At PwC Ireland, our mission is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We do that by making sure that we follow our core values. We feel that our values are essential for responsible business. To be able to sponsor initiatives that reflect those values is important to us.
Our goal through our sponsorships is to make a valuable contribution to Irish society. We want to build trust with the organisations we partner with. We want to demonstrate across all of our sponsorships our guiding principles: that working together with integrity and reimagining what is possible is key to making a difference and delivering great results.
Visionary performance needs strategic thinking and execution. To reach the next level in business or sport means being imaginative, brave and committed. We are committed to developing new talent and enabling our people to fulfil their potential. The right conditions and possibilities for ambitious people to develop and succeed are at the heart of our business and sports partnerships.
PwC has sponsored the GAA/GPA since 2012. In 2017, we increased our commitment by sponsoring the PwC All-Stars. The partnership strengthens PwC's support for Irish sport, celebrating excellence and recognising individual talent.
The PwC All-Stars mark competitiveness and success on the pitch, but also preparation, bravery and sacrifice away from it. The Awards reflect PwC's own approach to supporting transformation in business, where similar qualities are demanded. Everything that makes a PwC All-Star exceptional applies to successful leaders in business.
The sponsorship encompasses a wide programme of recognition for the country's top intercounty players. The PwC All-Star awards ceremony which takes place annually to recognise the best in GAA talent through the year. The PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month Awards take place from April to September for both footballers and hurlers and are voted for by the players.
As one of the longest running sponsors of the IRFU, we were delighted to announce an extension of our partnership until December 2023.
This expanded initiative is built around nurturing talent, growing resilience and supporting ambition. Like our colleagues in the IRFU, we believe in nurturing and inspiring talent to realise their full potential. We know stepping up to the next level means never being satisfied, taking responsibility and being creative. PwC are agents for change for leading businesses; this sponsorship shares those ambitions for Ireland's best young players.
This deal is an all-encompassing partnership to advance the future of Irish rugby, with the renewal of key sponsorships of Men's International U20s, U19s and U18s teams and, new under this contract, the U18s Women's and Men's Interprovincial Championships. Moreover, PwC is now also the main sponsor of the National Training Squad programme (previously the Elite Player Development Pathway) to develop talented underage club and school players.
This annual 5 x 5k relay takes place in the Phoenix Park and compliments our firm's wellness programme, which encourages our people to keep their mind and body fit and healthy. In 2018, PwC had 525 PwC runners and walkers, while in 2019 this increased to 725, with over 5,000 participants in total. While this partnership has been impacted due to COVID-19 restrictions, we hope to announce a new date shortly.
Supporting companies of every size and at every stage of their development is important in helping to create a thriving economy.
Our IMAGE Media sponsorship represents a bold departure for PwC. This partnership embraces an inspirational programme of events and engagements. It includes the IMAGE-Business Summit, a series of networking breakfasts and mentoring masterclasses, and it culminates in the flagship PwC IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards ceremony.
Through our partnership, we will create powerful opportunities for leaders and entrepreneurs, founders and innovators to tell their stories, and to learn and be inspired by their success. We believe in championing transformation and celebrating the vision, resilience and ambition of those who think beyond what they are to what they can become.
We are delighted to exclusively sponsor the Business Post 'Five Degrees of Change' podcast series. Five Degrees of Change is the Business Post's award-nominated energy and environment podcast. Each week host Daniel Murray challenges leading figures to propose their policy and personal changes for a greener world, resulting in pragmatic and accessible conversations on the big environmental issues of the day for business audiences.
As one of Ireland's largest employers of graduates, PwC has a huge focus on developing key talent. Our education sponsorships mirror our commitment to nurturing talent and expanding the scope of learning for the next generation.
PwC Ireland and University College Dublin (UCD) have a strategic partnership to support the development of education and leadership development, thought leadership and innovation, and corporate social responsibility. Our joint work includes internship programmes, mentoring and academic programmes, as well as research and promoting equality in education and wellness.
The firm is delighted to work with a youth and development community project team called Localise. Localise assists PwC in working with the sixth class students of Saint Laurence O'Toole National School in Dublin to develop fundraising initiatives for local or inner city charities.
We support our staff who take time out of their working day to deliver Junior Achievement educational programmes targeted at inner city schools, educating students between five and 15 on business-related topics.
In PwC, we are passionate about employability. We work with the Careers service in Trinity College to deliver a range of employability workshops. These lead to an Employability Award certificate for successful participants. These equip students with skills to help them to excel in their future careers.
PwC are proud to be part of the DCU Access Programme. It promotes equality of access to third-level education for students from groups under-represented in higher education. We have annual sponsorships towards a scholarship within the programme. We also take part in Access's summer internship placement programme for their students.
PwC Ireland sponsors the NUI Galway Skills Pathway. We also take part in the three modules it offers: Skill for Success, Skills for Business, and Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise. At PwC we value students' commitment to their development and this partnership enables us to support NUI Galway in delivering these skills to their students.
Culture is at the heart of Irish life, and our sponsorships in this space reflect our dedication to collaboration and creativity to come up with innovative results.
The PwC Ireland-Business to Arts CEO forum is a group of CEOs from across business and the arts who come together to discuss new technologies and strategies, sharing insights from the cultural industries and the wider business sector.
PwC Ireland sponsors the Wexford Factory, an academy for young Irish or Irish-based singers. It takes place in September, in advance of the festival in October. Like Wexford Festival Opera, we believe in nurturing and inspiring young talent to realise their full potential.
