1. Emergency relief

Assistance for Syrian refugees in Kilis (Turkey)

Because of its location on the border with Syria, the Turkish province of Kilis has welcomed thousands of people fleeing the Syrian conflict since it began more than six years ago. More than 125,000 people survive in urban and rural areas of Kilis in harsh conditions and with limited access to medical care. In this context, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is the only international humanitarian organization to provide free medical care to these refugees, a project that Inditex has consistently supported since 2013.

The situation has worsened after the closure of the borders in 2016, which has increased the instability of the people cared for and has tested the capacity and development of the health services provided. Despite the difficulties, more than 43,000 refugees have received medical attention in primary and mental health, as well as specific psychosocial support to alleviate cases of post-traumatic syndrome - which have multiplied by three - and to combat frustration in their search for a better life for themselves and their families.

Support to the MSF Emergencies Unit

The Emergency Unit is the structure responsible for monitoring and managing emergency interventions. Its role is key to ensuring an immediate and secure response to humanitarian alerts and to organizing emergency missions. In these tasks, MSF has specialized personnel both at its headquarters in Spain, which Inditex finances in entirety, and in the different teams around the world. Inditex maintains a growing commitment to this area, which has been strengthened in 2016 with the support of two regional teams, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Central African Republic. This support has enabled more than 250,000 people to be cared for.

In addition, the Emergency Unit has managed hospital care for victims of the conflict in Yemen despite attacks on its health facilities. It has also deployed a maritime rescue mission for refugees in the Mediterranean. And it has assisted hundreds of women and children at risk of famine in Nigeria because of the conflict between the army and Boko Haram.

Italy Earthquake Emergency

In August 2016 an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale and an afterquake one hour later devastated the central region of Italy, leaving 299 dead and 18,500 homeless throughout the country. In October, a new seismic movement struck the same area and aggravated the material damages already caused.

Given this situation, Inditex activated an emergency relief programme channelled through two of the main organizations with a stable presence in the area: The Italian Red Cross and Cáritas Italy. Activities implemented via the Red Cross focused on providing the population with basic survival tools, in particular blankets and tents, as well as providing permanent and stable healthcare.

At the same time, Cáritas has provided direct support to particularly vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the elderly and children. In addition, it has participated in the construction of a community building in the town of Arquata del Tronto, struck by the earthquake, to offer services of psychological support, community togetherness and socialisation, as well as support for study and extracurricular activities, among others.

Ecuador Earthquake Emergency

The earthquake that struck northwest Ecuador in April 2016 claimed the lives of more than 600 people, left 30,000 homeless and affected some 700 schools, impeding or hindering access to education for thousands of children.

Inditex and Entreculturas have supported the work of various social organizations in favour of the population most affected by the earthquake. These entities have provided emergency relief to ensure access to basic necessities, have provided psychosocial support and medical assistance, built anti-seismic homes for affected families and rebuilt educational infrastructures. They have also carried out activities on resilience and risk reduction in the face of an earthquake. A total of 1,000 people have been beneficiaries of the Ecuador Earthquake Emergency Programme throughout 2016.

2. SOCIAL WELFARE

Programme to promote employment in Spain for people in a situation or at risk of social exclusion

The collaboration of Cáritas and Inditex in the field of employment in Spain began in 2011 and has been consolidated as a benchmark in the improvement of employability and the labour market insertion of people at risk of social exclusion.

Its transversal approach, which includes training for jobs, Social Economy and self-employment initiatives training plans, has made it possible to integrate more than 1,450 people into the labour force and train more than 3,500 people in situations of vulnerability since the outset.

Throughout 2016, thanks to the collaboration with Inditex, Cáritas has consolidated a total of 25 social economy projects and 1,135 vulnerable persons have managed to improve their job prospects: 799 have received training and 553 people have found a job.

Coruña Emprega Programme

The aim of the Coruña Emprega Project of A Coruña City Council is to boost the labour market insertion and improve the employability of people with difficulties in finding jobs.

