An initiative that helps #employ Ukrainian refugees and has sent an ambulance to the conflict. Without the #commitment of Spanish companies, our activities would not be possible. That’s why this acknowledgement from the Ukrainian people to @Fundacion_Ceoe through its Embassy @UKRinESP is from all of us. #CompaniesForUkraine is a project with soul, with impact and it works.
In the seventh edition, the Unión Española de Entidades Aseguradoras y Reaseguradoras (UNESPA), the Huelva-based technology company Seabery, the CIPFP Ausiàs March in Valencia, and the company AGBAR were recognised for their outstanding projects in dual vocational training, which serve as an example of excellence and commitment to innovation in this training modality.
Ángel Sanchez, general coordinator of the CEOE Foundation, said: “The CEOE Foundation’s alliance with the Bertelsmann Foundation highlights the importance of achieving a greater impact in Spanish society. The new edition of the Alliance for Dual Vocational Training Awards is a shared project and a commitment to people and their employability, making talent a priority. With them, we value the dual vocational training model as a winning model for all, and we promote the recognition of the best practices and the most innovative experiences”.
Clara Bassols, director of the Bertelsmann Foundation, said: “With this initiative we want to raise awareness among businesses, schools, organisations and society in general of the need to promote quality dual vocational training in our country in order to offer better options for young people wanting to enter the workforce“.
The jury, consisting of representatives of the Alliance for Dual VET and previous award winners, will assess the quality, innovation, dissemination, employability, and cooperation of the projects submitted. The awards gala will take place on June 20, 2024, at CEOE’s headquarters in Madrid. For more information on the 8th edition of the Alliance for Dual Vocational Education and Training Award please visit: www.alianzafpdual.es/premio/viii/
On Thursday, the ONCE Foundation presented the fourth edition of its RADIA program, an initiative that seeks to promote the presence of women with disabilities in STEM jobs. The three previous editions enabled 62% of the participants who managed to reach the final phase to find a new job or improve the one they had at the beginning of the program.
The program, which has already helped 167 women with disabilities, is promoted by the ONCE Foundation, the CEOE Foundation and the Conference of Social Councils of Spanish Universities. In its fourth edition, it is supported by Indra through its subsidiary, Minsait.
The presentation event of the fourth edition, which also served to award diplomas to women who have completed the third edition, took place at the headquarters of ‘Por Talento Digital’ of the ONCE Foundation and was attended by Patricia Sanz, vice president of Equality, Human Resources and Institutional Culture, and Digital Inclusion of ONCE’s General Council; José Luis Martínez Donoso, general director of the ONCE Foundation; Antonio Abril, president of the Conference of Social Councils of Spanish Universities, and Fátima Báñez, president of the CEOE Foundation.
In her speech, Sanz said that RADIA is a program that offers ” a second chance” for training, finding work, and weaving a very valuable informal support network. Because, she said to the students, “we shouldn’t just do great things, but also think about people”, as RADIA, “a successful program”, has done.
“Accessing the RADIA program is an achievement”, she said, because it is demanding in terms of work and experience, but also because of what it means after the training s completed: proof is that 62% of the students who have reached the final phase of this initiative have found a job.
In light of all of the above, the vice-president for Equality, Human Resources and Institutional Culture and Digital Inclusion of ONCE’s General Council was grateful for the work of all those collaborators who believe in women with disabilities and in the importance of technology. “As women with disabilities, if we take advantage of technology, we have opportunities”, she concluded.
Like Patricia Sanz, Fátima Báñez focused on the people and pointed out that RADIA is a “project for connecting people”, as it is conceived in such a way that the individual is at its heart, albeit assisted by the technologies and institutions that join forces and work together. It is a program, she added, that “is about the participants’ attitude and commitment. The success is your participation and the results you are able to achieve.”
Bañez added that, in addition to the alliance among institutions, we also need to take digitalisation and new technologies into account: “We are witnessing breakneck changes that are of great concern to us, but which we must view with optimism and find the right way to make this transition”.
