First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. said it would strengthen its corporate responsibility and sustainability (CR&S) initiatives in education to ensure the country’s growth and development.
The bank’s chief executive, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, said this during the bank’s webinar on Wednesday, “Education – Does Kindness Have a Role?” To mark CS&R week.
Adeduntan said the bank will continue to demonstrate a passion for education and an unwavering commitment to ensuring quality learning standards.
“Education is one of the most powerful things in life that helps us find meaning in everything and creates the platform to break down barriers.
“That is why kindness, as a virtue and value, must take its roots in the mind of everyone and when equated to a way of life, it permeates all aspects of human existence and interactions. , making learning richer, ”he said. .
He said the bank has performed extremely well in CR&S in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be an integral part of the society in which it operates.
Adeduntan said the bank migrated around one million students to virtual learning during the height of COVID-19 in partnership with the Lagos State Government, IBM and Microsoft.
“At FirstBank, empathy is at the heart of our brand promise and we care about the mental well-being of each individual.
“There is no denying that a mentally balanced student will achieve excellent results and form a healthy community,” he added.
According to him, the theme resonates with the basic strategic pillars of the bank’s CR&S which are: education, health and well-being, financial inclusion and responsible lending and purchasing.
“Each year, as part of our corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives, FirstBank undertakes projects under the SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness) initiative.
“We educate the public about the importance of people being kind to others.
“We are asking for the support of all of our staff so that we can all make a difference in the lives of the less privileged, regardless of our religion, our geography, it is so important to be kind to the less privileged,” said Adeduntan.
Also speaking, Lagos State Commissioner for Education Ms Folashade Adefisayo praised FirstBank for initiatives to show kindness to society.
Adefisayo said the bank has supported the state in developing the education sector, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown by giving learning devices to students in remote communities.
She urged other institutions to learn from banking by being kind and giving back to society.
The commissioner noted that the kindness of the bank had produced unimaginable results in the lives of these students.
Professor Liz Grant, University of Edinburgh, keynote speaker, said the pandemic has posed many challenges for the world.
Grant said people need to learn to be kind regardless of the challenges, noting that humans and the planet were created together for a purpose.
She said the kindness should be endless because everyone deserves to be treated with civility, compassion and respect.
“We believe we can build a world filled with goodness; make kindness a way of life, compassion, civility and charity, ”Grant added. (NAN)
