SOCIAL SOCIAL COMMITMENT 82 SOCIAL COMMITMENT OUR APPROACH TO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The digital revolution is changing almost every area of our lives. We want to help allow all people to shape these changes in a positive, active, and equal way. In short, we want everyone to #TAKEPART. That’s why, as part of our social commitment, we are also working on breaking down barriers to digital participation. We believe there are three key factors for ensuring everyone can partici- pate in our digital society on equal terms – technical access to fast net- works, the affordability of equipment and services, and the ability to use digital media competently. Access: We are continuously expanding our network to enable technical access. Affordability: With different rates for every budget and our social rate, we are striving to make digital access affordable for everyone. Ability/Competent use of digital media: Internet users should have positive experiences and suffer no harm online. Data security and data protection are top priorities for us. It is also important for every- one to use media in a competent, responsible, and critical manner, and in line with basic democratic values. We are therefore commit- ted to media and democratic competence. By focusing on promoting digital participation, our social commitment correlates closely with our core business. We consider ourselves responsible not only for our products and our network, but also for ensuring that people can interact with them confidently. This allows us to put our expertise as a telecommunications provider to the best possible use for the benefit of society. As one of the major employers, part of our social responsibility in 2019 was to support refugees in their integration into the German labor market. In carrying out our social commitment, we not only implement our own projects and initiatives, but also encourage the volunteer efforts of our employees. In addition, we provide financial support, for example, by being involved as a sponsor and providing support in the area of disas- ter response. The national companies carry out independent regional initiatives. We also work closely across national borders when it comes to our social involvement and share experience and best practices. Close cooperation with social players such as NGOs, associations, and initiatives also plays an important role. Measuring success We use a set of KPIs to measure our success: The Community Investment ESG KPI reflects our social commitment in terms of financial, human, and material resources. The Beneficiaries ESG KPI measures the number of active contribu- tors as well as the target groups they reach. The Media Literacy ESG KPI highlights the percentage of projects and activities that help people use media proficiently. It is highly relevant to us, as it correlates closely with our core business. Our measures are based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. We have listed the activities with which we are pursuing SDGs in an overview. PROMOTING MEDIA LITERACY AND DEMOCRATIC COMPETENCE We have made it our mission to promote the safe and competent use of digital media – and the ability to use them in line with basic democratic values. We are therefore advocating trust and opinion forming online through a variety of projects and initiatives. We also provide updates about the responsible and critical use of media on our Group website and in our sustainability magazine “We Care”. Our focus for 2019 was “digital democracy”: What benefits does the digital world offer for political participation and opinion forming? Where is democracy threatened by what happens on the internet – for instance, through open or veiled populism, hate speech, fake news, and the manipulation of public opinion? In 2019, we reached many thousands of people with snackable content, discussion rounds, and workshops on the topic of “digital democracy,” at IFA in Berlin, for instance. We aim to raise awareness and highlight alternative courses of action, for example, on the question of how to identify fake news and how to apply this knowledge when using social media. Teachtoday The Teachtoday initiative supports children, young people, parents, and grandparents as well as teaching professionals with hands-on tips and materials about safe, proficient media usage. It covers a wide range of issues from the areas of family, school, and recreation. The materials are available at www.teachtoday.de in seven languages (German, English, Croatian, Montenegrin, Polish, Romanian, and Hungarian). A media obstacle course also presents media use in a fun way. Topics such as play times, privacy, and cyberbullying are addressed at different stations.