The Ayesa Foundation supports ten workplace inclusion and diversity projects

The Ayesa Foundation holds its Emprendis Awards every year to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in workplaces throughout Spain. The Foundation has awarded €50,000 to ten initiatives which will help bring those with disabilities into the workplace.

The awards aim to highlight the work carried out by those in the non-profit sector and during the evening, and the organisation also presented the VII Award for Outstanding Personal Achievement in Social Inclusion to Manuel Pérez Fernández, who has been the President of the Orphan Drug and Rare Disease Foundation (Mehuer) and the Royal College of Pharmacists in Seville for more than 20 years.

Now in its eighth year, this latest edition of the initiative saw two big changes. Firstly, and most significantly, non-profits from all over Spain, rather than just Andalusia, were able to participate, and secondly, particular emphasis was placed on the use of technology as part of projects.

To date, through the Emprendis Awards, the Ayesa Foundation has given a total of €400,000 in funding to seventy projects, something that has resulted in 387 jobs being created for those with disabilities and improved working conditions for 2073 individuals.

This year, 68 entries were received from non-profits based in eleven regions throughout Spain. The ten winners were: Afanas El Puerto y Bahía, the Alcobendas Association of Parents of Students with Disabilities (APAMA), the A Coruña Down Syndrome Association, the Aragon Learning Disability Support Association (ATADES), the Huelva Mental Health Association (FEAFES), the Castilla–La Mancha Autism Federation, the Ávila Employment Association (FUNDABEM), the Prodis Foundation in Madrid, the Pedrera Association of Persons with Disabilities, Family Members and Friends (ADIFAS), and the Seville Down Syndrome Association.

During the ceremony, Ana Manzanares, President of the Ayesa Foundation, highlighted ‘the importance of solidarity and initiatives that help bring about change in society’, going on to explain: ‘the Emprendis Awards do not just increase the employability of those with disabilities; they are also a way of fostering equal opportunity, allowing them to reach their full potential and improving their quality of life as well as that of their families’.

For her part, the Regional Minister for Employment, Training and Self-Employment in Andalusia, Rocío Blanco, noted how these awards are proof that ‘working together is the best way forward’, going on to say: ‘a job, a goal in life, is the best thing we can give a person. … Ayesa truly excels when it comes to CSR and initiatives like this give non-profits the opportunities they deserve’.

About the Ayesa Foundation

The Ayesa Foundation is a private organisation of public interest, which generates, drives and disseminates knowledge. Its mission is to foster the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the job market, bring about progress within society through innovation, develop technological solutions for non-profits and encourage young people to go into STEM careers.