CR Update 4 - Liberty Global

Issue 04
April 2009
CR Briefs
Liberty Global Marks Safer Internet Day 2009
IN THIS ISSUE
Liberty Global Marks Safer
Internet Day 2009
Page 1
IN Heroes Awards 2008:
And the winner is…
Page 2
Donations On Demand: Red
Button for Red Cross
Page 2
‘Click On It Grandma’
Promos Out Now!
Page 3
UPC Poland, Reaching
Across Generations
Page 3
Telenet Donates Mobility
Scooters to Public Social
Assistance Centre Page 3
UPC Poland, the Best
Company for Working
Mums Page 3
The Chello Foundation
Receives €14,000 Cheque
from Liberty Global
Page 4
Feb 2009: Liberty Global together with Insafe, the
European Commission funded internet safety network,
celebrated Safer Internet Day (SID) across its footprint
for the third year in a row. SID is an annual event that
promotes safer and more responsible use of online
technologies, especially amongst children and young
people. This year SID was celebrated in over 50 countries.
The flagship event marking SID 2009 took p l a c e
i n L u x e m b o u r g , a n d w a s a t t e n d e d b y Viviane
Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society
and Media. The event included the Liberty Global
sponsored SID online quiz award ceremony plus
the launch of a multi-lingual anti-cyberbullying video.
SID 2009 was celebrated across Liberty Global’s
footprint with UPC being the event’s gold sponsor. Locally,
Liberty Global affiliates marked SID through a number
of initiatives including the distribution of Liberty Global’s
family e-safety toolkits, a fun guide for parents and children
to deal with internet safety issues, provision of free on-air
time for the SID anti-cyberbullying video, and organisation
of various press conferences, seminars, and workshops.
Anti-cyberbullying video
School children with copies of Family
E-Safety Toolkits
The multilingual family e-safety toolkit, a joint initiative with Insafe, has been hugely
successful since its launch in February 2008. The kit has been translated into eleven European
languages as well as Arabic and Turkish. Over 300,000 copies have been distributed across
Liberty Global’s footprint and beyond. An online version of the toolkit will be launched soon.
Manuel Kohnstamm, Managing Director Public Policy & Communications, Liberty Global
Europe said, “We are proud to continue our commitment to a safer internet by supporting this
interactive e-safety toolkit. The internet delivers enormous opportunities but we also recognise the
risks, particularly for children. Liberty Global is pleased to take the lead in promoting a safe and secure
online environment for everyone.”
VTR Employees Conquer
the Aconcagua!
Page 4
Liberty Global Launches
Travellers’ Safety Policy
Page 4
Feed Your Students’ Minds
with AUSTAR for Schools!
Page 5
Viewers Demand Improved
Accessibility Features
Page 6
The Bartiméus Accessibility
Foundation
Page 6
Back row second from right, Viviane Reding - European Commissioner for Information Society & Media,
Janice Richardson – Project Manager Insafe, and Chris Hutchins - Director Public Policy Liberty Global
at the Luxembourg Event
CR Briefs
IN Heroes Awards 2008: And the winner is…
Dec 2008: Liberty Global announced the 17 winners of its employee
America, and Asia Pacific –
recognition programme, IN Heroes, on 5 December - United Nations
making IN Heroes a truly
‘International Volunteer Day’. The awards recognise and celebrate
global initiative!
employees who go above and beyond the call of duty to help alleviate
unmet needs in the communities where they volunteer. In 2008,
71 applications were received from 16 affiliates across Europe, The
The top award
of €5000 went to Yasufusa
Honda, telecoms engineer
at J:COM, for his over
1000 hours of volunteering
at
Telecom
for
Basic
Needs (BHN Association).
The Runner-Up, Rodrigo
Antonio Ruiz Araya, from
VTR, won € 3,000 for
his
volunteering
efforts
at Alcoholic Rehab Club
MaDiVe. Furthermore 15
other
winners
received
€1000 each for their cause.
