Vantage makes USD100,000 donation to UNHCR’s “Supporting Refugees in Australia” programme

Featuring: Marc Despallieres, Chief Strategy & Trading Officer, Vantage

ESG

Funds to support the protection and resettlement of refugees and stateless people in Australia

Port Vila, 2 May 2023: Vantage, an award-winning multi-asset broker for contracts for difference (CFD), has today announced a donation of USD100,000 to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support its protection and resettlement of refugees and stateless people in Australia. Currently, Australia hosts almost 55,000 refugees and 90,000 asylum seekers (mainly from the Middle East or Asia), in which 8,000 are stateless.

Nai Jit Lam, Deputy Representative for UNHCR Australia, thanked Vantage for its contribution, saying, “We are grateful for Vantage’s continuous support, which will help us facilitate solutions for refugees who have been in limbo and in need of a long-lasting solution for many years.”

The donation will be allocated towards several UNHCR’s strategic priority areas, including the identification of refugees in need of resettlement, the provision of counselling and information sessions for refugees, registration and data management, resettlement interviews, and ensuring streamlined resettlement processing from identification to case referral.

The primary objectives of the “Supporting Refugees in Australia” programme focus on securing durable solutions for eligible refugees who have been subject to Australia’s offshore processing arrangements, advocating with the government to improve refugee and stateless protection in Australia, and providing direct counselling support for refugees.

Jack Kelly, Head of Sales, Vantage, expressed his enthusiasm for the company’s partnership with UNHCR. “We’re honoured to be supporting the UNHCR’s efforts – the team is doing incredibly important work and we’re proud to be part of their journey.

“We recognise that, as a business, we’re in a strong position to give back to our local communities and a key principle that guides us in our corporate ESG journey is striving to ensure no one gets left behind, including refugees who are seeking assistance,” Kelly added.

The donation is a significant step towards providing support and protection to refugees in Australia and follows a series of commitments made in line with Vantage’s corporate ESG initiative that was formally launched in July 2022 and has become a staple of the company’s purpose.

Since the inception of its ESG journey, Vantage has collaborated with popular influencer Supercar Blondie in an initiative to restore vital seagrass ecosystems and to raise awareness on climate change, as well as women empowerment during the week of the Extreme E race in Sardinia, Italy. Later that year, the company announced a partnership with UNESCO to help improve access to quality education for disadvantaged people.