that transcend national boundaries. The Vienna Insurance Group provided support for this festival.
