Baku, Finance Time.  A seminar for the principals of 50 schools was organized at the headquarters of the Bank

AccessBank supported the project ‘Inclusive Decisions for Equal and Accountable Society’ implemented by the British Council and the Centre for Innovations in Education. This 34 month project focuses on ensuring that people with disabilities are better represented in the policy making process and that their rights are understood, upheld and protected.

The principals of 50 schools of Baku attended a 4-day seminar organized at the headquarters of the Bank. During the seminar the content, methodology, philosophy and other issues related to inclusive education were explained to the participants by Lamiya Sharafkhanova, Head of Education Development Projects Division of Baku City Education Department and Ulviyya Mikayilova, Executive Director of the Centre for Innovations in Education. The school principals learned and analyzed ethical terminology to be used while communicating with people with disabilities and studied international experience.

Elizabeth White, Director British Council Azerbaijan, met the participants with Access Bank representatives at the seminar. She commented: “I’m so impressed by the determination of each and every one of these school principals - to make a difference in inclusion of people with disabilities in their schools and in education in general. This is a something that matters not just for schools, but for the whole of society. The British Council is proud to be working on this project and with these participants”.

As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Program, AccessBank regularly implements projects that seek solutions to problems of people with disabilities. The Corporate Social Responsibility program is an integral part of AccessBank’s mission. The Bank has implemented more than 100 projects since 2008 that targeted people with disabilities, children deprived of parental care and lonely old people. AccessBank has also implemented successful projects on sport, education, culture and art.

AccessBank was founded in 2002 by BSTDB, EBRD, IFC, KfW, the German consulting company LFS Financial Systems (LFS) and Access Holding. AccessBank provides loans to micro and small businesses and has a wide network of branches in Azerbaijan employing more than 2000 people. Fitch Ratings assessed AccessBank as BBB-, the highest credit rating among all banks in Azerbaijan.