OREANDA-NEWS. On May 22, 2009 AsiaUniversalBank announced it had established its own charitable fund “AUB Foundation” to manage and improve its efforts in corporate social responsibility, aimed at supporting local and international cultural and artistic projects, as well as its promoting and supporting charitable campaigns to help the poor and vulnerable, regardless of nationality and religious persuasion, reported the press-centre of AUB.

Currently the fund is solely financed by AUB. Its primary goal, for the time being, is to maximize the effectiveness of the management of the Bank’s corporate social responsibility fund, which the Bank has allocated for charitable purposes. Additionally, it plans to use the fund and its management expertise to raise the effectiveness of charities and the impact of artistic projects.

In the future, the ”AUB Foundation” hopes to raise funds from other companies and financial institutions in the country for the co-financing of important projects. The Foundation will focus mainly on long-term social projects, with an emphasis on education, healthcare, culture and sport. Besides helping the poor and vulnerable, the Foundation will target assistance to the development of national culture and sport, and to gifted young people.

“Corporate social responsibility shouldn’t be a patchy sponsorship, so the Bank’s shareholders made a decision to systemize our charitable efforts”, - said Mikhail Nadel, the Chairman of the Board, AsiaUniversalBank.

The “AUB Foundation” budget for 2009 of half a million US dollars will be provided directly by the AUB shareholders. All administrative expenses in running the Foundation will be covered by the Bank separately.

“Establishing this Foundation is a considerable expansion of our already considerable contribution to social activities. We can now be active not only in Bishkek, but also in the other regions of our country, even the more remote ones. This is also an opportunity to unify all those interested in our efforts to assist in resolving the most crucial social problems of our society”, - said Nurdin Abdrazakov, Chief Executive, AsiaUniversalBank.

AUB has been providing support to orphanages, educational institutions, World War II veterans, afflicted people and the poor since 2000. Amongst these successful projects are scholarships for gifted students in Kyrgyz educational institutions, financial aid to public and university libraries, charity initiatives to support orphanages, and much more besides. Since 2004, AUB has been the official supporter of the Belovodskiy psycho neurological orphanage for children, where more than 250 mentally ill children live. Amongst the charity organizations where the bank has lent a helping hand include “Warriors of the Patriotic War”, “War veterans”, “DostutNuru”, International charity fund Kurmanjan Datka, Child Autism Daycare Center, House of restage for olds, Association of afflicted children’s parents, Diabetics association of Kyrgyzstan, republican orphanage school for deaf children, blind peoples community and many others.

The bank has initiated a vast number of artistic projects, both locally and internationally, since 2006. Amongst the most famous projects sponsored by the Bank over the last three years were: a performance of all Russian ballet stars in “Lebedinoye Ozero” play, International Ballet Festival featuring Nikholay Tsiskaridze and Ilze Liyepa, “Epokha” art project, the first Issyk-Kul cinema festival of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) membership countries, “Modern Dance in Bishkek” Festival featuring German and French dancing stars, Bishkek Jazz Festival and others. The bank has also supported preparation and printing of such unique books as “Art in Kyrgyzstan”, the 400-pages long almanac on fine arts in Kyrgyzstan (the biggest publishing project in the country since its independence in 1991), as well as publishing a monograph of Semen Chuikov, the Kyrgyz Republic’s most famous painter.

Fine art being one of Bank’s focuses for charity, it has initiated a number of exclusive art exhibitions, such as “World from above” photo exhibition of Yan Artyus-Bertran, “Russian Vanguard” fine arts exhibition, “The world best jewelers in Ala-Too” exhibition and “Chuykov and Stalin epoque” fine art exhibition where restored masterpieces were put on display.

”We strive to make the Bank’s operations promote kind-heartedness. We want notions like charity and philanthropy to be a common part of society today”, - said Ulan Sarbanov, Executive Director of “AUB Foundation”.