Since the first edition in 2019, the objective of the Solvay Group Citizen day has been to engage with local communities through various social initiatives and to put into practice our purpose - to connect people, ideas and elements in order to reinvent progress. The group launched One Solvay - One Dignity - the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program, which sets out 9 ambitious goals to transform the company into a more inclusive, fair and diverse organization by 2025. On Citizen day 2022, we decided to accelerate the implementation of DEI in the Group and our communities around the world, by enabling our colleagues to share stories and experiences, to participate in activities that contribute to the creation of an inclusive, diverse and fair workplace.

The 4th edition of the Citizen Days attracted more than 9,000 employees in 105 countries who took initiatives to create a more inclusive company and world in general. In the Solvay plants in Bulgaria, in the period from November 7-18, 10 different initiatives related to Diversity, equality and inclusion were organized. Employee involvement resulted in €50,000 in financial support being awarded to local Diversity, Equality and Inclusion organizations in 14 countries.

Solvay' s citizen days are organized every year since 2019, usually in October-November. This year they took place in the period 7-18 November 2022. Solvay employees were bonding for biodiversity in the Citizen days 2021, they rallied to promote STEM education worldwide in 2020 and joined the international calls for climate action in 2019. https://www.bblf.bg/en/initiatives/101/project/2133/solvay-citizen-day

10 different initiatives organised in the period 7-18 November: joint initiatives with "Hr. Botev" school, village of Chernevo - outline of a road safety training site; meeting with sports club for disabled people "Black Sea - Nicaea" - conversation with representatives of the sports club who practice table tennis and basketball in wheelchairs; joint initiatives with Protected housing in Provadia - construction of a greenhouse shed; Microaggression - online presentation by a psychologist; Foundation "Life with Down syndrome" - online chat with a family from Varna, raising child with Down syndrome and for whom the diagnosis is not a sentence; United in differences (Diversity Walk) - we gathered, each with our differences, to realize that diversity unites us; a workshop in the Center for Disabled Persons "Riviera", Varna - together with young people with mental disabilities we made souvenirs for Christmas; "Mission Possible" - a series of fun games in the form of team building, "The food that connects us" - culinary workshop with chef Filip Spasov - desserts donated to children with special needs from the specialized school in the village of Krivnia, Provadia.

The theme for (DEI gave a new impetus to the nine objectives of the Solvay Group in this direction, laid down in the One Dignity programme. The theme was inspired by the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which believes that our sense of self is formed by our relationships with others: "I am because we are". We received a lot of positive feedback about Citizen Days 2022, and colleagues expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to share stories and experiences, to participate in activities that contribute to creating an inclusive, diverse and fair workplace. As a result, we have implemented more effective DEI management, expanded our professional development opportunities, launched employee resource groups and established strong external partnerships.