“Rather than being worried about technology, we should be making sure it is doing what it’s supposed to do”, as RADIA does, a program in which values such as “society being more inclusive and economic growth being more social” are highlighted.
Meanwhile, Antonio Abril placed the spotlight on the difference in accessing and using technology between the male and female population: “The technology gap between men and women still exists, but through collaboration and consensus we must contribute to reducing it as much as possible. We, the Social Councils, are committed to this goal, and universities are institutions can play a fundamental role in this process. They are places where knowledge is forged, and knowledge is precisely the best tool to promote the empowerment of women and eliminate inequalities”.
FIGURES
As pointed out at the event, a total of 52 women with disabilities have found a job, improved the one they already had or started a business after going through one of the three previous editions of the RADIA program, which is now starting its fourth edition with thirty women from 11 autonomous regions.
The 52 participants who have improved their employment situation thanks to RADIA represent 62% of the 84 who managed to reach the ‘Real Work’ phase of the initiative, where the students were able to put into practice what they had learnt in the previous phases through an internship in one of the companies collaborating in the program.
Specifically, of the 52 women who now have better employment as a result of their time at RADIA, a total of 38 have done so by finding a job, 11 by improving the one they already had, and three by starting a business.
FOURTH EDITION
As Martínez Donoso explained, the 4th edition of the RADIA program will adapt to the needs set by the market in areas such as generative Artificial Intelligence, “which offers a new window for work”, but also to other values such as being able to have more time.
The director general of the ONCE Foundation added, nonetheless, that “we are very concerned about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence”, because if this is not addressed properly, AI could be used negatively and harm the most vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities.
The fourth edition of the RADIA Program will be attended by a total of 30 women aged between 22 and 55 from Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Community of Madrid, the Community of Valencia, the Canary Islands, the two Castiles, Catalonia, Galicia and La Rioja with physical, organic, sensory and psychosocial disabilities.
As in the three previous editions, learning is divided into three phases that combine face-to-face and virtual training on the most pressing issues. It also includes tutorials and inspirational content with mentors from different companies and internships in technology companies.
The first of the three phases of the training is the so-called Digital Transformation phase, which aims to allow students to acquire knowledge and technological skills to work in jobs in the digital economy throughout its eight-week duration. Once this stage is over, it gives way to the Specialization phase, which is scheduled to run until the end of April 2024 and, as its name suggests, will offer specialized training focused on three certifications: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data, Cloud and Cybersecurity. Within these three specializations, students can take mandatory certifications as well as other voluntary ones that allow them to increase their proficiency in each of them. In addition, each of the certifications will grant the student the corresponding certificate. The third and final Real Work phase will begin in May and end the last week of July 2024, and students will be able to follow paid internships in a real environment, applying the knowledge they have acquired to increase their experience and learning.
RADIA Program
The RADIA WOMEN’S DIGITAL INCLUSION program takes its name from Radia Perlman, the creator of one of the world’s most widely used communication protocols that makes networks stable, robust, and secure.
Currently, only one out of every six ICT specialists in the labour market are women. This is compounded by the fact that disability makes it difficult for women to be included in higher education and employment. For this reason, the purpose of the program is to offer training and jobs that include more women with disabilities in the digital sector, recognizing both the value of their contributions and their talent, which is essential for building an inclusive, competitive, and dynamic digital society. From this standpoint, RADIA establishes a series of steps aimed at increasing the number of female university students with disabilities employed in jobs based on the use of digital technology.
During the opening of the event, CaixaBank’s CEO, Gonzalo Gortázar, stressed the importance of diversity, recognition of talent, meritocracy, and equal opportunities as fundamental components for the progress of companies and society in general. He also called for “setting intermediate objectives” and “measuring the initiatives” implemented to promote gender equality with the aim of achieving equality before the 33 years that are estimated to be needed to close the gender gap in Spain, as stated in the ‘Third ClosinGap Index’.