IN Heroes 2008 winner, Mr. Honda receiving a €5000 cheque
for his volunteerism
Congratulating
the applicants, Amy Blair
IN Heroes 2008 runners up Rodrigo
Antonio Ruiz Araya
SVP HR Liberty Global, and one of the judges said, “This is the third
year we’ve done IN Heroes, and this year we have an unprecedented
number of affiliates that submitted applications. I am so pleased that
this employee volunteer recognition initiative has taken off, and I hope
that it encourages all of our employees to have a positive impact on the
world around them. Employees will be very impressed to read about
the passion and commitment of their colleagues. Congratulations to all
of our IN Heroes.”
The awards’ judging panel included Amy Blair, Balan Nair SVP
& Chief Technology Officer, Liberty Global, and Bernie Dvorak SVP &
Co-Chief Financial Officer, Liberty Global.
Mr. Honda volunteering at Telecoms for Basic Needs
View winners list...
Donations On Demand: Red Button for Red Cross
Jan 2009: UPC Netherlands for the second year in a row partnered
with 3FM, a popular Dutch radio station, on the 3FM Serious Request
2008 initiative and raised €125,000 for the Red Cross via the interactive
Red button application. The raised amount reflects a 139% increase as
compared to the 3FM Serious Request 2007 initiative. The donation
was later matched by the Dutch government. The proceeds will be
used for a Red Cross project - A refugee is lost without your help which supports refugee aid programmes.
For the second year in a row, UPC created a special
interactive application that allowed customers to donate money
via their Red buttons. The campaign was promoted by a humorous
TV promo. UPC is the only Dutch company that enables its
viewers to donate money via their interactive remote control.
View promo...
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UPC’s 3FM Serious Request TV advertisement
Liberty Global Corporate Responsibility Update Issue 04 April 2009
CR Briefs
‘Click On It Grandma’ Promos Out Now!
UPC Poland Reaching Across Generations
Nov 2008: UPC Hungary has launched a series of TV spots
to motivate senior citizens to participate in the digital
world. The one-minute testimonial spots promote UPC’s
Click On It Grandma (COIG) programme, which provides
free computer and internet courses to senior citizens.
The spots are regularly aired on UPC’s info-channel.
Each spot is an original testimonial from COIG students who
talk about their motivations and experiences, a perfect way to
endorse how seniors can benefit from the digital world. Since
its launch in 2006, COIG has successfully trained 4000 seniors.
View promo...
Jan 2009: UPC Poland has partnered with Poland’s largest
& most popular internet portal, Onet, and launched an online
initiative, Through Generations, to help bridge the digital divide
between the young & old. Through Generations encourages young
Poles to support senior citizen participation in the digital world.
UPC’s History from a Mouse photo competition entries
The initiative was launched with an online family photo
competition, History with a Mouse. The competition invited people
to send in their old family photos and related stories, and received
over 2,000 entries, creating a highly interesting and interactive online
photo exhibition.
The Through Generations initiative has proven to be very
popular in Poland, with over one million visits and 200,000 unique users
in the last month alone. To view some of these historic photos visit:
http://przez-pokolenia.onet.pl/konkurs/zwyciezcy
UPC Poland, Best Company for Working
Mums!
UPC Hungary’s Click On It Grandma promo
Telenet Donates Mobility Scooters to
Public Social Assistance Centre
Jan 2009: Telenet, Liberty Global’s majority owned company in
Belgium, has donated three mobility scooters to the Public Social
Assistance Centre in Mechelen, Belgium. The electric vehicles
will enable the centre’s residents to move around and travel
independently. Telenet is actively involved in supporting community
initiatives in Mechelen, its headquarters base.
Telenet mobility scooter
3
Feb 2009: UPC Poland has won the title of “Mother-Friendly
Company” following a contest organised by one of Poland’s most
popular parenting and life style magazines. The annual contest
promotes organisations that support working women that balance
motherhood and professional careers. Out of 400 entries, UPC
Poland stood out as the most mother-friendly telecoms company
offering a unique set of flexible work solutions for future and
returning mums.
