Students from Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan learn about German traffic rules during a road safety class. Photo: Audi AG

In response to the refugee crisis in Europe, AUDI AG provided €1 million in September 2015 to offer immediate support for projects at the production sites in Brussels, Gyor, Ingolstadt, and Neckarsulm. The initial focus was to provide immediate help to the many people coming to Europe at the time. To open up new opportunities for refugees in Germany, aid projects today focus primarily on speech acquisition, professional training, and cultural integration.

Audi employees who are already involved as volunteers with a community service organization that is helping refugees, can quickly and efficiently access financial support from the company. Due to their regular contact with the organizations at their respective locations, they know best which regional projects need support. 

On the Audi intranet Audi employees can read reports and stories about the social engagement of their colleagues. Moreover, they can directly register to volunteer in a refugee aid project that is financially supported by Audi. A committee decides on the amount of the donation based on the defined guidelines of the AUDI AG.

In Ingolstadt and surrounding districts

More than 30 refugee projects around the Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt have already been submitted by employees and supported financially by the company from its donation funds as well as organizationally through the Corporate Citizenship department. The subject of education is given high priority. Audi brought together relevant stakeholders involved in initiatives regarding refugees to identify existing needs and initiate joint projects. 

The talks resulted in a major education project in cooperation with the city of Ingolstadt, the adult education center, and Vocational School 1: Since January 2016, 24 refugees ranging from 18 to 26 years old have been taking a class at the vocational school in Ingolstadt. 

They are receiving instruction in German, math, and cultural studies, among other things, with the goal of achieving the B1 level of language proficiency. The project has been continued in 2016/2017. Since the need for this kind of education program for those over 21 years old is still strong, the project will continue with a new class in the 2017/2018 school year. Volunteer advisers, partly made up of Audi employees, assist the young adults throughout their classes and beyond. 

From an early stage on, it was clear that, due to cultural differences, refugee women have special needs for support. For this reason, further classes were launched specifically for female refugees aged 18 to 30 in September 2016 and March 2017 at Vocational School 1 in Ingolstadt. Audi finances 10 hours a week of instruction in social education as well as additional tutoring. 

Audi is also working with regional partners to promote safety: In June 2016 the class sponsored by Audi successfully participated in the “traffic education day” pilot project in cooperation with Ingolstadt Traffic Watch. The project can also be offered to other groups of refugees when needed. 

Audi production site Neckarsulm

Audi has also already supported about 20 projects at the Neckarsulm site. For example, the company made language courses available for asylum seekers in the Heilbronn area in the summer of 2015 and continued them in 2016.

In the Office of Participation and Integration in Heilbronn, young migrants in the VAB/O classes (the year of working prior to obtaining qualification) at Heilbronn vocational schools receive financial support from Audi. The language courses are aimed at refugees aged 16 to 21 who have no knowledge of German.

In cooperation with the Bad Rappenau Refugee Initiative and Youth Services of the city of Bad Rappenau, Audi employees repaired donated bikes, provided bicycle helmets and locks, and offered bicycle lessons. Audi apprentices made efforts too: They built a barbecue area for unaccompanied refugee minors for the Johannes Diakonie community outreach program in Mosbach. Material for benches, tables, and the grill were financed by Audi.

Audi production site Brussels

The Audi plant in the municipality of Forêt (Forest) in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium worked with the European “think & do tank” Pour la solidarité (PLS) to develop a comprehensive project to assist refugees. Various needs of the refugees were identified and the existing community service facilities capable of fulfilling these needs were supported financially.

Audi production site Gyor

The situation for refugees in Hungary was especially acute in the late summer of 2015. With the help of funding from the Audi emergency aid, the refugee camp near Gyor at Vámosszabadi was readied for winter. To supply the refugees with warm beverages, a vehicle was converted for the Hungarian Order of Malta and used as a tea wagon. In addition, Audi financed an ambulance including equipment for the Red Cross and supported a community service organization in its cultural and therapeutic integration work for women and children.

Online volunteer exchange

As part of the “Wir zusammen” initiative (an integration initiative of more than 90 German companies), Audi is represented as a brand on the internet platform of the Volkswagen Group at www.audi-hilft.de. The platform provides information about numerous refugee assistance projects with articles, photos, and videos. In addition, requests for volunteer support or in-kind donations are regularly posted. The open platform thus offers a no-strings-attached opportunity to gather information about the needs in the regions around the company plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, and to contact the people listed. Interested persons outside of the company can also gather information and are invited to become involved in community service projects.