Digital inclusion: a major challenge, tackled with seriousness by Orange Belgium, as 2022 results show

As the annual reports season opened, Orange Belgium looked back at its corporate social responsibility results. Convinced that digital inclusion has become a crucial factor of social and financial inclusion, the telecom operator pursued its efforts in 2022 to generate concrete results through a structured program organised, amongst others, around the Orange Belgium Fund and the Orange Digital Center. This commitment for a better society also materialized through its sustainability “Re-program”.

• 1,119 people trained in 2022, of which 57% were women, in FabLab workshops.
• 14 start-ups were empowered.
• 200 socially-vulnerable children received enhanced digital training.
• 265,444€ were raised for programs of digital inclusion for children and various social responsibility projects in Belgium.
• 300 vulnerable citizens, refugees or seniors accompanied through digital programs.
• And much more…

“Digital exclusion is a serious issue that we want to tackle with serious means.”

“Digital exclusion is a real issue that impacts almost half of Belgian population, with serious consequences for their social and financial inclusion. A serious issue that we want to tackle with serious means”, explains Isabelle Vanden Eede, Chief Brand, Communication & CSR Officer at Orange Belgium. Last summer, the King Baudouin Foundation[1] revealed in its latest Digital Inclusion Barometer that 46% of Belgians are digitally vulnerable: a figure that concerns all age groups in society, but mainly the less educated population.

1,119 people trained. 200 socially-vulnerable youngsters supported. Real help for real people.

In November 2022, Orange Belgium signed the DigitAll charter, confirming its commitment of continuous investment to improve digital inclusion in Belgium. And in fact, 2022 has been a year with structural and consistent progresses, in particular around 3 streams of action (note to editorial: see more concrete figures at the bottom of the press release):

• The Orange Digital Center: Located at the digital campus BeCentral, in Brussels, it offers free digital and entrepreneurial training, accessible to all. Last year, 1,119 people were trained and 14 start-ups were empowered.

• The Orange Belgium Fund: Managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, it aims at providing concrete assistance to associations on the ground that are active in digital inclusion. Through various sponsorship and donation projects, we aim to positively impact over 4,000 children, youths and vulnerable people in Belgium and approximately 2,000 households and schools abroad by 2023. In 2022, more than 1,300 power banks were donated and, 700 laptops will be donated in 2023. The organisation of Fundraising events with our clients and staff. Among others, 265,444€ were raised for programs of digital inclusion for children and various social responsibility projects in Belgium.

Accelerating sustainable IT with the Re-Program

With the signature of the Sustainable IT Charter and ISIT Membership, in 2022, Orange Belgium wanted to formalise its commitment to evaluation and continuous improvement of its digital practices in order to make them as sustainable as possible. This commitment for a more sustainable IT is primarily structured under the Re-Program, itself consisting in 4 strategic pillars: Repair, Recycle, Refurbish and Return.

In 2022, about 33,000 devices were collected, of which about a third was still of value, while the remaining two thirds underwent a recycling cycle.

“As a major player of the Belgian economy, we believe we need to invest in a long-lasting commitment towards society. Those initiatives are part of our structured societal approach, to contribute to a better and more inclusive eco-system. The Orange Digital Center as well as the Orange Belgium Fund have been created to provide concrete assistance to the Belgian society and in particular to partners active in digital inclusion. We want to make a priority commitment to people currently excluded from digital, especially young persons in precarious situations and women.  Our commitments for a more inclusive and respectful society thus follow structured approaches, so that we continuously deliver positive and strong results.”, concludes Isabelle Vanden Eede, while already looking forward to going an extra mile in 2023.”

--- WE WALK OUR TALK, AS FIGURES SHOW ---

ABOUT THE ORANGE DIGITAL CENTRE

• In 2022, 1,119 people trained in 2022, of which 57% were women, in FabLab workshops.
• The Centre offers 20 different training courses and has provided so far 48 training sessions.
• 14 start-ups were boosted

See all details on: https://orangedigitalcenter.be

ABOUT THE ORANGE BELGIUM FUND

3 sponsorship projects

• 42 institutionalised youngsters created objects using computer-controlled machines in the FabLab, our digital manufacturing workshop in Brussels, that offers free training courses to learn how to master machines such as the 3D printer.
• 200 socially-vulnerable children received enhanced digital training as part of the learning programmes of weekend schools in Brussels at NGO TADA (ToekomstATELIERdelAvenir).
• 300 vulnerable citizens, refugees or seniors were accompanied by the Antwerp’s association Digidak. A series of over 50 train-the-trainer sessions kicked off beginning of December 2022 and will roll out over 2023.

Different donations of refurbished computers…

… in Belgium

• Through the Plateforme citoyenne de soutien aux réfugiés, in Brussels & Wallonia, we equipped 75 refugees with IT devices to facilitate their administrative interactions, as search for housing, employment, etc. Starting December 2022 with roll out over 2023, over 3,000 people will be enabled with WiFi connections to stay in contact with their family and friends in their home country.
• Following the floods of summer 2021, in the region of Liège, we collaborated with the Côté Solidarité association to provide victims with refurbished computers and furniture.
• 40 refurbished computers were donated to the BeCentral Foundation and used during completely free coding and improvisation camps, benefitting 700 children aged between 8 and 12 in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège.

In other countries

• 1,300 power banks were delivered to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees to stay in touch with their families.
• In 2023, 700 refurbished computers will be donated to Ukrainian schools and hospitals in war zones, as a response to European Commission “Laptops for Ukraine” initiative

See all details on: https://corporate.orange.be/en/foundation

ABOUT ORANGE FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES

We called on our clients to join efforts in a series of fundraising events, with heartening results:

• 265,444€[2] were raised for programs:
  • 83,834€ to create a new forest of 37,000m2
  • Donation of 118,532€ to buy the new Nature reserve,
  • Donation of 63,078€ to support digital inclusion
• 10,000€ were collected for projects benefitting migrants and volunteers in Belgium, during the Orange Thank You end-of-the-year loyalty program.