Care for the community
Along the lines of its Declaration of Social Responsibility, AD Elektrani na Makedonija continually and within the frames of its abilities supports and cooperates with the institutions and the civil sector on the improvement of the areas of public interest, such as sports, culture and arts, education and science, environment, social protection, etc. In the past three years, the company decided to introduce a more strategic approach in its support for the community, which goes beyond the frames of traditional forms of donations and sponsorships at the request of beneficiaries. This strategic approach consists of several segments: 1) identification of the specific needs in areas of public interest supported by ELEM; 2) provision of support focused on the achievement of measurable results and long-term effects; 3) continuous communication and cooperation with the institutions and associations benefiting from the support provided by AD ELEM and upgrading the forms of cooperation.
As a result of the process of identification of needs in 2013 and as part of the support for organizations in the areas of social protection, AD ELEM found that there is a need of supporting projects that include campaigns tackling social issues. Namely, we decided to support several organizations facilitating and improving the life of marginalized groups of citizens, such that are not sufficiently recognized by the community and the public at large, as these organizations are not in a position to provide funds for conducting social campaigns that would present their mission and bring them closer to their beneficiaries.
AD ELEM believes such support for the civil sector is highly useful for the community, as it contributes to more effective implementation of their programs to the benefit of the society as a whole. The funds we grant are intended for experienced organizations providing direct support to their target groups, but are facing sustainability issues. The implementation of the activities supported contributed to raising the public awareness and bringing to the forefront topics that are rarely directly treated in the public discourse, such as famine and domestic violence:
- raising awareness of issues such as poverty, famine, and domestic violence through targeted implementation of the Company’s Declaration of Social Responsibility;
- providing specific support for programs of civil organizations offering assistance to social groups at risk and victims of domestic violence;
- providing support for implementation of social campaigns encouraging the community to undertake specific activities, such as donating food and reporting domestic violence;
- raising the awareness of other companies of the need of a focused approach in supporting campaigns of social issues; and
- making contribution to the development of a more humane society and mitigating the consequences of poverty and domestic violence.
Fostering a strategic approach to corporate philanthropy, ELEM published an invitation no. 1/13 to collect applications for allocation of funds in line with the Declaration of Social Responsibility, to identify projects to be supported and cooperated with and related with campaigns and activities aimed at burning social issues. Being a company in state ownership, we attach particular significance to social issues in our approach to social responsibility.
The number of individuals receiving social assistance in the Republic of Macedonia is by no means small; these individuals are in a grave financial situation, facing famine and lack of food. While measures are continually undertaken to take care of and support these categories of poor ndividuals and those at social risk, encouraging new aspects of the social policy is a significant step. The strategic approach to resolving the issue of reducing social risk motivated us to emphasize it in 2013.
According to data obtained by surveys conducted by the civil sector, one in two women in the country are victims of psychological violence, and one in five are victims of physical violence. The number of officially reported victims of domestic violence is small compared to the real scope of the phenomenon due to the stigmatization of this issue. We recognized the need to revive and modernize this topic.
The company was motivated to make its contribution to raising the awareness of these issues in the community and to get involved in campaigns promoting civil organizations in this area. This leads to higher involvement of the community in efforts to support the activities of such organizations. The issue that was promoted was one of high relevance and importance at this present moment.
In accordance with its Declaration of Social Responsibility, AD ELEM allocates funds to support civil and non-profit organizations by publishing 1 open invitation each year. In total, support has been provided to 50 projects led by institutions, civil organizations and individuals in the following seven areas: health and health care, social protection, sports, ecology, culture and arts, education and science, civil society development.
The support provided by AD ELEM for the category of social protection in 2013 focused on marginalized and vulnerable groups. The sponsorships granted by ELEM went to 3 experienced organizations providing direct support to their target groups and facing sustainability issued. ELEM thought that it was exactly these organizations that are tackling a serious problem of a certain group of citizens and improve their living conditions.
In addition, the supported activities are also dedicated to raising the awareness of the public. ELEM recognized the social campaigns as a powerful tool of communication with the public at large, attempting to influence other entities and encourage them to provide support for the issue or topic of such campaigns. Recognizing campaigns as an instrument contributing to getting the key messages across to the primary and secondary public, ELEM provided support for the following organizations: Association for Support and Assistance to Socially Excluded and Poor People “Food for All - Food Bank Macedonia” and the Crisis Center “Hope”. These associations are active in the fields of human rights and social protection. This support for and cooperation with the organizations implementing the projects helped realize the following activities:
The Crisis Center “Hope” provides assistance, support and accommodation for victims of domestic violence. Their SOS line receives approximately 100 calls a year. AD ELEM supported all activities of
the Center, with a special emphasis on the informative campaign about the SOS line and recognizing violence against women.
The following program activities of “Hope” were realized with the support of AD ELEM in the period between September 2013 and January 2014:
• support for victims of domestic violence via the SOS line (open 24 h);
• emotional recovery of victims of domestic violence;
• initial legal assistance through education of the victims, and
• accommodation and provision of safe and secure temporary shelter for 24 - 48 hours, with the capacity of accommodation being 5 to 7 victims of domestic violence.
With the support of and in cooperation with AD ELEM, “Hope” carried out an informative campaign entitled “Love or…?”, with female students being the target group. The goal of the campaign was to inform this vulnerable group about the types of violence that may occur in a relationship, as well as of the ways to recognize the difference between a flirt and sexual harassment; it also informed the potential victims how to cope with this type of violence. The activities undertaken in the campaign included:
• development of messages appropriate for the target group (the emphasis was on violence in relationships and sexual harassment, as well as on forms of violence against women that are typical at this age);
• designing and printing a flyer;
• designing and printing a poster;
• distribution of the printed material at appropriate locations regularly visited by female students (the target group);
• informing the public through the social media.
The Association for Support and Assistance to Socially Excluded and Poor People “Food for All - Food Bank Macedonia” is advocating the right of those at social risk, attempting to provide the existential minimum for them in the form of at least one decent meal a day. The association provides food for those really in need.
The association was also supported by AD ELEM in 2012, when – among other things – it printed an information flyer about its activities and the ways in which citizens may become involved. With the support provided by AD ELEM, the campaign “With a Book against Poverty and Hunger” was implemented as a campaign that motivated direct donations of food, but also raised the awareness of citizens, institutions and the business community of the phenomena of poverty and famine. The following activities were realized as part of this campaign:
- development of a concept of a campaign that will motivate donations in food;
- encouraging other entities in the business community to follow the example set by AD ELEM and provide additional support;
- creation of key campaign messages and materials (posters, information flyers, encouragement flyers, book marks, stickers);
- designing and printing the campaign materials;
- distribution of the materials;
- organization of three public events – food donation campaigns in Skopje, Tetovo and Shtip, and
- invitation to participate by publishing information in the media.