Since August 2016, Inditex has supported this municipal initiative that has the following lines of action:

1. Integrated itineraries of labour insertion, which combine practice in a real working environment with a training programme and individual tutorials.
2. Motivation-Counselling Focus groups (IMOs) to support the labour market insertion process and offer personal development tools that help to maintain and consolidate the job.
3. Local Agreement for Employment of A Coruña, through the joint participation of 20 social and economic entities representing the city.
4. Technical studies and continuous job prospecting, to discover the real opportunities of employment that the zone offers.

Thanks to the collaboration with Inditex, between October 2016 - the date of incorporation of the technical team to the project - and January 2017, work has been carried out with 460 people, of which 388 have received employment counselling and an allocation of resources adjusted to their professional profile. Of these, a total of 68 have signed their integrated itinerary of labour insertion and have initiated some of its actions. Thanks to this, during the first three months of the project’s life there have been 16 labour market insertions.

Community Development Programme in Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi community development programme works to empower the population in the face of natural catastrophes. In a country particularly exposed to climate change, Cáritas has been working for years on prevention and response with programmes that directly involve local communities in Dinajpur, Nowgong and Sherpur.

Activities include training in risk management, construction of flood shelters, fencing for livestock and reservoirs and canals in the face of droughts, as well as activities to promote reforestation.

The Bangladesh project also includes actions to improve living conditions in the most disadvantaged areas of Dhaka, its capital. These are urban areas known as slums, which are in extreme poverty. There, social institutions for underprivileged and unemployed women have been set up and five childcare centres have been established. These provide assistance in primary, maternal and reproductive health. And health education, nutritional support for children and drug and HIV prevention are provided.

Community Development Programme in Cambodia

The community health and development programmes in Cambodia work in rural areas of the provinces of Battambang, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap through community associations and agricultural cooperatives and in collaboration with health centres and local authorities.

The main objectives are to improve the resilience of communities to the challenges of climate change, introducing techniques to increase crop productivity and animal husbandry. Agricultural cooperatives are also encouraged, linking the production of community associations with markets, to promote local business opportunities.

This project also pays special attention to maternal and child health through access to health centres and hospitals, vaccines and care during pregnancy and after childbirth. And improving the nutrition of under-fives and pregnant women.

Programme to improve TEXTILE WORKERS’ WELL-BEING IN MOROCCO

In 2016, the activities of the Improving the well-being of the vulnerable population of the textile sector in Tangier Project, carried out by Medicus Mundi, have been completed and have allowed workers of participating companies to access medical care for diagnosis and screening of common diseases. Awareness-raising on the prevention of chronic diseases and the detection of risk factors, the promotion of sexual and reproductive health, and training in risk prevention and first aid have also continued.

The project has been extended in 2017 and other civil society players have become involved, including the Ministry of National Education of Morocco and the Regional Directorate for Employment and Social Affairs, which has become the main partner. The aim is to improve the competencies of beneficiaries in terms of social rights, access to health and promotion of women’s health at work. Literacy courses for female workers have also been launched.

Integration programme for the immigrant population in Brazil

In 2016, Inditex also reaffirmed its commitment to promote Human Rights and to improve working and social conditions of immigrants in Brazil by supporting social organizations such as Centro de Direitos Humanos e Cidadania do Imigrante (CDHIC) and the Centro de Apoio e Pastoral do Migrante (CAMI). These social investment initiatives have directly benefited 45,758 immigrants in a vulnerable situation. The programme is based on the work of migration regularization, training for citizenship and assistance in emergency humanitarian situations (food and shelter).

Likewise, and in collaboration with Inditex, Missão Paz has developed a programme to promote employment among the migrant population that is articulated through vocational training courses. During 2016, 183 immigrants have been integrated into the labour market in companies from different sectors. The project represents a pioneering initiative and has been rated as a best practice by the ILO’s South-South Collaboration Programme.

Water.org Programme

In December 2015, Inditex and NGO Water.org entered into a 4-year partnership agreement, pursuant to which, Inditex has committed some three million USD to Water.org projects in Bangladesh and Cambodia, mainly, to provide access to safe water and sanitation for low income people through microcredits.