Approximately 50% of UPC Poland employees are
women, of which one third have given birth to more than one
child during their employment tenure, and benefited from
maternity leave, flexible work hours, part time job opportunities,
and enhanced medical and financial benefits.
Kinga Zagolska, HR Director UPC Poland, receiving a statuette
“Mother-friendly company” from the wife of the Polish President
Liberty Global Corporate Responsibility Update Issue 04 April 2009
CR Briefs
The Chello Foundation to Receive €14,000
Cheque from Liberty Global
VTR Employees Conquer the Aconcagua!
March 2009: Liberty Global, UPC
Broadband, and Chellomedia
employees in the Netherlands
donated their online Christmas
gift allocation to raise funds
for The Chello Foundation. A
total amount of €7,000 was
raised by the employees, which has been matched by Liberty Global to
€14000. The Chello Foundation is Chellomedia’s international charity
which focuses on providing educational scholarships to AIDS orphans
in sub-Saharan Africa. The raised funds will cover costs such as school
fees, books, uniforms and meals.
America, together with a team of VTR employees staked the VTR
Chello Foundation scholars
Jan 2009: Mauricio Ramos, CEO of VTR & President of LGI Latin
and Chilean flags into the summit of the Aconcagua Mountain in the
Argentine province of Mendoza. Following 12 months of strenuous
training and 10 days of arduous climbing, the 33 member team climbed
the summit at 6962 meters/23,000 feet. This VTR initiative marks the
ultimate achievement in team building and determination.
VTR Employees conquering Aconcagua
Liberty Global Launches Travellers’ Safety Policy
Jan 2009: Liberty Global has introduced a Travellers’ Safety
Policy for all its employees. The policy ensures that all employees
travelling for business have an opportunity to monitor, both prior
to and during business travel, any security related issues that
may affect their safety. The policy seeks to empower employees
to make an informed personal decision concerning business
travel. It also enables the company to account for the welfare of
employees in the unlikely event of an incident. Liberty Global has
partnered with International SOS to provide its employees with
travel risk advice. All employees intending to travel or actually
travelling on business are advised to visit the organisation’s website
(www.internationalsos.com) for advice and assistance in line
with the policy. For more info email: [email protected]
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Liberty Global Corporate Responsibility Update Issue 04 April 2009
In Depth
Feed Your Students’ Minds with AUSTAR for Schools!
Mar 2009: AUSTAR for Schools is a free television and internet
resource offered by AUSTAR, Liberty Global’s Australian affiliate, to
all schools located within its satellite coverage area. The programme
combines 20 of the most popular information channels offered by
AUSTAR including The History Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal
Planet, BBC World News, National Geographic and many more.
coaches from the organisation Football Development Australia visited
schools and encouraged children to get active and involved in team
sports, promoting a healthy active lifestyle and teamwork skills.
AUSTAR has also organised healthy food workshops for
home economics students in Queensland. AUSTAR together with The
Lifestyle Channel invited the renowned Aboriginal chef, Mark Olive to
give an insight on traditional aboriginal cooking using native Australian
ingredients, and promote the importance of healthy eating.
Renowned Aboriginal chef, Mark Olive, at a healthy food workshop
in Queensland
In South Australia, AUSTAR partnered with The Weather
Channel and invited Senior Meterologist, Dick Whitaker, to present
“Australia’s Natural Disasters” to students and to discuss some of
the major droughts, floods, thunderstorms and tropical cyclones
that had affected Australia. Dick involved students in a number of
interactive weather experiments and gave them the opportunity to
present the weather in front of a blue screen, just like professional
weather presenters!
Students at Lake Albert Public School, New South Wales, with
AUSTAR for Schools Educational Grant cheque
Since its launch in 2001, the programme has developed
into a highly interactive initiative and offers regional schools and
communities a way to engage with AUSTAR TV personalities in
local situations. Each participating school is also presented with
a $2000 grant to buy educational resources for the students.
