Aimia Sponsors Equitas and Pay It Forward

Trust and Reciprocity defined as fundamental principles of Aimia's Social Purpose

MONTREAL, QC, Dec. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - In recognition of International Human Rights Day, Aimia is announcing sponsorships with Equitas, a global leader in human rights education, and Pay It Forward, a social movement promoting simple acts of human kindness. These new relationships will foster trust and reciprocity, the fundamental principles underlying Aimia's social purpose efforts.

"Our business is about engaging people in trusted and valued relationships. Adopting a global social purpose framework that promotes these principles will bring people together to create economic, environmental and social benefits worldwide," said Rupert Duchesne, Group Chief Executive, Aimia. "I strongly believe that this integrated approach across Aimia will strengthen our business and employment brand, fuel innovation, contribute to shareholder value and inspire loyalty."

Aimia's contribution to Equitas represents a total value of $575,000 over the course of the three year sponsorship agreement. Aimia's contribution will fund the International Human Rights Training Program (IHRTP) bringing together human rights educators from approximately 60 countries every year to gain new knowledge and skills to channel action for change around the world. As part of the agreement, Aimia will leverage its loyalty management and data analytic expertise to support Equitas' network of more than 1,800 registered human rights practitioners and educators, as well as helping Equitas uncover insights from its data that will fuel continuous improvement of the IHRTP for years to come.

"Like Aimia, we believe empowering people with the knowledge and skills to promote human rights values is critical to building trusting relationships based on respect, inclusion and acceptance that lead to positive change and social cohesion in communities," said Ian Hamilton Executive Director, Equitas. "Aimia's generous support of Equitas and our International Human Rights Training Program will enable us to continue advancing equality, social justice and respect for human dignity in Canada and around the world."

Aimia will also support the Pay it Forward (PIF) movement by funding distribution of 100,000 PIF bracelets throughout the PIF global network. As a symbol of trust and reciprocity, PIF bracelets act as a reminder of the power of paying random acts of kindness forward.

About Aimia's Social Purpose Framework

Aimia's social purpose is the common framework for its 30 offices operating in 20 countries, providing global alignment for local and regional initiatives in all areas of corporate social responsibility including ethical business conduct, environmental stewardship, citizenship and beyond.

In community involvement, Aimia's social purpose translates in a focus on education, development and arts & culture, strengthening Aimia's ability to effect greater positive change in the communities where it operates.

For more information on Aimia's corporate social responsibility activities, click here to view a copy of Aimia's 2011 CSR Report.

About Aimia

Aimia Inc. ("Aimia") is a global leader in loyalty management. Aimia's unique capabilities include proven expertise in delivering proprietary loyalty services, launching and managing coalition loyalty programs, creating value through loyalty analytics and driving innovation in the emerging digital and mobile spaces. Aimia owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program and Nectar, the United Kingdom's largest coalition loyalty program. In addition, Aimia has majority equity positions in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia as well as a minority position in Club Premier, Mexico's leading coalition loyalty program and Cardlytics, a US-based private company operating in merchant-funded transaction-driven marketing for electronic banking.

Aimia is a carbon-neutral Canadian public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AIM) and has over 3,800 employees in more than 20 countries around the world. For more information about Aimia, please visit: www.aimia.com.

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About Equitas

Equitas - International Centre for Human Rights Education is a not-for-profit organization that advances equality, social justice and respect for human dignity through innovative education programs in Canada and around the world.  Equitas equips frontline human rights defenders and educators, government institutions and children and youth with knowledge, skills and values to build a global culture of human rights.  For more information about Equitas, please visit: www.equitas.org.

About Pay it Forward

Pay It Forward is an organization whose mission it is to inspire and educate individuals of all ages about the impact they can have on our world through simple acts of kindness. For more information on Pay it Forward, please visit: www.pifexperience.org

SOURCE: AIMIA