We are proud that we are a member of the Business Leaders Forum (BLF), an association of companies committed to be leaders in promoting the principles of responsible business. Since our admission in September 2022, we have been involved in several platforms.
PwC Slovakia has been supporting the Leaders of Tomorrow (the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) International Award) project for seven years, which is focused on personal development of young people. At PwC, we believe that every individual has potential. We recognize the value of young people at companies and in communities and we want to contribute to their development. Every year, PwC mentors help secondary school students define their goals, and mentor them for 10 months or more to help them win bronze, silver, and gold awards. This world-renowned award to support success gives millions of young people between 14 and 24 an opportunity to be the best they can be, promotes teamwork and social interaction, and helps young people improve their chances when applying for university or a job.
For PwC employees, it is an opportunity to improve soft skills, to mentor and communicate, and motivate others, as well as to introduce our profession to young people, show them the world of a consulting firm, and meet new people of different ages.
For the second year, PwC has also been engaged in mentoring school principals as part of the DofE’s Diamond Award. This is a programme focused on developing the leadership and communication skills of school management. Mentors are senior business leaders, whose role is to support and mentor headmasters and DofE coordinators in individual areas of management and personal development.
For PwC mentors, it is an opportunity to influence the improvement of the quality of the school system and the operation of a particular secondary school. A mentor establishes a partnership with a manager from another sector, who they inspire and provide an example to. They also have space to develop their mentoring skills in an informal non-business environment, and the opportunity to take on a different role and seek new creative solutions.
One of PwC Slovakia’s goals is to support talent and modern technology. That’s why we have supported Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies since its establishment.
In 2021 and 2022, we supported research into AI decision-making and an explanation of its decision-making principles. KINIT is an independent, non-profit institute dedicated to intelligent technology research. It brings together and prepares experts in artificial intelligence and other areas of computer science, with connections to other disciplines, such as web and user data processing, including false information and malicious behaviour modelling, processing and comprehension of natural language, data analysis for green energy, information security, ethics and human values in intelligent technologies.
At PwC, we care about communities. We help the Hnúšťa Community Centre by collecting clothes and other items and by fundraising. The Community Centre is a meeting point for adults, young people, and children from the Romany community and socially disadvantaged environments. Children from various locations (Mútnik, Hačava Skálie, Maša, and Likier) come here. They live in segregated parts of villages or towns and their parents live on poverty allowances. These locations do not have drinking water, electricity, or paved roads.