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NN Group & JA Europe are increasing social awareness and improving entrepreneurial skills

Building on three years of partnership, JA Europe and NN Group are joining forces for a fourth academic year to raise awareness of social innovation across the globe. The partnership includes three programmes: the Social Innovation Relay, Innovation Camps and Job Shadow Day.

Last year alone, the partnership reached nearly 15 000 students; over 300 teachers and 250 mentors took part in the programmes and 680 ideas were generated. Through the support of NN Group, students were inspired to come up with ideas to combat social issues and they also gained the right support system to turn their ideas in to real business projects.

Conclusions of a recent impact research study conducted by the Impact Centre Erasmus proved participation in the Social Innovation Relay increased student’s entrepreneurial skills and intentions. On top of this, participants also showed higher levels of social awareness. 

“Through the diversity of programmes NN Group engages with JA Europe, students are exposed to the importance of social awareness and they gain the necessary skills to solve social problems both locally and beyond. It’s these kinds of partnerships that are indispensable in helping to prepare youth around the world for the challenges of the future.” –Caroline Jenner, CEO, JA Europe

“This autumn we are celebrating four years of our international partnership with Junior Achievement, and it makes us proud to see the impact we have achieved together so far. More than 33 000 students have participated in one of the activities, and became more aware of the positive social impact they can bring to their communities. We are excited to kick-off a new year and looking forward to witness once again the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of youngsters in twelve countries worldwide” says Fleur Hudig, Head of Corporate Citizenship at NN Group.

During the Global Final on 21 June 2017 a team of high school students from Singapore, Chaleur, had the winning social business idea. They created a question-and-answer online platform called INTuition, which provides free academic guidance to students. Their platform is specifically targeted for students and relies on the goodwill and passion of students to pass on knowledge, to have meaningful discussions which enrich their academic lives.

‘The overall Social Innovation Relay experience broadened my perspective and taught me valuable lessons. It has taught me to question everything, and showed me how important your peer group is. I’ve come out more confident and knowledgeable’, says Jonathan, member of team Chaleur.

About JA Europe
JA Europe is Europe’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy. In 2016, we equipped 3.5 million students in 40 countries with the knowledge, skills and attitude they require to start a business or get a job. JA works with the education and business communities as well as governments to provide young people from primary school to university with experiences that build the skills and competences they will need to succeed in a global economy. JA Europe is the European Regional Operating Centre for JA Worldwide®

NN Group
NN Group is an international insurance and asset management company, active in 18 countries, with a strong presence in a number of European countries and Japan. With all our employees the Group offers retirement services, pensions, insurance, investments and banking to approximately 17 million customers. NN Group’s main brands are Nationale-Nederlanden, NN, Delta Lloyd, NN Investment Partners, ABN AMRO Insurance, Movir, AZL, BeFrank and OHRA. NN Group is listed on Euronext Amsterdam (NN). NN Future Matters is NN Group’s overarching Community Investment Programme. It aims to empower people in the markets where we operate to support them in growing their economic opportunities.