Genel’s stakeholder engagement process has identified health and education as being a key focus area for the company’s social investment strategy. Therefore, each year Genel focuses on addressing the needs of the local community and carefully considers how the company’s resources can be shared.

Over the years, Genel’s education projects have contributed to the development of the KRI’s educational sector, created more effective learning environments, and emphasised the significance of education in local communities. In the health sector, we have undertaken a number of projects over the years that directly contribute to the development of the region’s health sector and have had a direct positive impact on local and regional communities. In 2020 Genel funded the renovation of a primary school in the Goshan village in Qara Dagh that currently supports 18 students and 10 staff members.

Genel also continues to organise and provide educational and training programmes, teaching skills that are mutually beneficial for locals and Genel by creating a future workforce. In 2016, our CSR department embarked on a training initiative to provide English language and IT training to local residents. To date, a total of 116 local men and women have benefited from this training. In collaboration with the local Koya, Sulaimaniyah and Erbil universities, we provide technical training and capacity building for engineering students. Despite the limitations of COVID-19, we were still able to welcome 49 engineering students from the local Koya, Sulaimaniyah and Erbil universities to our Taq Taq site and safely participate in the summer training programme. The aim of the summer programme is to provide technical training and capability building for these students.

In partnership with TTOPCO, our medical teams periodically share their services with neighbouring villages by offering routine medical checks. In total, 2019 saw 47 medical visits made to 10 villages surrounding Taq Taq and over 437 patients receiving medical support. As always, these clinic services are free of charge. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taq Taq medical team also conducted 865 COVID- 19 PCR tests for local employees. Genel also distributed 250 emergency food packages to poor families in the Qara Dagh and Sewsenan areas, and continued its waste management collection service for nine villages surrounding Taq Taq in order to provide a cleaner and healthier living environment for locals.