“Beyond the Bubble” can mean different things to different people.
We can stay in our bubble, but the reality of our industry is that we operate everyday in the global economy and reality comes to us.
And some times the World comes upon us with even more impact.
We in Kraków experienced this in February 2022 when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flooded into Poland, displaced by war in their homeland.
ASPIRE’s response to this has been the Education Hub – safe, welcoming learning spaces for Ukrainian teenagers hosted in our centres.
At this year’s conference we recognised the many people that have made this a success and in particular two people and their organisations that have led the way.
JOHN LYONS
Centre Leader, AON
John Lyons’ career in Kraków spans nearly 30 years, including head of centre of the first IBM centre, later setting up the HEINEKEN centre, then leading Aon. He was a founding member of ASPIRE in 2009.
When the war in Ukraine escalated in 2022, there was much talk how business service centres could help.
John and his team worked with ASPIRE and an our partner, the Ignatianum Foundation, to turn an idea into a reality.
John helped translate what ASPIRE was asking for in terms of a safe and welcoming space for teenagers into something that Aon could say yes to, and he carried the authority to say “yes”.
In May 2022, the Education Hub launched in Aon and ran throughout the Summer. It ran again as a Summer Hub in 2023.
It is the essence of ASPIRE that individuals and centres demonstrate to our peers what is possible.
This award goes to John for his bravery in showing the way when others might have hesitated.
STÉPHANE BERNARD
COO, Euroclear
In the immediate aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, Poland was flooded with refugees and the world watched in awe at Poland’s response.
One year later with immediate crisis averted, the longer lasting challenge became more pressing. How to support a generation of young Ukrainians removed from their homes, in danger of social exclusion, moreover how to support integration with young Polish peers also challenged by the situation.
It was at this point that Stéphane Bernard and his team at Euroclear, both in the Kraków Centre and in the Brussels Head Office, stepped forward.
Whilst also hosting a Hub at the Euroclear Centre in Kraków, Euroclear has also supported the Education Hub initiative to explore a sustainable model, building a structure to support the initiative and leading to the partnership with Ignatianum and the Ignatianum Jesuit University in Kraków to support the initiative going forward.
This award goes to Stéphane for his vision in understanding the need going forward and leadership in winning the support of his organisation at the corporate level and locally to address the need.
Thank you
A big thank you to the many people and organisations that have supported the Education Hub initiative.
There are too many to mention, but here are some of the initiatives’ major supporters:
Ukraine in Kraków is a film commissioned by the Education Hub in 2023 highlighting the challenge and the opportunity for Kraków of Ukrainian refugees.