This was followed by the first round table, “Women and Social Transformation“, made up of some of the members of the ClosinGap Board of Directors such as Fátima Báñez, President of the CEOE Foundation; Manuel Terroba, Executive Chairman of the BMW Group Spain and Portugal; Eduardo Petrossi, CEO of Mahou San Miguel; Manuel Martín, Partner in charge of Markets at PwC Spain; Miguel Carballeda, President of ONCE Social Group; Eugenio Martínez, Deputy CEO Kreab Worldwide; Beatriz Corredor, President of REDEIA; and Marta Machicot, Global Director of People at Telefónica.
At the round table, participants shared thoughts on the impact of the gender gap on the Spanish economy, highlighting the work carried out by ClosinGap over the last five years to quantify the economic potential of equal opportunities in Spain and identify the actions that may be taken to contribute to eliminating the gaps. Through the ClosinGap Index we have been able to track the evolution from 2020, when the gender gap in the Spanish economy was 35.9%, to 2022, when the figure had been reduced to 35.3%. Thus, it is estimated that it will take another 33 years to reach gender parity.
Along these lines, the members of the ClosinGap Association’s Board of Directors insisted on the importance of continuing to establish links that enable participation in studies promoted by recognised international organisations, as well as sharing the results obtained in their own reports to raise awareness of the long road that still lies ahead in terms of gender equality, and to find new ways to accelerate this change.
The following discussion panel presented initiatives to reduce the gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers, as well as to raise awareness on the importance of working together towards this goal. The discussion benefited from the participation of Amparo García, winner of the 2021 CaixaBank and Microsoft WONNOW Awards; Pau Pavón, winner of the 2023 edition of the international Global Students Entrepreneurs Awards for best university entrepreneur in Spain, and Blanca Drake, spokesperson for the Wayra innovation hub.
ClosinGap delivers the fourth edition of the ClosinGap Awards
Within the framework of the Fifth Economic Equality Summit, the association held the fourth edition of the ClosinGap Awards. The purpose of these awards is to acknowledge and highlight the work of people who, through their work, educational research, or personal conviction, have actively contributed to promoting and defending equal opportunities or the discussions around this issue.
To this end, Ana Polanco, Chair of the ClosinGap Advisory Board and Head of Market Access and Government and Public Affairs for Europe at Merck, presented the award to Marian Rojas, psychiatrist at the Spanish Institute of Psychiatric Research and distinguished for her contribution to “social transformation in equal opportunities”. In addition to her medical practice, Rojas is the author of world-renowned literary works such as “How to make good things happen” and “Encuentra a tu persona vitamina” (which would translate as “Find your vitamin person”), and she gives lectures on emotional management.
On the other hand, Hortensia Roig, president of EDEM School for Entrepreneurs and Board Member of Mercadona, received the ClosinGap Award for “Innovation in Equal Opportunities” from Gonzalo Gortázar, CaixaBank’s CEO. In addition to her extensive experience in the business world, Roig has promoted the Hortensia Roig Award for Children’s Literature, with the aim of encouraging scientific vocations among girls.
Finally, IESE professor and member of its Board of Directors, Núria Mas, received an award in the category “Generation of Economic Knowledge in Equal Opportunities” for her long career as an advisor and consultant in the field of health economics for public and private institutions. The award was presented to Mas by Fátima Báñez, president of the CEOE Foundation.
In this context, the award winners also participated in a discussion panel in which they shared their current vision of the gender gap in the Spanish economy and highlighted the importance of having female role models in different areas of society to advance towards equal opportunities. In closing the event, Marieta Jiménez, European President of Merck Healthcare and ClosinGap, stated that “ClosinGap has become a sound source of economic knowledge on gender gaps in Spain” and thanked the efforts and commitment of the people who make up the association’s Board of Directors and Advisory Council, stressing the need to continue working to advance towards gender equality: “the analysis of each annual ClosinGap Index, as well as each of our 15 reports, reveal the economic potential of women. Only by being able to integrate the talent of 50% of the population will we be able to say that we are doing our part to grow“, concluded Jiménez.
