The initiative promoted by Ibercaja Obra Social seeks to disseminate the values of the capital city.
Javier Matallanas, Consuelo Durán and Radio Terrícola also participated.
The event was held under the slogan Breaking Barriers at the airline's Madrid headquarters.
Madrid | July 18, 2017
On July 6, the Madrid headquarters of Iberia hosted the I Encuentro Madrid Abierta, an initiative promoted by Ibercaja Obra Social that counted in its first edition with Envera to talk about "labor integration of the different as a tool for balanced growth of the city". In addition, Javier Gómez Matallanas, spokesman for FUNDELA, and Consuelo Durán, director of Durán Arte y Subastas, also participated.
As the promoter of Madrid Abierta, José Francisco García, who is also director of the City Lab of the European Institute of Design (IED), acknowledges, "we are going to develop a series of meetings to disseminate the values of Madrid as an open, tolerant, inclusive and welcoming city".
Meetings #MadridAbierta. We kick off in a few minutes https://t.co/wdOz30uZzs @IbercajaSocial @Iberia @FUNDELA1 @matallanas @duransubastas pic.twitter.com/iKXEghJ5UV
- Envera (@Grupo_Envera_) July 5, 2017.
During the event, the work carried out by social entities, companies and professionals within Madrid was highlighted in order to achieve, in this case, the social and labor inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, "an issue that is not based on charity, but on social justice and achieving a better and more inclusive society for all", acknowledged Pedro Sobrino, CEO of Envera. "From our point of view - Sobrino added - we need exemplary citizens, companies and administrations that look with different eyes at the value of people and help us overcome barriers built from prejudice and ignorance."
An objective that is not possible without the involvement of companies through their competitive social responsibility policies. This was admitted by Juan Cierco, Iberia's director of communications, institutional relations and CSR, who wanted to exemplify the company's commitment in the figure of Eduardo, an employee with a disability who works in its hangars performing tasks such as moving airplanes.
For Cierco, there is a growing "conviction that a CSR policy improves the bottom line. If the company carries out work in this area, its balance sheet at the end of the year improves. It is a company with more committed employees, which improves its performance and results. And we must pass this on to management".
Ángela Holguera, coordinator of Ibercaja Obra Social, defends that "we must support Third Sector entities, such as Envera, because they are the ones who know how to do their job, who know the problem, who are true professionals" and pointed out the "importance" of "communicating the problems to create committed citizens".
- Responsible business
- Education in values
- Exemplary administrationRoad to break barriers https://t.co/wdOz30uZzs #MadridAbierta pic.twitter.com/Y4dfLMVtlI
- Envera (@Grupo_Envera_) July 5, 2017.
The Madrid Abierta meetings are attended by invited personalities to talk about the topic in question. In this first meeting Javier Gómez Matallanas and Consuelo Durán were in charge of providing their expertise.
Durán explained how, through a solidarity auction of Iberia paintings in favor of Envera, a "family and smaller" company can also contribute to improving the lives of others and wanted to point out "the importance of seeing from childhood what work is done for integration and instilling these values from an early age in schools".
For his part, Javier spoke about his brother Carlos Matallanassports journalist and former soccer player who is bedridden due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, Carlos is an example of effort and self-improvement. Barely able to move, he communicates through the movement of his pupils, is capable of coaching three soccer teams, collaborates with several media and has just published a book. Carlos himself admits that the way to combat ALS, a disease that currently has no cure and affects around 4,000 people in Spain, is to support research.
"From Madrid, it is easier to structure solidarity actions because of its status as a capital city, because of the NGOs, the citizens and the companies based in Madrid", Javier assures from his experience as spokesman and trustee of the Spanish Foundation for the Promotion of ALS Research.
In Madrid Abierta, people with intellectual disabilities had a special role, as Laura and Guillermo, announcers of Radio Terrícola, a workshop held at the Envera Occupational Center, who traveled with the mobile unit to cover the event and make a special program(Part 1 / Part 2) in which their questions and concerns were answered by the attendees.
Laura wanted to know what idea Javier Matallanas had about disability before he was touched so closely by his brother Carlos. He replied that his vision is "similar" although he has now "become an activist in search of a cure for ALS".
Juan Cierco admitted, in response to Guillermo's question, that a good example to convince companies to work with social organizations is to get to know their work up close, visiting their facilities and seeing "everything that is done and the care that is put into people's capabilities", as in Envera.
MadridAbierta begins #MadridAbierta. With @Iberia @IbercajaSocial @duransubastas @matallanas @FUNDELA1 @rubio_musica LIVE https://t.co/wdOz30uZzs pic.twitter.com/640ra6NkIK
- Envera (@Grupo_Envera_) July 5, 2017.
The artist Cristina Rubio, enrapturing every last one of the attendees, provided the soundtrack to this I Encuentro de Madrid Abierta. Breaking Barriers. An event framed in the 40th anniversary of Envera, which celebrates under the slogan We can all be the best at something and the Honorary Presidency of H. M. Queen Letizia.
