Air France is organizing a second edition of its citizen solidarity days. Some 2,000 company employees in France and abroad have signed up to participate, during their work time, in one of the 86 assignments proposed with 60 associations working in the following fields – supporting children in need, education- training – employment, disability and health, the fight against insecurity, the environment and intergenerational sharing. The assignments are taking place over 3 days, on March 12 and 19, and April 2nd.
Air France is renewing this initiative following the success of the first edition of its citizen solidarity days in 2018, where 1,000 staff members took part in diverse assignments. For this new edition, Air France has extended the scope of this event to offer even more assignments for a larger number of staff throughout France (in the Paris region, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon, Strasbourg, Nantes, Corsica, as well as Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Reunion later, in April) and abroad (for the Air France-KLM group).
This event meets several objectives – contribute to associations whose values are shared by Air France, allow staff to take part in actions of solidarity, strengthen social cohesion between company staff and local associations, as well as foster cohesion and exchange between staff. Teams are made up of staff from all sectors of the company and of all levels of responsibility in an aim to create a real diversity and allow them to exchange on equal terms in a different environment from what they are used to on a daily basis in the workplace.
Anne Rigail, Air France CEO, said: “This initiative conducted for the second consecutive year is an integral part of our societal commitment, alongside the solidarity actions carried out by the Air France Foundation, or our company’s involvement in numerous local structures dedicated to employment, education, professional integration of young people and many other areas. By offering our staff the possibility to take part in these initiatives, they are choosing to get actively involved in this commitment. All our staff support Air France’s values and are promoting these values through their participation in these 86 assignments and I feel privileged to be able to contribute alongside them”.
The aim is to renew this initiative in 2020 with an even greater ambition to involve in this adventure an even larger number of staff in even more assignments across France, in the French overseas departments and abroad. In setting up its citizen solidarity days, Air France teamed up with Unis-Cité Solidarité Entreprise, which supports companies in organizing large-scale citizen solidarity actions. Unis-Cité Solidarité Entreprise has extensive knowledge of the association sector, and all its revenues contribute to financing civic services.