Once again, the time of year has come to give an overview of the activities carried out by the Abertis Foundation in the areas of environment, road safety, social action and culture.
As regards the environment, I would like to start by highlighting the new dimension given to the Foundation’s headquarters, Castellet Castle, as a UNESCO Centre for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves. Scientific conferences and seminars relating to the environment shaped the programme of activities for 2014. Castellet’s designation as a UNESCO Centre has highlighted the value of all the work carried out by the Abertis Foundation over the course of 15 years to provide information and raise awareness on the needs of our environment.
Moving on to road safety, the Foundation has implemented a successful rerun of the You’ve got one life leftcampaign, aimed at young people in Madrid and Barcelona. The initiative was carried out together with the Guttmann Institute and the National Paraplegic Hospital in Toledo to warn young people of the dangers of drunk-driving and give advice on responsible driving habits. The Road Safety Programme has also been active in France, where it went to the Main Square Festival, one of Europe’s biggest rock festivals; in Chile, with a road awareness campaign to coincide with the country’s national festivities; and in Puerto Rico, where a road safety exhibition was been created for young people.
In the social sphere, one of the main priorities was to help those in greatest need through the Red Cross, Cáritas and the Food Bank. We have also continued our efforts to integrate people with disabilities into the job market. In Barcelona and Madrid, young people with disabilities are working to assist elderly people with reduced mobility, to raise awareness among parents and children about responsible road use when entering and leaving school, and accompanying visitors to the corporate offices. We have also been making efforts to bring culture to as wide an audience as possible by participating in adapted workshops such as Acting in Shadows at the Reina Sofía Museum.
In relation to culture, the Abertis Foundation sponsored a retrospective of British artist Richard Hamilton in the Reina Sofía Museum, with 270 pieces of work by this multi-faceted creator. It also sponsored a MNAC exhibition on artist Carles Casagemas, a contemporary of Ramón Casas and Rusiñol. Meanwhile, the Salvador Dalí exhibition travelled to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in Brazil, once again with record numbers of visitors.
Finally, I would like to make special mention of the charitable initiatives carried out by the staff of the AbertisGroup, who played an active part in the activities held as part of International Volunteer Day and who came together to help their colleagues affected by the floods in Brazil and the fire in Chile. Social Responsibility in Abertis truly reaches all those regions in which the Group operates.
Salvador Alemany
