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    Parsys 1
    Participants of the Echoing Green Social Innovation Challenge
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    In the aftermath of the pandemic, that caused economic and social disruption, there are some very human stories that shine through. Stories of community volunteers who made social change through their everyday acts.  

    At Barclays, we believe commercial performance is not the only indicator of an organisation’s success. It is also defined by our contributions to society and responsible actions for the common and long-term good.
    Kosuke Morihara, Country CEO, Barclays Japan

    Even as the world turned to new ways of working, there were those who chose to contribute their time, experience and money to vulnerable people and communities who were hit hardest by the pandemic.

    During this period, trailblazing Barclays’ colleagues went above and beyond, to collaborate and extend their support to those in need – helping individuals and communities build back better, giving them hope to succeed and equipping them with the means for a better future.

    Click on the various chapters below to learn more.

    When it matters most

    As the pandemic hit Japan, the health and financial situation of underserved and underrepresented low-income groups was particularly impacted, causing untold grief and suffering. Through it all, kindness shone through – giving way to hope and much needed relief.  

    Childcare non-profit Houkago NPO Afterschool made a commitment to support families most adversely affected by the pandemic. With the support of Barclays’ £100m COVID-19 Community Aid Package, Houkago – along with more than 370 charity partners around the world – were able to receive crucial funds at a time when they needed it most.

    As a result of this support, the team at Houkago were able to offer training to 2,588 team members and volunteers to master the art of online schooling. This enabled an incredible 9,400 children to continue their education with confidence.

    I’m grateful that I was able to participate and am so proud of what we’re doing for our community
    Yoshiko Kurita, Project Manager, Barclays

    When the pandemic redefined the ways of learning and teaching, teachers and childcare workers in Tomigusuku and Kudakajima, thousands of kilometres away from Tokyo, struggled with the lack of experience in handling tech-equipment and programming – critical to ensure continued learning for students. In these remote areas of Japan, Houkago reached out to support with online seminars for teachers and childcare workers.

    Nanami, a long serving schoolteacher in Kudakajima, was confused trying to navigate her computer, internet and video platforms. She desperately needed to learn how to handle all the technology gadgets to enable her to continue teaching her students during the pandemic. Moreover, she couldn’t afford to lose her job.

    “The training has given me the confidence to teach programming at school – and I can even use the equipment without anyone’s help,” says a very happy Nanami, the first teacher to be trained online in Kudakajima’s history. Like Nanami, teachers with no prior knowledge of programming are required to teach at the same standard as at school. With Barclays’ support, Houkago NPO has been filling these gaps between “reality and requirement”, helping the teachers and childcare workers to deliver and keep their jobs during this difficult phase of the pandemic. 

    Delighted to extend her support, Yoshiko Kurita, a Project Manager at Barclays, jumped at the chance to participate in the Afterschool Sharing session with Houkago.  “This was a unique and rare opportunity for me – to be able to hear some of the incredible learnings and insights from my colleagues across functions and levels of seniority and share my own experiences with the trainers from Houkago,” she recalled. “I’m grateful that I was able to participate and am so proud of what we’re doing for our community,” adds Kurita.

    Creating positive change through volunteering

    The willingness and passion of Barclays’ colleagues to volunteer their time, skills and expertise is an integral part of how Barclays delivers its Citizenship commitments. Colleagues are supported to help the causes they care about through the company’s volunteering, fundraising and giving programmes.

    They are also encouraged to join existing volunteering opportunities – like the skills training sessions supporting people like Nanami – or set up one themselves. From running money management workshops, coaching for interviews, sharing career insights, mentoring students and entrepreneurs or supporting the elderly, childcare workers and teachers, getting involved is easy.

    Our collaboration with Barclays made possible projects we couldn’t have imagined. We look forward to what we can do together next.
    Charles McJilton, Founder & CEO of Second Harvest Japan
    Second Harvest Japan, the country’s first food bank

    Second Harvest Japan, the country’s first food bank, set up a coupon system in Okinawa but faced a roadblock when they couldn’t make sense of the massive data it collected. David Dyke, Vice President at Barclays Japan, recognised it as an opportunity to utilize their skills in data analytics. He organised a two-week hackathon to encourage fellow colleagues to develop a long-term solution for Second Harvest, another of Barclays’ COVID-19 Community Aid Package partners.

