OREANDA-NEWS. The winners of BASF's global team contest "Connected to Care" were announced today: 150 charitable projects worldwide in the areas of urban living, food and smart energy are being supported by BASF with a total of around EUR 700,000. The company initiated the contest in its anniversary year to support employees who want to implement a project together with colleagues, friends or club members in cooperation with a charitable organization.

Employees from all over the world were called upon to submit project ideas, resulting in about 500 proposals. From April 13 to May 31, all employees were invited to vote for their favorite projects. Around 35,000 employees participated in the voting. "A vibrant society needs people who want to get involved. We are delighted that so many colleagues participate in 'Connected to Care.' The contest connects employees, who can now join forces to support projects that are close to their hearts," said Margret Suckale, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

Social projects focusing on support and integration of refugees and improvement of nutrition in kindergartens and schools were particularly popular. BASF is supporting a total of 150 projects from Ludwigshafen, Germany, Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with up to EUR 5,000 each. In addition, all employees whose projects were selected will receive one day of paid leave to implement their projects. A total of around 400 days will be used for the implementation. The distribution of the 150 winning entries was based on the number of employees in the respective region.

The project with the most votes - a total of 1,260 - comes from Ludwigshafen. The team wants to support a children's hospice in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The winning team from the region Asia Pacific took second place worldwide (1,242 votes). The goal of this project, which was submitted by employees from India, is to assist young widows and female refugees in Sri Lanka in establishing and managing their own small enterprises through targeted training measures. In BASF's Europe region, which also includes Africa, a project concerned with securing safe and clean drinking water for children from a West African orphanage was most popular (1,120 votes).

The project "Bee - The Connection" brings together the aspects of community, nutrition, health and the environment - and received most votes in North America (953 votes). Beehives are to be used to increase harvests sustainably in a jointly used garden. In South America, the largest number of votes (943) were cast for a team dedicated to better development opportunities for young people in Sгo Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. The project under the title "Technology for education" involves the idea of paving the way to a better future through culture, technology and English language courses. In Germany, the winning project team of "La Dolce KITA" can look forward to being supported by BASF (832 votes). The project team wants to convert an unused rooftop terrace of a daycare center into a fruit and vegetable garden and a relaxation corner.

A total of 48 projects from Ludwigshafen, 23 projects from Germany, 24 projects from Europe, 23 projects each from Asia Pacific and North America and nine projects from South America are being supported.

The prize money will be transferred to the charitable organizations with which the projects will be carried out in the coming weeks. The winning teams then have nearly one year to start the implementation. The global team contest is part of the Creator SpaceTM co-creation program in BASF's anniversary year. And even beyond the anniversary year, BASF supports the voluntary commitment of its employees through various regional corporate volunteering projects.