Despite the ongoing pandemic, ING chose to maintain its ING Solidarity Awards and thus highlight projects of Luxembourg associations that work tirelessly for the common good. 
 
Supporting the Luxembourg non-profit sector 
 
ING's purpose is to give everyone the means to stay one step ahead in life and in business. Supporting and promoting the local non-profit sector is a direct application of this ”raison d’être”. With 43 non-profits applying, the 2021 vintage is once again excellent. 
 
Environmental protection and financial inclusion 
 
This 9th edition focused on two categories that directly reflect ING's social and environmental commitment. 
 
Participating associations could submit a project in one of the following two categories: 
 

• Financial Inclusion:  any project of non-profits working to improve the financial condition of individuals, for example through education or social and economic integration.
• Environmental protection: any project of non-profits working for example on biodiversity, the circular economy, climate change mitigation or pollution reduction. 

All projects were evaluated by an independent jury consisting of three ING staff members and four external members. 
 
 Winners by category 
 
 1) Financial inclusion 
 

• Little sequoia : This non-profit, active in Rwanda, set up a sewing workshop for young mothers who have dropped out of school, with the goal to give them a chance to receive professional training. About 20 girls aged 13 to 18 are helped each year and receive a one-year sewing training.  The project consists in purchasing sewing machines that recent graduates can borrow while they set up their own business. 
• CARE Luxembourg : CARE's mission is to address the underlying causes of poverty and social injustice and bring about lasting changes in the lives of poor and vulnerable people. CARE Luxembourg's PARESAN project aims to strengthen food and nutrition security in the Wadi-Fira province of Chad. The project helps vulnerable households, especially women and girls, who are often marginalised. The goal is to help women achieve a high level of self-determination and financial independence through an established financial inclusion mechanism.   

 2) Environment 

• Luxembourg-Romania : The main goal of this non-profit is to maintain a close relationship between the two countries. The winning project will help a small, fourth generation, family-owned company of beekeepers saving honeybees from extinction. The association wants to plant an orchard and set up a mobile container with beehives. 
• Friendship Luxembourg : The association works to preserve mangroves in Bangladesh. This country is very vulnerable to floods, tropical storms and cyclones, the frequency and intensity of which are increasing due to global warming. As a result, many mangroves have disappeared over the last few decades. Mangroves play an essential role in coastal regions. The Friendship project aims to restore these mangroves in a defined area of nine hectares by replanting different species of trees and raising awareness among the local population about mangrove protection.   

Each winning association received a cheque for five thousand euros (EUR 5,000) to carry out their project. Congratulations to all the winners! 
 
And according to Delphine Berlemont, Human Resources Director of ING: "We are very happy to have hosted the ING Solidarity Awards again this year and to reward these Luxembourg non-profits whose projects stand out in the fields of environmental protection and financial inclusion, two themes that are at the heart of our ING culture". 
 
For more information, ING Luxembourg’s website: ing.lu/solidarityawards.