    Three teams of more than ten colleagues across Asia Pacific competed virtually to develop a digital tool for coupon data analysis and reports. Working together, they not only delivered the data analytics results but also detailed operation procedures for the tool, enabling Second Harvest to use it themselves for new data sets going forward. “I was extremely impressed with the detail the Barclays team provided. The tool offers some key data points we were looking for. It is simply incredible,” says Charles McJilton, Founder & CEO of Second Harvest Japan. “Our collaboration with Barclays made possible projects we couldn’t have imagined. We look forward to what we can do together next,” adds McJilton.

    Nurturing leaders of tomorrow

    Barclays has always been committed to community support. “We believe commercial performance is not the only indicator of an organisation’s success. It is also defined by our contributions to society and responsible actions for the common and long-term good,” says Kosuke Morihara, Country CEO at Barclays Japan.

    The bank’s employees play a crucial role in bringing the company’s beliefs to life. They play an active role around the world in helping to achieve the company’s Citizenship commitments through the extraordinary breadth and depth of activity. “Colleagues are at the heart of all that we do. Their commitment to volunteer their time, passion for sharing their skills and enthusiasm to extend their expertise fuel Barclays’ Citizenship efforts,” adds Morihara. Barclays focus is on areas where they can best apply their expertise as a financial services organisation because of their strong belief that an inclusive economy drives productivity, growth and societal wellbeing.

    Last year, Masatomo Hosoi from Legal, Li Ma from Procurement and Tomohisa Kodama from Equity Sales, organised two virtual career sharing sessions for Teach for Japan. More than 50 Barclays employees from Japan, Hong Kong, India and the UK interacted with over 30 of the charity’s campus ambassadors, many of whom were university students from vulnerable backgrounds. Barclays employees shared their career experiences, giving students an insight to their professions. They also supported them with advice and guidance, offering tips on how to plan their careers and hunt for jobs.

    “The career sharing session provided me with international exposure. I was very impressed with the scale and scope of work that Barclays volunteers do,” says Taiga, a Teach for Japan campus ambassador. “They shared the importance of taking action based on inner curiosity. Their advice helped me a lot because I’ve been lost about which career path to take,” adds Taiga.

    Masatomo Hosoi from Legal, Li Ma from Procurement and Tomohisa Kodama from Equity Sales

    "The career sharing session provided me with international exposure. I was very impressed with the scale and scope of work that Barclays volunteers do," says Taiga, a Teach for Japan campus ambassador. “They shared the importance of taking action based on inner curiosity. Their advice helped me a lot because I’ve been lost about which career path to take,” adds Taiga.

    Colleagues are at the heart of all that we do. Their commitment to volunteer their time, passion for sharing their skills and enthusiasm to extend their expertise fuel Barclays’ Citizenship efforts
    Kosuke Morihara, Country CEO, Barclays Japan

    Celebrating Barclays’ colleagues

    Barclays’ colleagues in Japan have helped local communities recover from a series of disasters in the recent past.

    These include supporting the Tohoku earthquake relief efforts in 2011, western Japan flood relief in 2018, Typhoon Hagibig emergency relief in 2019 and, most recently, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank’s workforce has been contributing their time, skills and donations to address social and economic challenges. “Barclays is proud to be able to give this platform to its colleagues to create positive enduring change,” says Kentaro Kiso, President and Representative Director, Barclays Securities Japan Limited.

    Every year, as thousands of Barclays’ colleagues come forward to support people and communities, we are amazed by the collective impact achieved, and humbled by their sheer acts of kindness
    Kentaro Kiso, President and Representative Director, Barclays Securities Japan Limited

    It’s lending a hand, a patient ear, or encouraging words that make all the difference.

     

     

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