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Focus: Amadeus signs partnership tackle UNICEF

April 11, 2015 • admin

The partnership, announced earlier in London, will enable travel providers to lift money for UNICEF by giving customers the chance to make a micro-donation when buying travel online.

The deal is being described as a latest equivalent of the Change for Good scheme, which sees passengers donate spare coins following an overseas trip.

That scheme has raised in far more than £150 million over the last 20 years.

“This joint initiative represents an innovative model to drive donations.

“The technology solution Amadeus has provided to UNICEF as a philanthropic contribution may also help this international organisation harness a collective, global action to boost funds for kids.

“The process itself could be simple for travellers: a single click, it’s it,” said Tomás López Fernebrand, senior vp, general counsel and company secretary, Amadeus.

The micro-donation process can be user-friendly, allowing travellers to only add a donation to UNICEF as they complete the shopping process online.

During the primary stage of this programme, selected travel providers and sellers, corresponding to airline websites and online travel agents, will integrate a ‘check box’ on their online booking pages.

If a traveller chooses to make a donation, they’re going to receive a confirmation email.

Spanish flag-carrier Iberia and Australian airline Qantas are both in discussions with Amadeus over the launch of the method.


UNICEF works in additional than 190 countries and territories to assist children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence

For participating travel brands, the product will exist as a neutral standalone system, cross-channel merchant engine.

This includes a donation interface to assemble donation data it’s associated with an Amadeus payment gateway.

The donation payment is processed as a separate transaction from the travel purchase.

While simplifying things for the partner and for UNICEF, the method is likewise scalable, allowing the UN body to roll it out to other sectors through the years.

“Partnerships are on the heart of the way UNICEF achieves results for kids, within the field but in addition within the area of fundraising.

“Many of UNICEF’s existing corporate partners have established track-records of raising funds for UNICEF and interesting their staff and customers in UNICEF’s work.

“We believe that this new initiative with Amadeus will significantly improve UNICEF’s ability to arrive plenty of people online and to produce them with a ‘one click’ opportunity to aid a few of the world’s most vulnerable children survive and thrive,” said Tim Hunter, international fundraising director, UNICEF.

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Funds raised may also help vulnerable children across the world

To launch this partnership, Amadeus and UNICEF hosted a roundtable event in London where the role of innovation and the significance of partnerships between the non-public sector, UN agencies and NGOs were discussed.

The roundtable also featured a contribution from professor Linda Scott, DP World chair for entrepreneurship and innovation at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

“Addressing a few of the major development and social challenges in today’s world requires increasing collaboration between the non-public and never-for-profit sector,” Scott explained.

“Deploying a few of the processes, technology and expertise found in the personal sector could make a major difference to organisations that depend upon funding and donations.

“Both Amadeus and UNICEF are leaders of their respective fields with significant global reach and scale, making them like minded to make certain this collaboration is successful.

“The potential for the initiative to generate significant donations is limitless.”

Scott also moved to quell suspicions the move was an easy PR exercise from Amadeus.

“The corporate world has grown tremendously in wealth over the former century and is now coming to comprehend its role inside the not-for-profit sector.

“As we move far from the conventional aid givers, nation states and churches as an example, the role of corporate sponsors has developed.

“Amadeus and UNICEF offer two networks – one for collecting wealth, one for distribution. Within the middle is the travel industry; the connection is useful for all parties.”

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