The Integra Awards aim to recognize innovative initiatives that create quality jobs for people with disabilities in Spain. This initiative is part of BBVA’s Integra Plan, which stems from its conviction that employment is essential for promoting equal opportunities for everyone.

1 dollar a day is the threshold of extreme poverty, below which it is impossible for a person to survive. This was one of the main conclusions of the Australian economist, Martin Ravallion, who has won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Development Cooperation category.

The registration process for taking part in the 2016 Acción Magistral (Teacher Action) Awards begins on February 23. These awards offer an incentive to teachers who want to go beyond their daily obligations and who strive to instill in their classrooms values as necessary as solidarity or respect for others.

It is increasingly common to hear that the Spanish language is becoming impoverished as a result of the general lack of knowledge about our own lexical diversity. Fundéu BBVA, in partnership with Molino de Ideas, wanted to leave behind these preconceptions and conduct an in-depth study of the written press in Spain from 1914 to 2014 as part of its Aracne project. Its work will contribute to improve the use of Spanish and offer a full picture of how society changes through language.

The measurement of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and programs is acquiring an increasing relevance in companies. For the last four years, BBVA has been using the rsc2 methodology, proposed by McKinsey and developed in Spain with the Seres Foundation, to measure the social and financial impact of its actions in this field. The results of applying this methodology is revealing very valuable information to better manage these actions and contribute to them really being sustainable.

The winter is another harsh test for the survival of the people of Syria. Once again, UNHCR has prepared in advance for its campaign for the coldest months of the year to support people forced to flee their homes by conflicts ravaging their countries.

This year’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award for the Biomedicine category has gone to the neuroscientists Edward Boyden, Karl Deisseroth and Gero Miesenböck. Their work involves the development of optogenetics, a technique enabling the study of the brain with unprecedented resolution, opening up new possibilities for research.

The world is currently facing the biggest forced migration crisis since the Second World War. Approximately 60 million people have had to leave their homes because of war, persecution or unstainable conditions in their home country. In the report “Obstacle Course To Europe: A Policy-Made Humanitarian Crisis At EU Borders”, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns of the desperate situation of refugees arriving in Europe.

The Finish ecologist Ilkka Hanski has been awarded the BBVA Foundation Fronteras del Conocimiento (Frontiers of Knowledge) award for the Ecology and Biology of Conservation category. The jury recognized this scientist’s work in creating a new branch of ecology, known as metapopulation biology, combining field work with mathematical models to examine how habitat fragmentation by human actions affects species.

BBVA Cantabria has taken a major step toward integration of people with disabilities by signing a collaboration agreement with the local Down Syndrome Foundation. This is one of BBVA’s initiatives aimed at promoting the inclusion and integration of people with disabilities.

The 33rd floor of the new BBVA Bancomer Tower on Paseo de la Reforma is the newly opened headquarters of the BBVA Bancomer Innovation Center, the first of its kind in Mexico. It will be a meeting point for the country’s innovation ecosystem, which will bring together entrepreneurs, developers and startups.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards have  distinguished, in the Climate Change category, a scientist who has devoted his career to investigating agents that cause global warming: Veerabhadran Ramanathan.

Women have historically been undervalued as scientists, many of whom saw their discoveries overshadowed by those of their male colleagues. This same disparity can be seen today in the technology sector. So OpenMind and BBVAOpen4u wanted to pay homage and raise awareness of the work of women in fields where men still predominate.

OpenMind, in its undertaking to disseminate knowledge for the community, this year has continued to publish a series of articles, reports, infographs, books and videos on the most important issues of our time. One of the areas it has looked at in depth is the advance in the world of medicine, providing numerous contents exploring the use of technological innovation to improve health.