Month: March 2024

SÃO PAULO, March 19, 2024 /3BL/ – Otis Brazil has joined as a Participant Company of the U.N.-affiliated Companies with Refugees Forum as part of its commitment to promoting inclusion. Otis Brazil is a subsidiary of Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: OTIS), the world leader in the manufacture, installation and service of elevators and escalators.

The Companies with Refugees Forum is an initiative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and UN Global Compact Brazil. Company members commit to supporting the inclusion of refugees in the job market. It aims to promote the sharing of experiences, provide trainings for the hiring of refugees and exchange best practices for integrating refugees into the workplace and society, along with other supportive experiences for this population. In addition, Otis is a global signatory of the United Nations Global Compact.

“We are honored to be a member of the Companies with Refugees Forum, which is fully aligned with Otis’ global commitment to inclusion. By becoming a member, we are formalizing the actions we have already implemented for the inclusion and hiring of refugees, as well as for ensuring equal opportunities,” said Cristiane Fiorezzi, Human Resources Director, Otis Latin America.

One example of these actions is a collaboration established since 2022 with Missão Paz a philanthropic institution that supports and welcomes immigrants and refugees in the city of São Paulo.

Sara Marta joined Otis Brazil in 2023 as an Electromechanical Assembler through this initiative. “I am Angolan, from Luanda, and I came to Brazil with my parents and siblings. I went to Missão Paz to look for a job and prepare my CV, and I was recommended for the position at Otis. I was warmly welcomed and treated with respect and integrity. I never felt like I was treated differently from anyone else. Finding work is very difficult, so I’m very grateful for the opportunity and the trust they placed in me.”

To learn more about working at Otis, visit www.otis.com/careers.

About Otis

Otis gives people freedom to connect and thrive in a taller, faster, smarter world. The global leader in the manufacture, installation and servicing of elevators and escalators, we move 2.3 billion people a day and maintain approximately 2.3 million customer units worldwide – the industry’s largest Service portfolio. You’ll find us in the world’s most iconic structures, as well as residential and commercial buildings, transportation hubs and everywhere people are on the move. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 71,000 people strong, including 42,000 field professionals, all committed to meeting the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook@OtisElevatorCo.

International Olympic Committee news

Even before the handover from Paris 2024 to the Olympic and Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028 late this summer, children across Los Angeles are already enjoying more opportunities to play sport.

Enrolment has nearly doubled for PlayLA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and LA28-funded programme that offers affordable and accessible sport to young people of all abilities. Over 176,000 participants enrolled for the 2022-2023 programme, marking an impressive increase from the previous year.

The programme, which costs as little as USD 10 per participant and offers waivers to qualifying families, has now supported more than 500,000 young people to play Olympic and Paralympic sports across Los Angeles since 2018. It includes signature programmes such as judo, skateboarding, surfing, para surfing and blind soccer.

Run by the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Recreation and Parks, the PlayLA programme was made possible by an agreement between the IOC and LA28, committing to invest up to USD 160 million in the lead-up to the Games, to fund quality sports programming for youngsters of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. It is already paying rich dividends.

PlayLA by the Numbers

With the addition of 18 new programmes, including nine adaptive sport programmes, PlayLA hosted more than 3,000 clinics at 154 parks and recreation centres, aquatic centres and pool locations during the 2022-2023 school year. Over a third of participants were between 8 and 10 years old, 56 per cent of them boys and 44 per cent girls. 

“Organising the Olympic Games goes hand-in-hand with the responsibility to deliver long-term benefits for people and cities, and is part of our commitment to building a better world through sport,” says Tania Braga, IOC Head of Olympic Games Impact and Legacy.

Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the IOC’s roadmap for the future, includes a strong mandate to hosts to offer opportunities for people to get active through community-wide programmes and participation events, before, during and after the Olympic Games.

Tania Braga IOC Head of Olympic Games Impact & Legacy

With barriers to access thus lowered, the programme continues to attract more children.

“It’s been inspiring to see the continued success and growth of the PlayLA programme, especially as the world readies for the Paris Games this summer,” said LA28 Vice-President of Impact, Erikk Aldridge.

PlayLA presents the opportunity for young athletes to feel the excitement of the Games returning to their hometown while introducing them to a wide variety of Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Erikk Aldridge LA28 Vice-President of Impact

The vision of the LA28 Organising Committee is to continue to build on its pre-Games legacy, with its sights set on impacting an estimated one million young participants through the PlayLA programme.