La adquisición de la ambulancia ha sido posible gracias al compromiso y la responsabilidad de las empresas españolas, puesto de manifiesto a través de donaciones desde el inicio de la guerra.
El envío del vehículo, que se realizará en los próximos días, correrá a cargo del Ministerio de Defensa, y en concreto del Ejército de Tierra, que ya está preparando el traslado.
En el acto, que ha estado presidido por la presidenta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, han participado lapresidenta de Fundación CEOE, Fátima Báñez; el presidente de CEOE, Antonio Garamendi; el presidente de CEIM, Miguel Garrido; y el embajador de Ucrania en España, Serhii Pohoreltsev, entre otros, además de representantes del Ejército y empresas donantes.
El presidente de CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, ha afirmado que “el de hoy es un día más de apoyo a Ucrania y de concienciación contra la guerra”, y ha destacado que el compromiso de las empresas españolas se ha puesto de manifiesto desde el inicio con las acciones que se han ido desarrollando, como “el apoyo en los CREADE o la ampliación de los canales de empleo”. En este sentido, el presidente de los empresarios españoles ha resaltado que en la plataforma del proyecto ‘Empresas por Ucrania’, “ya son más de 2.300 empresas las que ofrecen más de 11.000 vacantes de empleo a personas que han llegado a España huyendo del conflicto bélico”.
Antonio Garamendi ha expresado su agradecimiento “al Ejército de Tierra por llevar la solidaridad de las empresas españolas desde este kilómetro cero hasta Ucrania”.
La presidenta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, ha puesto en valor el proyecto ‘Empresas por Ucrania’ y ha desgranado las iniciativas de la Comunidad de Madrid de apoyo al país en conflicto. “Vamos a seguir acompañando al pueblo de Ucrania. Madrid es solidario y siempre estaremos con la libertad”, ha finalizado.
Por su parte, el embajador de Ucrania, Serhii Pohoreltsev, ha asegurado que esta donación “servirá para salvar la vida de los efectivos de las Fuerzas Armadas de Ucrania y de la población civil”, y ha añadido que “este tipo de material es muy demandado”, por lo que ha agradecido el apoyo de todas las instituciones y empresas españolas.
En representación del Ministerio de Defensa, el teniente general Fernando López de Pozo, director general de Política de Defensa, ha trasladado el saludo de la ministra Margarita Robles y ha afirmado que desde su ámbito “no vamos a dejar de ayudar y apoyar porque la ayuda humanitaria es esencial”. “Vamos a seguir ahí”, ha concluido.
Especificaciones técnicas y equipamiento del vehículo
Se trata de un vehículo Toyota LAND CRUISER modelo HZJ 79, con tracción 4×4 y nivel de protección con acero balístico, tanto de la cabina como de la zona de carga de la ambulancia, tanto en frontal, lateral y puertas (nivel FB6), como en techo (nivel FB4+) y suelo (nivel FB3), así como de las baterías -parte crítica del motor-, y el depósito de combustible, que también están blindados con nivel FB4+. Las ventanas y mamparas del vehículo están asimismo blindadas (BR6).
En la zona técnica, la ambulancia cuenta con el siguiente equipamiento: camilla, asientos para ayudantes, armario de almacenamiento, camilla de extracción, dos botellas de oxígeno de 20L, 4 tomas de oxígeno con conector estándar, tabla espinal de rescate, férula de tracción, inmovilizador de cabeza, dos collarines con ajustes variables, insuflador manual para adultos y aspirador portátil de 12V.
