Employees can obtain leave from work to pursue their social commitment on two calendar days each year. They are free to decide where they want to make a commitment. They are able to select their own project from their own personal sphere or help with projects that are supported by O₂. In 2009, 35 employees took advantage of this opportunity. They receive appropriate training from us depending on the sphere into which they choose to channel their commitment. Media competence is an area where we started to deliver training to employees in 2009.

This programme run by the Fundación Telefónica helps young people in Latin America to obtain a qualification at the end of their education. It is also sets a benchmark in the fight against child labour. Thanks to Proniño, 246,500 people, among them mainly children and young people in 13 countries of South America and Spain now go to school instead of having to earn their living by doing arduous work. Employees throughout the Telefónica group are able to make a commitment and make a difference here by working there for 21 volunteer days. Our employees from Germany have to invest 13 days of their holiday in this project. Six employees made the commitment in 2009. They receive a one-week intensive Spanish course in preparation and they are trained in how to interact well with children.

Departments and entire divisions have the opportunity to make a team commitment in the Volunteering Programme. We believe this to be particularly effective because the teams leave their daily environment and enter unfamiliar life environments. This can open up new perspectives to team members. They often discover that missions of this nature reveal characteristics and skills in themselves or in colleagues that they were unaware of previously or that had never been revealed in the workplace. Our aim is to strengthen these talents with our team missions.

A different take on team work. Instead of going to work in their office in Munich, the team from Marketing & Sales embarked on the mission of creating a reading corner in the Nuremberg special needs school. The project was supported by an experienced coach, analysed and reviewed at the end of the process. During these two days, the participants discovered new skills in themselves and their colleagues, identified new ways to solve problems and gained new insights for their routine work everyday.

We also adopt these concepts as an element of employee and management development. One example of this is an exchange between O₂ managers and school directors or the mentoring programme in which O₂ high-flyers provide support for disadvantaged young people.

We present the Spirit Award as an acknowledgement of voluntary employee commitment. In 2009, the award was presented to a Shop Manager who had been supporting an adopted child in Niger over eight years and various social projects in Germany. The previous year had seen her helping a young boy aged ten fulfil a life-long dream. She worked on a project with the Peter Maffay Foundation to enable him to go back stage and experience a concert given by his idol.

Six representatives from European country units of Telefónica were awarded the title "Volunteer of the Year" at the Volunteering Day in Madrid for 2009. One of the award winners was an employee at Telefónica O₂ Germany, who had made a passionate commitment to children and young people. The event demonstrates that Telefónica supports social commitment by its employees and gives it public acknowledgement. At the event in Spain, 2,500 guests took part in a charity race over one kilometre. For each participant, Telefónica paid six euros to an account for children's charity Proniño.