Every month AUSTAR for Schools partners with a thematic
channel and organises interactive educational workshops. Recently,
AUSTAR together with FOX SPORTS brought world class football training
clinics to children in regional New South Wales schools. Professional
Senior Australian Meterologist, Dick Whitaker, presenting at a
school workshop
One of the key objectives of AUSTAR for Schools programme
is to understand and support the important issues and interest of the
students, teachers, parents and wider community from a grassroots
education perspective, and address these with initiatives that are in
line with the core values of the AUSTAR brand. AUSTAR believes that
quality education for regional Australian children is integral to the
future of Australia and AUSTAR for Schools is a positive contribution to
this future.
Football training clinic at a school in New South Wales
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For more on AUSTAR for Schools visit:
http://schools.austar.com.au/
Liberty Global Corporate Responsibility Update Issue 04 April 2009
Viewers Demand Improved Accessibility Features
Jan 2009: A majority of Europeans, surveyed under the UPC Annual
TV Survey, experience difficulties viewing TV text such as subtitles
and teletext, and would appreciate the inclusion of zoom function,
subtitle adjustment and dubbing option for all TV programming.
Conducted in 11 European countries, the survey focussed on
accessibility, social inclusion and healthcare through television.
The survey results have reinstated the need to improve
TV accessibility and subsequently increase the inclusion of all
demographics, in particular the elderly and disabled.
Broadband, “As part of our continuous commitment to improve our
services, we have partnered with the Dutch Accessibility Foundation,
a non-governmental organisation specialising in accessible media,
to implement a number of accessibility features, including an
electronic programme guide (EPG) that is easier to read. This survey
confirms the need for such functionality, with 43% of respondents
asking for a feature that I am pleased to say, UPC already offers.”
Regarding accessibility, a majority of those surveyed said that
the visibility of text on the TV screen, such as subtitles and Teletext,
was sometimes difficult to read. Main issues relate to contrast and text
size. Despite this clear need, only a small percentage of the respondents
currently uses existing services, e.g. subtitling through teletext.
There is a clear interest in supporting tools such as (if
available) a zoom function, subtitle adjustment, choice of dubbing
and voice recognition.
NGO Spotlight
The Bartiméus
Foundation
The Bartiméus Accessibility Foundation
provides education, outreach and
training to businesses, governments
and other organizations concerning
t h e a cc e s s ib i l i ty o f i n fo r m a t io n
and communication technologies,
including people with disabilities.
The Foundation, closely related
to the Bartiméus Institute for the
blind in the Netherlands, focuses
on people with various disabilities,
ranging from visual, cognitive, hearing, and motor disabilities. Its
expertise includes ‘design for all’ accessibility features for various
multimedia platforms.
For more information visit:
http://www.accessibility.nl/?languageId=2
Accessibility features enhance viewers’ TV experience
According to Andrew Kearney, VP TV Products, UPC
CR Headlines
• Oct 2008: UPC Romania sponsored fourth Halloween Charity Ball to fundraise for underprivileged children.
• Dec 2008: UPC Austria donated EUR 10,000 to buy warm winter boots for underprivileged Austrian children.
• Dec 2008: The autumn-edition of UPC Poland’s, e-Senior Academy, was completed. Over 1,000 seniors have
been trained in 2008.
• Feb 2009: Two cablecom employees, Maimona Diakite and Damir Djuric, volunteered to support the Swiss Team
at the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2009 in Idaho.
Our CR Strategy
Liberty Global recently established its Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy for the years to come. The strategy focuses on seven issue areas.
‘Digital confidence’ lies at the heart: including everyone in the digital world. We also want people to feel safe and protected in the digital
world, so we are ‘protecting minors’ and we are safeguarding our ‘customers’ privacy’ and the security of their data. Our responsibilities go
beyond this; so we are also looking at how we can reduce our ‘environmental impact’ and building a ‘responsible supply chain’. And, we are
focusing on ‘treating our employees well’ and ‘selling and marketing our products responsibly’.
The Liberty Global Corporate Responsibility Update is a quarterly publication. For more information & feedback please email: [email protected]
Editors: Asra Fareed, Bert Holtkamp, Hanne Wolf and Roy Sharone.
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Liberty Global Corporate Responsibility Update Issue 04 April 2009