The Prince of Girona Foundation (FPdGi) has today announced the winner of its 2014 Organisation Award, which recognises the outstanding efforts of an organisation that works for young people. The jury, formed of Elisa Durán and Anna Maria Geli, members of the FPdGi Advisory Council; Toni Bruel, General Coordinator of the Spanish Red Cross; Berta Fargues, Director of the United World Colleges Foundation; and José Antonio Torrico, Director of the Marianao Private Foundation (the organisation that won the Prince of Girona Foundation Organisation Award in 2012), have decided to present this year’s award to the Ciudad Industrial del Valle Del Nalón S.A.U. –Valnalón– for its pioneering commitment and action in education and for promoting entrepreneurial attitudes as a means to develop young people’s skills with the ultimate goal of improving their economic and social environment.
Ciudad Industrial del Valle Del Nalón S.A.U.
The mission of Nalón Valley Industrial City –Valnalón– is to foster a change in attitudes to promote an entrepreneurial culture in all areas of society. Its objectives focus on promoting entrepreneurial attitudes involving the entire educational community (students, teachers and families) and supporting the creation and consolidation of businesses. The organisation has carried out ten projects in the field of entrepreneurial education, from primary education to vocational training, including primary, secondary, baccalaureate and special education. In terms of entrepreneurial promotion, Valnalón provides support for people and businesses through its Business Incubator, the Centre for Businesses and the Promotion of Business Infrastructures. Over the course of its 26 years of activity, the organisation has worked with 379,808 members of different educational communities, it has advised 3,593 people on their processes and has helped to set up 550 businesses.
Round Table “Let’s be the architects of our own lives”
The award announcement was made this morning in Bilbao, at the Professional Association of Industrial Engineers of Biscay, in an event organised by the Prince of Girona Foundation with the collaboration of the Novia Salcedo Foundation, the organisation that won the Prince of Girona Foundation Organisation Award 2013.
This was followed by a round table discussion entitled “Let’s be the architects of our own lives”, with talks given by the President of the Santa María la Real Foundation, José María Pérez ‘Peridis’ and the young people Ibai Gandiaga, a participant in the “Employment and solidary entrepreneurship launch platform” project run by the Santa María la Real Foundation, and Zohartze Monteaguado, a participant in the “Mentoring talent” project, which is jointly promoted in Bilbao by the Prince of Girona Foundation and the Novia Salcedo Foundation.
The Prince of Girona Foundation Awards 2014
With the aim of fostering activity and effort, the Prince of Girona Foundation Awards promote research and creativity, solidarity and the development of talent in restless young people, in order to build a more just world in a globalised setting.
The Prince of Girona Foundation Awards consist of four individual prizes for people aged between 16 and 35 years and one award for an organisation:
• Prince of Girona Foundation Arts and Literature Award: Recognises talented young people involved in promising work in any discipline of the arts and literature, and which serves as inspiration for other young people.
• Prince of Girona Foundation Social Award: Recognises young people who have used their personal leadership skills to promote projects that foster the integration of marginalised groups or those at risk of exclusion, whether through social entities or businesses.
• Prince of Girona Foundation Scientific Research Award: Recognises young people with outstanding research projects or experiences, including those working in human and social sciences, which show strong potential for future development.
• Prince of Girona Foundation Business Award: Recognises young people who show entrepreneurial initiative in the execution of an original and viable business project.
• Prince of Girona Foundation Organisation Award: Recognises the outstanding work of an entrepreneurial organisation that works for young people.
In this edition, a total of 180 nominations for the Prince of Girona Foundation Awards have been received, of which 37 were in the Organisation category.
This is the second award announcement made so far this year, after the artist Hugo Fontela was named as winner of the Foundation’s Arts and Literature Award. The calendar of jury meetings and winner announcements for the remaining categories is: Prince of Girona Foundation Business Award (1 April, in Girona), Prince of Girona Foundation Scientific Research Award (3 April, in Madrid) and the Prince of Girona Foundation Social Award (8 April, in Girona).
With a prize of €10,000 and a reproduction of a sculpture by Juan Muñoz, the Prince of Girona Foundation Awards are presented during the IMPULSA Forum, which is being held in Girona in June and will be presided over by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias and of Girona.
