- The ceremony was attended by the Spanish ambassador, the Chairman of Cepsa Comercial and the President of the Grace and Cais Town Council
This week, Fundación Cepsa held the awards ceremony for the 2016 Social Value Awards. The awards went to four non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with outstanding projects, whose objective is to improve the quality of life of people in situations of social vulnerability.
The ceremony took place in Lisbon and was attended by the Spanish Ambassador, Juan Manuel Barandica, the President of the Portuguese-Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Enrique Santos, the Chairman of Cepsa Comercial Petróleo, Álvaro Díaz Bild, and the President of the Town Council of Grace and Cais, Conceição Zagalo.
This year the funds of €50,000 were awarded to a broad range of activities: from the care of women and children by the Portuguese Association for Victim Support, through the efforts concerning Alzheimer's disease by Mutualista Covilhanense and the refugees welcomed by the Portuguese Council for Refugees, to the social and professional integration of people with intellectual disabilities by the Quinta Essência Association.
“In Portugal, over 450 candidates have taken part in the Social Value Awards, and around 40 associations have directly received awards, representing more than €350,000 allocated to social initiatives within the scope of these awards. For all of us who are part of Cepsa Portuguesa, it is a great satisfaction to how all the Social Value Awards have become better known in our communities and how people follow them with interest. Every year, we receive many high-quality projects sponsored by Cepsa professionals, and it is becoming harder and harder to choose the winners,” commented Álvaro Díaz Bild, Director of Cepsa Comercial Petróleo.
The 2016 Awards were the first to be organized within the scope of the Fundación Cepsa, which began its work in September last year. The Foundation was created to channel Cepsa’s social action initiatives into communities where it operates, and to express Cepsa’s firm commitment to continue reinforcing the Social Value Awards, as well as other actions of this type.
Every year, the Social Value Awards are organized with a twofold objective: on the one hand, to recognize and promote social initiatives that promote the inclusion and well-being of disadvantaged groups of people or those at risk of exclusion; on the other, to encourage solidarity among Cepsa's professionals, given that all projects must be presented through a collaborator who acts as a “solidarity sponsor”.