SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the General Director of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, Antonio Vila Bertrán, signed a framework agreement on Tuesday that includes collaboration between the two institutions in social, educational, scientific and cultural matters . This collaboration establishes that the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation will increase its annual budget for social action to 16 million euros, compared to 15.5 million in 2021.
“Current challenges require coordinated responses and collaboration at all levels. Our goal is to contribute to the well-being of society as a whole, paying special attention to the most vulnerable groups. That is why it is so important for us to join forces with the Government of the Canary Islands. This alliance allows us to adapt to the needs of the community and, by extension, to the needs of Canarians”, explained Antonio Vila Bertrán.
Among the basic objectives set out in the agreement are those of collaborating to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable children, promoting the active aging of the elderly, facilitating access to employment for disadvantaged groups and ensuring comprehensive care for patients with advanced diseases, as well as contributing to the well-being of people with disabilities or at risk of exclusion. In addition to these lines of action, the agreement also includes actions in the educational, cultural, and research and knowledge fields.
Among the priority projects that demonstrate the entity’s commitment to the needs of the people of the Canary Islands, with special attention to transformative social action, stands out CaixaProinfancia, the entity’s strategic program, which is carried out in the Canary Islands with the aim of fighting poverty childish. This initiative is aimed at children and adolescents between 0 and 18 years of age whose families are at risk or in a situation of exclusion. Specifically, CaixaProinfancia served 6,715 Canarian minors in 2021 and had more than 6 million euros of investment.
We must also highlight the labor integration projects, among which the Incorpora program stands out, which focus on promoting the hiring of groups with special difficulties in finding a job, such as people with disabilities, long-term unemployed, young people at risk of exclusion , women victims of gender violence or migrants, among others. Throughout 2021, a total of 1,901 jobs were provided in the Canary Islands thanks to the collaboration of 424 companies in the territory. A total of 14 social entities are in charge of developing the Incorpora program in the archipelago.
For its part, the Comprehensive Care for People with Advanced Illness program seeks to improve the quality of care for people who are at the end of their lives, as well as their families. In the Canary Islands, this program reached 531 patients and 1,016 relatives during 2021. And the program for the Elderly has the mission of promoting the social participation of this group, giving value to their experience and placing them as active protagonists in our society. Older people have the opportunity to train in new technology, cultural and social projects in the 28 agreed centers for older people.
The Aid Program for Social Initiative Projects invested 1.3 million euros in 57 projects of Canary entities last year. In 2022, the investment in this program in the Canary Islands will reach 2 million euros, thanks to the new territorial approach.
The socio-labour insertion of people deprived of liberty through the Reincorpora program, with 109 insertion itineraries facilitated in 2021, and the granting of scholarships to further study (a total of seven in the Canary Islands last year) are other outstanding objectives to which the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation allocates its efforts in the autonomous community.
On the other hand, the CaixaBank branch network, through aid from the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, promotes projects and activities in its immediate surroundings in the social, cultural and educational spheres. Throughout 2021, 618 of these aids were provided, with an investment of nearly 2.5 million euros by the Foundation.
Last year, different initiatives were also promoted to mitigate the effects of the La Palma volcano eruption, such as those focused on covering the most immediate needs and psychological assistance to those affected. Through the CaixaProinfancia program, a resilience and post-traumatic prevention project was launched for children on the island and an aid plan was developed for students who study outside of La Palma, among other actions.
MORE THAN 113,000 VISITORS.
In the field of spreading culture, the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation promotes individual and collective development through the exhibitions it programs in the Canary Islands. During 2021, four samples were held, which added a total of 113,938 visitors: ‘Symphony: a trip to the heart of music’ and ‘Land of dreams. Cristina Garcia Rodero. Both landed in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
In addition, the Foundation promotes the approach of the humanities, the performing arts and music to Canarian citizens through participatory concerts and school concerts.
The EduCaixa program will also continue to be developed, which encompasses the entire educational offer of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation. In 2021 there were 114 Canarian schools, with 36,430 students, which participated in resources and activities of this project.
Likewise, with the CajaCanarias Foundation, numerous joint social work actions continue to be carried out. The support for research stands out with a Call for Research and different actions to promote culture and art such as the impulse of the Performing Arts Festival.
