This, and the fact that charitable involvement is a key part of human development, led to the signature, in the bank’s head office on 10th November 2009, of a partnership agreement between Societe Generale Maroc and SOS Villages d’Enfants Maroc (“Children’s Villages, Morocco”). The agreement makes concrete commitments to supporting education and social integration of young people who are vulnerable or from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The partnership focuses on two aspects:

• Education, with the launch of the first charity linked bank cards in Morocco. These co-branded cards (with both the Societe Generale and SOS Villages d’Enfants logos) enable the subscriber to contribute to funding the education of disadvantaged children, while offering all the services and practical functionality of a classic Visa or Visa Electron card.
  

For every 5 cards issued, the complete monthly education costs of a child are covered.

• Environment,  with Societe Generale funding “Eco-school” projects, an innovative concept which aims to increase awareness and involvement in protecting the environment, amongst pupils at the SOS Villages schools, at other schools, in the community and in surrounding businesses.
  The end result of this participatory initiative is to build responsibility in younger generations by generating common momentum. The SOS Villages d’Enfants Maroc schools obtained a “Green Flag” certificate in June 2009, awarded by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Protecting the Environment.

Quotes from the signatories of the partnership

Albert Le Dirac’h, Societe Generale management board chairman: “Societe Generale is working towards the socio-economic development of Morocco, bringing conviction to its support for a country that is on the move, changing and modernising. The partnership we are signing today with SOS Villages d’Enfants is an illustration of our contribution to the National Initiative for Human Development. It enables us to apply our corporate values – professionalism, team-spirit and innovation – to the creation of a charity-linked card which supports education projects for environmental responsibility.”

Béatrice Beloubad, National Director of SOS Villages d’Enfants: “Our desire is to see every child with a loving family and access to health services and education. Education is at the heart of what we do: it enables children to become active and responsible citizens, who can play a role in the sustainable development of their country. Stimulating children’s awareness of sustainable development through “Eco-School” projects is a key part of our educational initiative. Societe Generale has understood this, and thanks to its support we will continue to run original educational projects, to uphold the “Green Flag” award we obtained in June 2009. We are proud to share Societe Generale’s instinct for innovation, something a charitable organisation also needs if it is to develop.”