Empresas por Ucrania
El proyecto ‘Empresas Por Ucrania’ nace del compromiso y colaboración de las empresas españolas para apoyar, en un principio, la integración social de las personas refugiadas provenientes de Ucrania. Para ello, se habilitó una plataforma online que aglutina ofertas de empleo y formación gratuita, además de ofrecer información relevante.
La iniciativa, que ha ido ampliando con el tiempo su campo de acción, se enmarca en el programa ‘Empresas que Ayudan’, que inició la fundación CEOE a raíz de la pandemia y que busca coordinar las iniciativas solidarias que parten de las empresas.
Este es un paso más de las empresas españolas a través de la iniciativa ‘Empresas por Ucrania’ puesta en marcha por Fundación CEOE en 2022 en respuesta al conflicto.
Pie de foto:
De izda. a dcha., el teniente general Fernando López de Pozo, director general de Política de Defensa; Fátima Báñez, presidenta de Fundación CEOE; el consejero de Presidencia y portavoz del Gobierno regional, Miguel Ángel García; la presidenta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso; el embajador de Ucrania, Serhii Pohoreltsev; y el presidente de CEOE, Antonio Garamendi.
Escrivá underlined how “the outbreak of the war in Ukraine awakened an enormous wave of solidarity with the participation of many institutions and citizens, who have contributed to making their arrival very agile and their stay in our shelters as easy as possible for families coming from a very complicated situation”.
As of June 23, a total of 179,758 people displaced by the war in Ukraine had received temporary protection, which allows them to have a residence and work permit in Spain. Of these, almost 18,000 are registered with the Social Security.
More information about Ukrainian people in Spain as of May 31 in this infographic:
HAN RECIBIDO LA DISTINCIÓN:
Generalitat Valenciana
Barcelona City Hall
Málaga City Hall
LiLiya Miykolaiyv, Association with Ucrania
Ivana Vatamayuk, Association Nashi Dity
Mariya Kurnytska, Association Oberig
Sergii Birzhev Rudatskiy, Association U-Armonía
World Central Kitchen Foundation
Alicante Gastronómica Solidaria
Fundación ‘la Caixa’
IKEA
CEOE Foundation
Banco Santander
Telefónica
Repsol
Redeia
ACNUR
Spanish Red Cross
Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR)
ACCEM
Apip-Acam
Provivienda
Cesal
EY Foundation
Xavi Pérez Ambulances
Scalpers
The president of the Ceoe Foundation, Fátima Báñez, took part in a lunch-colloquium in Monzón organised by the Association of Businesswomen of the Province of Huesca (Amephu) and the City Council, in which she spoke about ‘Business, employment and social commitment’.
After signing Monzón Town Hall’s Guest of Honour Book, the former Minister of Employment and Social Security (position she held between 2011 and 2018) shared a meal with almost eighty entrepreneurs from across the province, accompanied by the mayor Isaac Claver, the president of Amephu, Carmen Fernández; and the presidents of Ceos-Cepyme Huesca, José Fernando Luna; of Empresarios de Cinca Medio, Ángel Mas, and of Ceos Aragón, Miguel Marzo, who also took the floor in an act conducted by Susana Deito, journalist of DIARIO DEL ALTOARAGÓN.
Báñezrecalled that the Ceoe Foundation brings together all the companies, industries, and territories of Spain, and “we are here to build a better society together, one that moves forward taking everyone into account, and doing the main thing that companies do, which is to contribute to creating wealth and opportunities, and also strengthening the social commitment that also characterises us as a civil society”.
After a brief overview of what is happening today in Spain, ” in a context of uncertainty, experiencing what we could call a polycrisis, and facing ongoing challenges”, Fátima Báñez acknowledged that “business, employment and social commitment are three things that people have in common. Human capital is a country’s great strategic assettocompete, and, without a doubt, it is our main tool for progress in companies, where owners, shareholders, managers, and workers pull together to make a better country”.
