Alcoa Foundation Gives $50,000 Grant to Junior Achievement International; Program Will Teach Global Business Ethics to Young Students.

Business Editors

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. & PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2002

Alcoa Foundation announced today a $50,000 grant to Junior Achievement International, a non-profit organization that teaches free enterprise to students.

JAI is developing a Global Business Ethics program to help students make conscientious, ethical business decisions and help them understand the responsibility that business has to the community. This grant will provide funding for an inaugural business ethics competition to be held annually in conjunction with the new curriculum. The competition will take place via the Internet with local, state, country and world rounds. Students will be paired together with students from different countries to solve ethical business dilemmas to test their integrity and character.

"This program underscores Alcoa's commitment to fostering openness and transparency in business and Alcoa Foundation's commitment to global education," said Kathleen Buechel, president of Alcoa Foundation in Pittsburgh. "We're pleased to join with Junior Achievement International to help young people learn about the ethics of decision making and then apply what they've learned with their Junior Achievement `colleagues' around the globe," she said.

"We have always told students that well-run businesses operate ethically," said Paul Ostergard, president & CEO for Junior Achievement International. "JAI is excited about working with Alcoa Foundation to offer young people worldwide an opportunity to learn specifics about business ethics in a competitive, interactive way."

Junior Achievement International was established in 1994 to expand the reach of Junior Achievement outside the USA and currently reaches more than 1.75 million students in 112 countries around the world with high quality business and economic education courses.

Alcoa Foundation is a global resource that actively invests in improving the quality of life in more than 25 countries around the world where Alcoa operates. In addition to community grants addressing local needs, the Foundation provides global grants focusing on Areas of Excellence, including: Global Education in Science, Engineering, Technology and Business; Business and Community Partnerships; Conservation and Sustainability; Safe and Healthy Children and Families; and Skills Today for Tomorrow. For more information about Alcoa Foundation, visit www.alcoa.com ; click on "Community."

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is the world's leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina. It is active in all major aspect of the industry -- technology, mining, refining, smelting, fabricating and recycling. Alcoa has 129,000 employees in 38 countries.

Junior Achievement is the world's oldest, largest and fastest-growing nonprofit economic education organization. JA operates in thousands of communities across the U.S. through a network of 156 offices. Junior Achievement International (www.jaintl.org) is responsible for developing and serving JA programs in 112 countries. Over 5.5 million young people participate annually in JA programs around the world from Albania to Zimbabwe.