Throughout 2016, Warter.org has been active on several fronts to ensure the roll out of the programme. One of such measures consists of the agreements subscribed with non-profit microfinance institutions for the granting of WaterCredits, which are affordable loans to finance domestic clean water and sanitation installations. Additionally, educational material has been circulated to raise awareness regarding the importance of such services. And, staff of microfinance institutions has been duly trained, among other initiatives.

Namely, in Cambodia more than 12,600 people gained access to safe water and sanitation through such loans during 2016. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, work has revolved around certification of microfinance institutions. For such purposes, Sajida Foundation and WAVE entered into partnership agreements to implement the programme.

In addition, Inditex has contributed one million USD to Water.org’s New Ventures Fund, which fuels the organization’s efforts to research, develop and explore new approaches to increase access to safe water and sanitation for those in need.

Against the backdrop of the annual World Economic Forum held in Davos (Switzerland) in January 2017, the Chairman and CEO of Inditex, Pablo Isla, met with Matt Damon and Gary White, Co-founders of Water.org, with the aim of strengthening the partnership between both organizations to bring safe water and sanitation to communities in developing countries.

3. EDUCATION

Village Hope School Programme in China

In 2016, Inditex reached an agreement to renew its partnership with China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) to extend the Village Hope School Programme until 2019. Through this alliance with CYDF, we have improved conditions for accessing education in remote rural areas of China. Specifically, ten schools have been built or renovated in remote areas of the provinces of Guangxi and Yunna. In addition, training courses have been held for teachers at these centres.

EPGO Programme (Educating People, Generating Opportunities)

2016 has been the third year of the EPGO Programme (Educating People, Generating Opportunities). Under this three-year agreement, Inditex and Entreculturas have developed projects to increase professional skills and training and care for vulnerable groups in nine countries in Latin America and four in Africa.

In addition, both entities have renewed their partnership in 2016 for the next three years. The new programme, EPGO II, provides for the development of 22 social projects for education, employment and humanitarian aid in Latin America, South Africa and Lebanon, and will directly benefit 165,500 people.

EPGO America and Africa

In 2016, the EPGO projects in nine Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) have benefited a total of 62,553 people. Thanks to technical and work training, young people and adults living in contexts of poverty have been trained professionally. Among the most vulnerable groups, work is being carried out with the indigenous population, disabled persons, young persons at risk of exclusion, migrants and refugees.

In the four African countries where EPGO has projects (Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and Uganda), educational work has been carried out in refugee camps and training and socio-labour integration for urban refugees. The programme has benefited a total of 16,930 people on the continent during 2016.

EPGO II America, Africa and Asia

Under the title Educating People, Generating Opportunities II (EPGO II), the new three-year agreement contemplates the implementation of 22 social projects. In its first year of implementation, the programme directly benefits 58,155 people through educational, employment and humanitarian aid actions in nine Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela), in South Africa and Lebanon.

In education, the priority is to promote access to training for the unschooled and to support vulnerable children and young people. In the field of employment we work to offer technical and vocational training to young people in contexts of poverty and exclusion, in order to facilitate selfemployment or their labour market insertion. In addition, specific initiatives are carried out for youths in Ecuador in the rural areas most affected by the 2016 earthquake, vocational training schemes for women, or courses in new agricultural techniques for peasants in underprivileged areas. Interventions in the field of humanitarian aid focus on assisting people in need of international protection because of their status as forced migrants or refugees in Mexico, South Africa and Lebanon.

ON THE COLOMBIAN BORDERS PROGRAMME

The On the Colombian Borders Programme, which is being carried out between 2015 and 2017 in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, aims to provide opportunities and support for displaced or sheltered victims of the Colombian armed conflict. To this end, Inditex, Entreculturas and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) carry out activities around three main lines of work: livelihoods, formal education and protection and guarantee of access to rights.

During the second year of implementation, 4,761 people benefited directly from the initiative. The socio-economic integration and food security of these people answered promoted, legal assistance has been offered to them so they can access their rights, and educational access, permanence and academic certification of children, young people, displaced persons and refugees have been ensured.

Inditex-UDC Chair of Social Responsibility

The Inditex - UDC Chair of Social Responsibility in A Coruña (Spain) aims to provide a space to think about the community and provide academic training and applied research into social responsibility, as well as support with social innovations within public organisations, businesses and non-profit enterprises.