“In these current times, where the role of companies in Spanish society is sometimes called into question, more than everwe have to talk about the main role played by the civil society, a network of which employers and trade union organisations are a part, in order to build a better Spain”, reiterated the President of the Ceoe Foundation.
For this reason, in her opinion, it is essential to support companies and she drew attention to the fact that the public administrations should “help and accompany them along the way, but not get in their way“, which means “respecting them, valuing them as a fundamental part of the civil society and eliminating red tape, easing administrative procedures and avoiding unnecessary burdens.”
She stressed that the best thing that our country and companies have is “their human capital”, andyoung and experienced people, men and women, different cultures and people with different skills should come together, “without them we cannot move forward either as a company or as a society.”
She drew attention to the need for greater digital qualifications, adaptation to artificial intelligence, versatility and teamwork, stressing that “skills are learned, but then they have to be practised.”
Work-life balance was another of the issues addressed by Fátima Báñez, at a time when “there are more women working in Spain than ever before”, as well as the need for updating and implementing effective active employment policies, since “jobs are at the heart of the welfare system.”
The #CEOPorLaDiversidad Alliance held a new annual meeting at the Rosewood Villa Magna hotel in Madrid. This initiative, a pioneer in Europe and promoted by the Adecco Foundation and the CEOE Foundation, is supported by 81 top executives and managers from leading companies in our country. The meeting, which focused on analysing Generation Z as a new workforce, brought together 27 representatives from the following companies: Accenture, AENOR, Agilent Technologies Spain S.L., Air Liquide, Alstom Transporte, S.A., Arcelormittal Spain Holding, Atlantic Copper, Bahía de Bizkaia Gas S.L., Baker McKenzie, Banca March, BASF Española SA, Capgemini, EXOLUM, HAYA REAL ESTATE, JUSTESA IMAGEN, S.A.U., Kapsch TrafficCom, Mahou San Miguel, MAVE Aeronáutica (TRIGO GROUP), REDEIA, SACYR, Seguros Santa Lucía, Siemens S.A., Stratesys Technology Solutions, S.L., The Adecco Group, Uría Menéndez Abogados, Verallia and WORLDLINE IBERIA.
This Alliance, which started at the end of 2019, aims to unite the frontline management of companies operating in Spain around a common and innovative vision of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (De&I), urging them to promote strategies that contribute to business excellence, inclusion, sustainability, and competitiveness.
The conference, chaired by the President of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, and the President of the Adecco Foundation, Enrique Sánchez, was also attended by Clara Sanz, Secretary General for Vocational Training within the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
Francisco Mesonero, CEO of the Adecco Foundation, welcomed the attendees and stressed the importance of properly managing diversity in companies to achieve excellence in a globalised and digitalised context. He stated that generation Z joins the workforce with new values, new ways of understanding work and new ways of consuming and relating to brands. “We currently coexist in the labour market with four very different generations. We have to know how to manage talent in order for collaborative models to work properly and for competitiveness in Spain to be optimal. There is a lot of talk about generation Z and its digital DNA, but this is a legacy from the previous generation that all companies are already managing. I think the biggest challenge is to respond appropriately to their way of understanding work and their commitment to diversity and the environment,” he said.
Before turning the floor to the conference speakers, Mesonero analysed the work of the Alliance over the last year, as well as the challenges that will be addressed during 2023: “We enter into our fourth year of workaimed at attaining one goal: to make our companies more inclusive and our society fairer. This will undoubtedly lead to greater business competitiveness. The challenges we set ourselves to achieve this goal are as exciting as they are complex, and I can think of no better way to fulfil them than through the meetings and synergies provided by this Alliance.”
Three young voices and their vision of the world and of the corporate world
The main theme chosen by the 2023 #CEOPorLaDiversidad 2023 meeting was the generational factor and, specifically, how Generation Z will transform our companies. They are also known as ‘centennials’ or Gen Zers, and were born between 1997 and 2012, which means that they are already entering the labour market. They are mainly characterised for being the first 100% digital native generation, for their global vision of the world, their commitment to diversity, their defence of the environment and for having been born and having grown up with a lot of uncertainty. The biggest challenge this generation faces is the youth unemployment rate, with Spain reporting the highest in the European Union: 29.2% (according to Eurostat, the European average stands at 15%).
