Published February 25, 2021

OMV Petrom supports „I Want to Go to School” programme initiated by the Organization “Save the Children” with EUR 300,000

This year, “I want to go to School” programme supports 320 children from vulnerable communities with limited access to online education and facing the effects of social exclusion
The children received tablets with internet access and shall benefit from online education classes all throughout 2021

OMV Petrom supports Save the Children Romania with EUR 300,000 in order to provide access to education to 320 children from six vulnerable communities. The children received tablets with internet access and shall benefit from online education classes throughout the entire year 2021. These children’s families shall receive social vouchers and necessary hygiene and sanitary products with the current pandemic context, in order to facilitate optimum studying conditions.

At the same time, 100 teachers involved in these communities shall benefit from digital training modules to improve the quality of the educational process, provided by the specialists at Save the Children.

In 2021, Save the Children shall offer socio-educational and material support to 10,000 vulnerable children from 44 educational programmes developed in 17 counties and Bucharest Municipality.

Christina Verchere, CEO OMV Petrom: “Education is essential for children’s growth and development and lack of access to quality education can have a negative impact over entire lifetimes. Though it might be hard to quantify it at the moment, there is no doubt that COVID-19 has a huge impact on education. With this project we facilitate access to online school for vulnerable children and we support the proper start of a generation, which can play an important role in the sustainable development of our communities.”

Gabriela Alexandrescu, Executive Chairman of Save the Children Romania, spoke of the emergency of the remedial educational programmes: “It is imperatively necessary to re-establish the right to real education for vulnerable children. The social costs on non-attending school can already be seen in the ever larger gaps given the pandemic and online education, and the cost is to be paid by the entire society. Education must be zero priority for Romania because the effects of non-attending school is a long-term reimbursement.”

Approximately 500,000¹children in Romania were dramatically affected by the social effects of the pandemic: 36% of Romanian families were in difficulty of acquiring the bare necessity products or foods during the sanitary products crises. As far as education is concerned, over 1,000,000 children in elementary education, gymnasium and high-school / professional education had restricted access to online school, which generated supplementary social gaps and emphasized the exclusion phenomenon. Non-attendance by such a large number of children (40% of the entire school aged population) represents a crisis without precedent in education. Elementary school children suffered the worst of the negative impact of isolation, and half of the parents, students and teachers appreciate that the quality of teaching in school is lower now than it was prior to the COVID-19 crisis.²

Four out of ten teachers, approximately 100,000 teachers and professors encountered issues with conducting online classes, be it due to the school lacking the adequate necessary digital techniques and a proper connection or due to not having available educational materials suited for online environment.³

For more information: Liliana Bibac, educational centre coordinator – liliana.bibac@salvaticopiii.ro, telephone: 0741.933.599.

About OMV Petrom

OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy company in South-Eastern Europe, with an annual Group hydrocarbon production of 53 million boe in 2020. The Group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tons annually and operates an 860 MW high efficiency power plant. The Group is present on the oil products retail market in Romania and neighboring countries through 793 filling stations, at the end of 2020, under two brands – OMV and Petrom.

OMV Aktiengesellschaft, one of the largest listed industrial companies in Austria, holds a 51.0% stake in OMV Petrom. The Romanian State, through the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, holds 20.6% of OMV Petrom shares, Fondul Proprietatea holds 7.0%, and 21.4% is the free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.

OMV Petrom is the largest contributor to the state budget, with contributions of approximately 32 billion euro in taxes and dividends paid between 2005 and 2020.

Since 2007, OMV Petrom has included corporate responsibility principles into its business strategy. Between 2007 and 2020, the company has allocated approximately 72 million euro to develop communities in Romania, focusing on environmental protection, education, health and local development.

On July 29th, 2020, OMV Petrom announced its support for the recommendations issued by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) regarding risks and opportunities on climate change.

About the Save the Children Organization

For 31 years, Save the Children Romania build social programs, public policies and robust practices to the benefit of children in Romania. The expertise and complexity of the national level projects make the organization an essential social institution whose role is the mediation between society and the public authority, to the benefit of children. In over 3 decades of activity, Save the Children had active interventions in the society, identifying real solutions to protect and support vulnerable children and at the same time fought for a real cooperation among decision-making authorities, to ensure the children’s best interest. Save the Children assumed the role of a vigilant surveyor of the public authorities, so that they implement long-term public policies that would correct the causes leading to children’s vulnerability. At the same time, the organization managed to create active solidarity networks by encouraging social responsibility of the companies and of the society in general.

As a member of Save the Children, the largest independent organization in the World promoting children’s rights and encompassing 30 members and running programmes in over 120 countries, our VISION is a world that respects every child’s right to life, education, protection and participation, assuming the MISSION to obtain important progress regarding the means in which children are treated and to produce immediate and long-term changes in their lives. Over 2,570,000 children were involved in the programmes and campaigns of the Save the Children Organization.

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^{1 Save the Children Romania Survey, carried out in partnership with the “Spiru Haret” Federation of Education Trade Unions, the National Council of Students and the National Federation of Parents' Associations - Pre-University Education

2 Study conducted by Save the Children among the beneficiaries of the socio-educational programs of the organization, between April 22 and 25, 2020

3 Save the Children Romania Survey, carried out in partnership with the Federation of Education Trade Unions “Spiru Haret”, the National Council of Students and the National Federation of Parents' Associations - Pre-University Education}