It is the first stamp of its kind in Europe and the world.
The signature with Gran Canaria will be extended to the rest of Spain.
Canary Islands | September 18, 2018
The Cabildo de Gran Canaria has become the first Spanish institution to sign an agreement with Envera - Association of Iberia Employees Parents of People with Disabilities, to promote from the public sector the establishment of the Disfriendly seal, which aims to promote the integration of people with disabilities in the hotel and tourism sector.
This collaboration agreement reinforces the commitment of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria to create a sustainable, responsible and inclusive tourism model in which there is a social and inclusive commitment that provides a differentiating element to the destination, in this case through advice to companies to achieve excellence and recognition to those that offer quality and inclusive attention to people visiting Gran Canaria.
Presentation #Disfriendly seal and signing of the agreement with the @GranCanariaCab https://t.co/mcFvgxoJnn
- Envera (@Grupo_Envera_) September 18, 2018.
The president of the Cabildo, Antonio Morales, praised the fact that this initiative was born from the Envera delegation in Gran Canaria, that it is the first seal of its kind not only in Spain, but in Europe and the world, and that it will now be extended to the rest of the country, so he did not skimp in recognizing the efforts of this organization to which the Cabildo did not hesitate to offer its support from the very first moment.
The president of the Gran Canaria Tourist Board, Inés Jiménez, pointed out that this Disfriendly label joins the Integral System of Tourism Quality in Destinations (SICTED) to create training programs to help prepare professionals in the sector and monitoring protocols for member establishments and companies to guarantee specialized attention to people with physical disabilities or cognitive limitations.
The Cabildo de Gran Canaria and Envera will form a body that will be responsible for supervising the formation, execution, control and monitoring of this agreement of indefinite duration, which will be the basis for the Tourist Board to promote the signing of agreements with the different operators in the sector in Gran Canaria.
The Disfriendly seal is one of Envera's most ambitious projects, which puts at the service of Gran Canaria its 40 years of work to promote inclusion and equal opportunities for people with disabilities, said the president of Envera, José Antonio Quintero, who said that this agreement will position Gran Canaria as an exemplary destination and will serve to lead in Spain this type of initiatives that promote the elimination of physical and social barriers, as Envera will negotiate with TripAdvisor to include the seal among its recommendations.
"I am convinced that we can all be the best at something", that is the motto that hides Envera's success and for which it will continue to fight, Quintero concluded, as there is still much to be done since there are still Spanish establishments that prevent disabled people from entering, as recent news from Castellón, Almería or Peñíscola reveal.
This is a seal of real commitment, as it goes beyond compliance with regulations, and seeks genuine involvement so that an establishment can be visited by anyone, which includes, for example, pictograms that can be understood by anyone, whether a foreign senior citizen or a child who cannot read.
Envera and its social commitment
Envera is a non-profit organization whose mission is the social and labor integration of people with disabilities, assisting them throughout their life cycle in early care, neurodevelopment of children and youth, school support and training, job placement and employment, occupational and day center, residential care and guardianship, leisure, culture and sports.
The organization has centers in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, where it serves 2,500 people with functional diversity every year. In addition, they are an example in the fight for labor integration, since more than 500 of their 670 workers are people with disabilities.
