Connecting with the future Social media Social media is an excellent tool for Rabobank to use in its efforts to maintain a connection with society, provide clients with information and interact with clients on a virtual level. For this reason, Rabobank professionally embedded social media in its organisation in 2011A webcare team can now be contacted through Twitter and Facebook between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends (CET).The team can provide immediate answers to most questions. Followers are also provided with updates and information about Rabobank on a daily basis. At year-end 2011, Rabobank had 19,000 followers on Twitter and had been 'liked' by 14,000 fans on Facebook. Around 93 local Rabobanks are also very active on Twitter. Other group entities, such as Obvion, De Lage Landen, Robeco and RaboDirect, are also rapidly expanding their social media activities. Young people Part of connecting with the future involves establishing relationships with young people. Rabobank wants to be there for young people by offering knowhow, expertise and experience. One project, 'Leren omgaan met geld' (Handling money), enables primary schoolchildren to learn about where money comes from, and where it goes, while having fun. This project, which was developed in conjunction with KlasseTV, won the 2011 Comenius EduMedia Award in Berlin in June 2011The 'Baas over eigen Geld' (BOEG, 'Managing your money') programme has a special website where 12 to 18-year-olds can learn to handle their own money. Several local Rabobanks send representatives to visit secondary schools as guest teachers and give classes on money, economics and business that are connected to this programme. Rabobank Centraal Twente and Rabobank Leiden, Leiderdorp en Oegstgeest fleshed out the Move Your Skills learning environment further, in conjunction with local regional training colleges. The first Wijffels Management Masterclass was attended by 20 young officers of national youth organisations, acting in association with the Dutch National Youth Council, CNV Jongeren (a trade union's youth division) and the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER). Lecturers included Herman Wijffels and Piet Moerland. On top of this, at the end of 2011 the foundations were laid for World=U, a dialogue for young people, conducted by young people, at local, national and international level. Twenty local Rabobanks, working in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Nederland in Dialoog and Rabobank Nederland, offer young people a platform for presenting their views on a number of major issues affecting our times, including food and economic participation. Innovations Rabobank's innovations reflect how the bank is connecting with the future. In this context, in 2011 Rabobank and Albert Heijn experimented with a smartphone payment service at a 'to go' supermarket in Amsterdam. Customers can pay quickly and easily using a special iD sticker placed inside or on their smartphones. In addition, Rabobank supports innovative, sustainable projects through Rabobank Project Fund. The tenth edition of the Herman Wijffels Innovation Award was held in 2011The award was won by the Schilder brothers from Volendam for their survival tank, which enables fishermen to keep undersized fish alive and return them to the sea. The Public Award went to Freena Eijffinger of Autitouch, who developed a tool to simplify and speed up the diagnosis of autism. Innovation Desk Since innovation can be considered the driver of future growth, Rabobank wants to play an active role in the financing of innovations. For this reason, Rabobank launched an Innovation Desk in December 2011 to provide local Rabobanks with better support for services to existing and potential clients working on innovations. In 2011, a start was made with placing comprehensive information on special possibilities for providing finance on Rabobank's intranet. This will be expanded in 2012. The guiding principle is to provide local Rabobanks and clients with added value when it comes to financing innovations. This is achieved by providing a central point of contact, sharing knowledge and establishing links with various parties, among other things. 23 Strategic Framework Cooperative identity

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Annual Reports Rabobank | 2011 | | pagina 24