Korea Citibank said on the 23rd that JAKorea was selected for the "2025 Global Innovation Challenge" hosted by the Citi Foundation.
The challenge is Citi's global corporate social responsibility program that identifies serious social problems facing the world and supports nonprofit organizations that propose innovative solutions to address them. This year, under the theme of "Youth Employability," a total of 50 organizations were selected from nonprofits worldwide through an open call.
JAKorea, an international nonprofit for youth education, will receive a total of $500,000 over two years from the Citi Foundation to run a job competency development program that helps probationary youth achieve independence and adapt to society. The program consists of career exploration, financial education, improved social adaptability, and basic learning, with the goal of helping participating youths discover their potential and grow into healthy members of society.
Based on its experience of running financial education and career competency programs for youths in partnership with JAKorea since 2015, Korea Citibank plans to actively support this project so it can drive real change in strengthening the employability and independence of probationary youths.
Ed Skyler, chair of the Citi Foundation board, said, "It is important and meaningful to provide practical opportunities and a springboard for growth to young people who face high barriers to employment," adding, "Citi and the Citi Foundation have continuously invested so that future generations can expand access to jobs and economic opportunities, and we hope that through this challenge each organization will help narrow the youth employment gap on the ground and drive change in their communities."
Yoo Myung-soon, CEO of Korea Citibank, said, "We are pleased and proud that JAKorea has been selected as Korea's representative for the '2025 Global Innovation Challenge,'" adding, "In particular, the selection of a nonprofit in Korea for two consecutive years, following Habitat for Humanity Korea last year, is an achievement that shows Citibank's social contribution has taken root in a continuous and consistent direction."