BBVA hosts Teacher Action Awards Ceremony
Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain presided over the presentation of the 2017 Teacher Action Awards, held at BBVA City in Madrid. The prizes are aimed at raising awareness about the importance of the role of Spanish education centers in promoting social values. The event was organized by the Foundation for Aid Against Drug Addiction (FAD), the Spanish National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, and BBVA. The Queen was accompanied by BBVA Group Executive Chairman Francisco González; the president of the Foundation for Action Against Drug Addiction, Ignacio Bayón and the Secretary of State for Education, Marcial Marín.
During the ceremony, Francisco González underscored the bank’s longstanding commitment to collaborate with FAD: “During our three decades of collaboration with the Foundation, we have recognized a number of programs that have stood out for their pioneering spirit, their vision of integrating social stakeholders and for placing education at the center of the action,” he noted. In the words of BBVA’s Group Executive Chairman, the Teacher Action Awards are “the highest recognition a teacher can aspire to in our country.”
For BBVA, he continued, “Education is one of the pillars for the development of society. We believe that it is the most important thing that can be given to a person after they are born.” Indeed, besides collaborating with the FAD, “in 2016, BBVA devoted over 41% of its corporate responsibility programs to education.”
Francisco González: For BBVA, education is one of the pillars for the development of society. We believe that it is the most important thing that can be given to a person after they are born
“BBVA’s purpose is to bring the age of opportunity to everyone,” Francisco González said, adding, “we are convinced that these awards and the Teacher Action community are the best tools for creating opportunities for future generations.”
Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain, accompanied by BBVA Group Executive Chairman Francisco González, during the presentation of the 2017 Teacher Action Awards - BBVA
Teacher entrepreneurship awards
A total of 389 projects developed by Spanish schools during the 2016-2017 academic year were submitted to take part in this 13th edition of the awards. “Esencia Laredo” a program developed by the Elementary and Primary Education School in Laredo, in northwestern Pontevedra province, was chosen as the best in the Elementary and Primary Education category. The program aimed to spark interest in entrepreneurship among students by challenging them to create a mini-enterprise pursuing solidarity and environmentally sustainable goals.
Students of Colegio Menesiano de Santo Domingo de la Calzada, in La Rioja, earned the award in the Secondary Education category, thanks to an awareness-raising project aimed at promoting the responsible consumption of mobile devices and electronic devices. This program also seeks to bring attention to the living standards in countries producing the rare-earth elements required to manufacture these devices, especially in El Congo.
The jury also recognized with honorable mentions a number of innovative projects aimed at promoting social coexistence, such as the one developed in a school in Valencia to promote inclusion, the initiative of a center in Cadiz to raise awareness about the refugee crisis and the campaign in favor of sexual diversity and against violence, rolled out in Madrid.
Her Majesty Queen Letizia presides over the meeting of the FAD's board of trustees, accompanied by BBVA Group Executive Chairman Francisco González and the president of the Foundation for Action Against Drug Addiction - BBVA