Zurich/Basel, 14 January 2015 – UBS and the World Economic Forum today announced a collaboration to launch The Davos Challenge: Walk for Education, a program designed to help cut the time children travel to school and improve their learning opportunities.
Poor transport infrastructure combined with long distances to school mean that many children in Africa are not getting an adequate education and therefore are ill-equipped to fight the cycle of poverty. For instance, in rural South Africa many have to walk 6km or more to school every day. This cuts into their learning time or even stops them attending school altogether. Providing kids with robust bikes built for rugged country terrain can reduce their travel times by 75%, boosting attendance and educational achievement.
If Davos participants walk on average 6km for education, during the Annual Meeting 2015, UBS and the UBS Optimus Foundation will donate 2,500 specially designed bicycles, one for every Davos participant. The bicycles will be provided by World Bicycle Relief, a not-for-profit organization operating throughout Africa for ten years improving access to education and increasing learning outcomes by reducing travel time for children.
“All children should have access to education and the opportunity to learn, says Axel Weber, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Corporate Responsibility Committee, “In our view, we have a great responsibility to children, and also a responsibility to our shareholders to ensure that our philanthropic activities are highly impactful. This program reflects our commitment to both these goals.”
The first 1,000 participants to sign up for the challenge at the meeting in Davos will be given FitBit electronic pedometers to log the distance they walk individually and to allow us to calculate the collective average. Participants’ progress will be displayed on special screens at the Congress Center in Davos and additional information will be available on a dedicated website, www.ubs.com/davoschallenge.
“It is in the true spirit of social entrepreneurship to seek innovative ways to significantly improve the lives of children,” says Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab. “The meeting in Davos is the ideal place to present creative solutions to improve the state of the world. That’s why we support UBS for the Davos Challenge: Walk for Education, a program that will advance the learning potential for children.”
Based on the projected combined results of the Forum participants, UBS and the UBS Optimus Foundation expect to donate a total of 2,500 Buffalo Bicycles through World Bicycle Relief. The UBS Optimus Foundation has commissioned the Stamford Research Institute to conduct a rigorous study to assess the impact the bikes have on the learning outcomes of children who receive them.
Full Davos Challenge video
