Reducing the digital gap

The budget of one million euros released by the P&V Group has made it possible to support 66 associations throughout Belgium and has enabled 1,300 young people to receive a new computer and guidance to strengthen their digital skills.

The Coronavirus health crisis has a significant impact on the daily lives of all of us, but children and young people in vulnerable contexts are disproportionately affected.

Context

Not all students benefit from the same home learning conditions. Vulnerable young people are now overwhelmed by stress related to online homework, tiny living conditions, a lack of educational materials, etc. Almost 12% of young Belgian people under the age of 15 have no suitable place for studying at home. One in 20 families with children does not have a computer; in single-parent families this figure rises to 14%. Many families share a computer. In higher education, more than one in five students dropped out during the confinement. This emergency context creates a growing educational gap which will have long-lasting costs and consequences.

Program

The budget of 1 million euros is distributed as follows:

Phase 1

The first part of 700,000 euros is dedicated to the call for projects (Linking Youth Up) launched on June 2 in close collaboration with the P&V Foundation and the King Baudouin Foundation, the objective of which is to support organizations working with vulnerable young people (12 to 25 years old) by providing them with new computer equipment and digital skills.

Phase 2

As a follow-up to this call, a budget of 300,000 euros is intended to strengthen the good practices of organizations in terms of school and extra-curricular support, as well as support for young people who are vulnerable in the transition from school to the job market.

Corporate social responsibility commitment of the P&V Group

This action is in line with the CSR commitment of the P&V group. Hilde Vernaillen, CEO of the P&V Group: “Since the start of the crisis, the group has taken initiatives for the benefit of its employees and its clients. In addition, the P&V group has been committed throughout its history to helping to meet social challenges. The initiative launched today is part of it and constitutes our response to an important social emergency."