To learn about their concerns, their vision of the world (global, digital, and sustainable), as well as what they expect from companies, the Alliance spoke to Alan “El Ruedas”, a young creator of content for social networks; Andrea Ramos, head of recruitment and influencer; and Diego S. Garrocho, philosopher and professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). The three took part in a discussion mediated by Pablo García, Director of Communication and Marketing at the Adecco Foundation.
Social networks are, undoubtedly, the communication channels through which young people are most active. The first two speakers of the day illustrated this. From his profile on TikTok, Alan “El Ruedas” shares his experience of living with a disability with his one million followers every day. Four years ago, he suffered a spinal cord injury while doing an acrobatic stunt; since then, he uses this platform to fight against the stereotypes associated with people with disabilities and, also, with his own generation. For her part, Andrea Ramos, from her Instagram profile (@reclutandovoy), helps to improve the employability of those who are looking for a job with tips on how to make this process more effective, using the formats that young Zs consume most. Through simple videos and tutorials, she gives tips on how to make CVs attractive to companies and how to manage their personal brand.
Meanwhile, Diego S. Garrocho wanted to address the situation of this generation and what the future may hold for them, their hopes and expectations in an uncertain context: “It is not true that we are dealing with a generation without values, they have a clear ethical purpose, and I believe that the corporate world can do a lot to ensure that their vision is valued and taken into account in diversity strategies”.
Antonio Garamendi, President of CEOE, was in charge of closing the conference, and he chose to highlight the value of the alliance that #CEOPorLaDiversidad represents, precisely because diversity is “the great search for talent”. “The sum of all that is different is what really makes us grow as companies”, he added.
Currently, a total of 81 companies and their CEOs make up this alliance:
ALSA; Francisco Iglesias
ACCENTURE; Domingo Mirón Domínguez
AENOR; Rafael García Meiro
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES SPAIN S.L.; María Ángeles Díaz
AIR LIQUIDE; Benedicte Levinson
AIRBUS; Jorge Caro Terrón
ALSTOM TRANSPORTE, S.A.; Leopoldo Maestu Miedes
AMERICAN EXPRESS ESPAÑA; Juan Ortí Ochoa de Ocáriz
AON; Jacobo Hornedo
AQUALIA; Félix Parra Mediavilla
ARCELORMITTAL SPAIN HOLDING; Jesús Izcue Irigoyen
ATLANTIC COPPER; Javier Targhetta
AXA España; Olga Sánchez
AYESA; José Luis Manzanares
BAHÍA DE BIZKAIA GAS S.L.; Javier López Nieto
BAKER MCKENZIE; Rodrigo Ogea Ruiz
BALEARIA; Adolfo Utor
BANCA MARCH; José Luis Acea Rodriguez
BANCO MEDIOLANUM; Igor Garzesi
BANCO SABADELL ; César González-Bueno
BANKINTER; Pedro Guerrero
BASF Española SA; Carles Navarro Vigo
BBVA; Pello (Peio) Belausteguigoitia
BECTON DICKINSON; Lourdes López
BROSETA ABOGADOS; Manuel Broseta/ Rosa Vidal
CAIXABANK; Gonzalo Gortázar
CAJA RURAL DEL SUR; José Luís García-Palacios Álvarez
CAMPOFRÍO; Javier Dueñas
CAPGEMINI; Luis Abad
CASH LEPE; Mabel Díaz Orta
CBRE; Vicente Redondo