In 2016, the fifth edition of the Specialization Course in Social Innovation and Responsibility (CERIS) was run, a postgraduate course which received 118 applications for pre-enrolment and involved 29 students. Ten of these students received grants to cover the cost of the course with funds provided by Inditex. The course has provided a total of 626 hours of certified training spread over a series of sessions and seminars, workshops, talks and visits to companies. Furthermore, 133 alumni from previous years have taken part in the initiatives of the Chair and 229 people attended publicly held conferences.

Tsinghua University Programme

In November 2016, Inditex signed a three-year agreement with the School of Economics Management (SEM) at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The agreement allows students selected by the institution to enjoy an immersion programme in order to keep in touch with business schools in Spain, learn about Inditex’s management model and its facilities, visit other companies and learn about Spanish culture and customs. For this, the following activities have been developed:

• Endowment of 35 study grants in A Coruña (Spain), which have allowed Tsinghua SEM students to extend their experience at Inditex and other companies in areas such as fashion, logistics, environmental protection and sustainable development.
• Support for the professional development of academic staff, based on training activities for young teachers of Tsinghua SEM in subjects such as scientific research and teacher training.
• Promotion of cultural activities for students on the Tsinghua SEM campus.

Inditex Chair of Spanish Language and Culture in Bangladesh

The Inditex Chair of Spanish Language and Culture at the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) has been turn over at this institution since 2011. Conceived as a cooperation project between the local university and the universities of A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela, it has five Spanish teachers and, from this year onwards, two local teaching assistant interns, who are being trained by our professionals in charge of the project.

The Chair teaches the Spanish language to 400 students each year and organises cultural activities opened to all students on Campus. Approximately 2,000 people participate every year. In this course, activities were developed in partnership with the departments of Performing Arts of the Valle University (Cali, Colombia) and the University of Dhaka. There is also an annual summer scholarship programme for students of the Chair and for teacher training, which allows Bangladeshi students to study at the University of Santiago.

Chair of Refugees and Forced Migrants

The Chair of Refugees and Forced Migrants is a collaborative project between Inditex and Comillas Pontifical University which was launched in 2016 amid the issues of forced mobility and refuge around the world. It is an initiative with a national, European and global vocation, which will promote programmes of collaboration between the university and social organizations in this sector, while promoting academic research on of migration. It will also enhance the application of these studies to direct and on-the-spot assistance to refugees and migrants. And it will seek to publicly spread the reality of this phenomenon to contribute to social awareness.

During 2016, the Chair has conducted research into the Spanish System of Reception and Integration, and into the processes of social integration of refugees in Spain. It also promoted two doctoral research programmes into the European Southern Border and on the processes of psychological intervention with refugees, the latter thanks to a collaboration with Harvard University.

At the same time, and in partnership with the Fundación Entreculturas, the Chair of Refugees and Forced Migrants launched a professional internship programme with four postgraduates working in Madrid, Seville, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and the Jesuit Migrant Service (JMS). In these first few moths, the Chair already participated in national and international congresses and conferences through its researchers.

Chair of Disability and Employability

The TEMPE-APSA Chair of Disability and Employability of the Miguel Hernández University aims to promote researching and training in the field of disability to support integration of disabled people in the labour market. The Chair was created on 3 December 2015 and was publicly unveiled on 23 May 2016. Its most relevant activity is a training programme for people with intellectual disabilities, which is held at the University and grants them the MHU’s own Qualification of ‘University Expert in Auxiliary Retail Tasks'. The first edition of this programme began in September 2016, with 15 students enrolled.

4. OTHERS

In addition to the projects mentioned above, Inditex targeted 17% of its investment in social programmes at initiatives related to health, socio-economic development, art and culture, among others in 2016. These initiatives fundamentally encompass one-off contributions at corporate level and from different brands and subsidiaries to non-profit institutions and enterprises. In 2016 Inditex allocated more than three million euros to these contributions, both monetary and in-kind, which were channelled through more than 200 social enterprises.

To systematise and channel this work, the company has established the Inditex Sponsorship and Patronage Committee, which is the body responsible for approval of these projects.