Deutsche Telekom Helps Refugees All over Europe
No issue has preoccupied the entirety of Europe in the last year more than the vast numbers of people seeking refuge. In 2015, more than a million asylum seekers came to Germany alone. The numbers across Europe are many times higher. In view of the huge volume of refugees, Deutsche Telekom AG has specifically stepped up its commitment to the refugee aid efforts. But various national companies are also making significant contributions. The range of support being offered varies among German companies as well as among the different European national companies according to the national situation. (Figures as of May 2016)
Deutsche Telekom
In August 2015 Deutsche Telekom created a taskforce to coordinate different aid activities in Germany, for example, the supply of free WiFi to some 70 refugee reception centers. We set up a portal, “refugees.telekom.de,” which provides refugees with information on the asylum process and on living and working in Germany. The information portal has now been visited more than a million times. In addition, we offer refugees internships and scholarships at the company’s own University of Applied Sciences in Leipzig (HfTL). Together with our partners Jobware and Jobstairs, Deutsche Telekom has developed the “careers4refugees.de” portal. Companies can post their job vacancies free of charge on the site, which is geared specifically to refugees. To date, some 70 introductory and youth internships as well as 10 university scholarships have been provided via the job portal. Eight of the scholarship holders have already begun their studies. But it is not just the numbers that talk for themselves. The careers4refugees.de portal won two awards after just a few weeks: firstly, the special award “Employer Branding Innovation” from the Trendence Institute; secondly, the Special Award from Queb. The Quality Employer Branding Network praised the platform for providing refugees with “fast and unbureaucratic assistance” in seeking employment in today’s labor market. Also, more than 550 Deutsche Telekom civil servants have switched to the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), where they help process applications for asylum. Deutsche Telekom employees have organized more than 100 social days and aid projects via the “engagement@telekom” platform.
T-Mobile Austria
T-Mobile Austria donated around €60,000 in 2015 to support the refugee aid efforts of Caritas and provide desperately needed accommodation. The company also facilitated hundreds of WiFi spots at Caritas housing and provided thousands of SIM data cards with data volumes for smartphones. T-Mobile now sets aside 10 percent of its training positions in Vienna annually for young, unaccompanied refugees, a project which began in 2010 and on which the company is collaborating closely with the private “lobby.16” initiative. T-Mobile Austria also supports the “hallo” app, which helps refugee children learn German.
OTE & Cosmote
One of the initiatives supported by the OTE Group was the work and mission of the Hellenic Coastguard. By covering the cost of repairing and maintaining more than 50 vessels, the OTE Group contributed to the Hellenic Coastguard’s successful response of saving more than 74,000 refugee lives within just five months in 2015. The support also includes the free provision of telecommunication products to facilities, the support of NGOs, and the realization of volunteering projects.
T-Mobile Netherlands
T-Mobile Netherlands decided to initiate a partnership with VluchtelingenWerk Nederland and donated technology and prepaid SIM cards to the first 10,000 refugees. These SIM cardholders are also being invited to job application workshops and soft-skill training courses, as well as being provided with apps to help them to find their way around the Netherlands.
Slovak Telekom
Slovak Telekom set up lines for donating money via text messages. A total of €2,000 was donated to two domestic NGOs. Furthermore, Slovak Telekom donated €2,000 to the #DomovNaMame project, which offers canvas baby carriers to refugees.
Magyar
Magyar Telekom is helping with its own resources. Free WiFi services have been built in two refugee camps, and power strips have been provided for the sake of helping refugees to connect and get information.
Hrvatski
Hrvatski Telekom donated money to the Red Cross and has given employees who volunteer a day off. In addition, HT provided the refugee camp with 10 USB sticks for free LTE internet access and around 360 SIM cards, with free GB storage and call time included.
Makedonski
On the occasion of Guiding Principle day on September 24, Makedonski Telekom called for humanitarian action among its employees. A donation of 20 boxes with canned food and bottled water were given to the Red Cross.
Crnogorski Telekom
In September 2015 Crnogorski Telekom joined in an action initiated by the Red Cross and collected aid for migrants in southeast Europe through a humanitarian hotline. By sending a text message, their customers were able to donate one euro.
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies, with approximately 129 million mobile customers, 36 million fixed-network lines, and more than 16 million broadband lines.
It provides fixed-network/broadband, mobile communications, Internet, and IPTV products and services for consumers, and information and communication technology (ICT) solutions for business and corporate customers.
Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries. With a staff of some 236,000 employees throughout the world, it generated revenue of EUR 58.7 billion in the 2011 financial year, over half of it outside Germany.
So that it can continue to be successful, it is already evolving from a traditional telephone company into an entirely new kind of service company. Its core business, i.e., the sale of networks and connections, remains the basis. But at the same time Deutsche Telekom is proactively committing to business areas that open up new growth opportunities for it.
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