We firmly believe at Fortis that no one should be excluded from full participation in society. That’s why we created our Fortis Foundations. But that’s not the only way we promote social inclusion. We also do it by developing easily accessible products that allow everybody to benefit from the services we offer and to be part of the financial system.

Through our Foundations, we help vulnerable groups to play a fuller part in society by organising projects. Many Fortis employees enthusiastically donate their time and energy to help others. Our Foundation projects are as diverse as the communities in which we operate: from purely financial support to giving mentally handicapped children a day out; and from providing professional advice and support for social organisations to personal mentoring programmes for students with learning difficulties.

We are equally committed to developing products and applications that bring the benefits of our financial services within everyone’s reach. We are proud to have brought online banking to blind and partially sighted people in Belgium, with a special device that helps them enjoy secure access to their accounts. Having pioneered the service in Belgium, we rank among the top three banks in the world when it comes to providing online banking services to the visually impaired market.

And we also strive to offer our employees an inclusive working environment. One in which differences in social and cultural background are accepted, respected and acknowledged as a valuable resource. Where talent is recognised and developed. We believe in our people, and we believe that everyone who works for Fortis should have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

For a full overview of our activities in the field of social inclusion, please refer to our 2007 CSR Report.