EL CORTE INGLÉS; dirección general
ELECNOR; Rafael Martín de Bustamante
ENDESA, S.A.; José D. Bogas Gálvez
EXOLUM; Jorge Lanza Perea
EY; Federico Linares
GENERALI; Santiago Villa
GESTAMP; Francisco José Riberas
GLOBAL OMNIUM; Dionisio García Comín
GRUPO ANTOLÍN; Ramón Sotomayor Jauregui
GRUPO IBEROSTAR; Sabina Fluxà Thienemann
Grupo OHLA; José Antonio Fernández Gallar
GRUPO PIÑERO; Encarna Piñero
GRUPO RENAULT; José Vicente de los Mozos
GRUPO ZURICH ESPAÑA; Vicente Cancio García
HAYA REAL ESTATE; Enrique Dancausa Treviño
HP; Inés Bermejo
IBERCAJA; Víctor M. Iglesias Ruiz
IKEA; Nurettin Acar
IVECO; Ángel Rodríguez Lagunilla
JUSTESA IMAGEN, S.A.U.; Gianpaolo Armando
KAPSCH TRAFFICCOM; Javier Aguirre Heriz
KEYSIGHT; Judith Contreras Rosell
LAFARGEHOLCIM ESPAÑA; Carmen Díaz Canabal
MAERSK; Diego Perdones
MAHOU SAN MIGUEL; Eduardo Petrossi
MAVE AERONÁUTICA (TRIGO GROUP); Antonio Peco Pinto
MELIA HOTELS INTERNACIONAL; Gabriel Escarrer Jaume
MONDELEZ; Nicola Caracino
NATURGY; Francisco Reynés Massanet
NAVANTIA; Ricardo Domínguez García–Baquero
NESTLÉ ESPAÑA; Jordi Llach
OHLA; José Antonio Fernández Gallar
ORANGE ESPAGNE; Jean-François Fallacher
PATENTES TALGO; Gonzalo Urquijo Fernández de Araoz
Pfizer, SLU; Sergio Rodríguez Márquez
REDEIA; Roberto García Merino
SACYR; Manuel Manrique Cecilia
SAINT-GOBAIN; Jean-Luc Gardaz
SCHINDLER; José Manuel Nieto Millán
SEAT; Laura Carnicero
SEGUROS SANTALUCÍA; Andrés Romero Peña
SIDENOR ACEROS ESPECIALES; José Antonio Jainaga
SIEMENS S.A.; Agustín Escobar Cañadas
SMURFIT KAPPA; Ignacio Sevillano
STRATESYS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, S.L.; Carlos De Pedro Guri
THE ADECCO GROUP; Iker Barricat Beascoechea
URÍA MENÉNDEZ ABOGADOS; Jesús Remón
VERALLIA; Paulo Pinto
VISCOFAN SA; José Antonio Canales
WORLDLINE IBERIA; Martín Javier Aranda González
About the #CEOPorLaDiversidad Alliance
The mission of this Alliance led by the Adecco Foundation and the CEOE Foundation is to unite the CEOs of the leading companies in Spain around a common and innovative vision of diversity, equity and inclusion (De&I), acting as drivers and ambassadors to help accelerate the development of strategies that contribute to business excellence, the competitiveness of talent in Spain and the reduction of inequality and exclusion in Spanish society.
- The future will require hybrid profiles with broader generic knowledge, more specialization and greater responsibility when it comes to making decisions.
- The production model will change due to the impact of Digitalization and the development of Sustainability.
- According to the observatory fp.com, more than 144,000 job opportunities will be generated this year in Andalusia, of which more than 33,000 will be for VET learners.
- In Andalusia, the percentage of students enrolled in Dual VET over the total number of VET students exceeds the national average.
The Confederation of Employers of Andalusia (CEA) and CaixaBank Dualiza recently organized the conference “Changes in professional profiles and training needs in Andalusia. Perspective 2030”, during which there were discussions on the evolution that some of the main sectors of the region’s economy will undergo and how this will affect workers in the market now or joining in the coming years. According to www.observatoriofp.com, 144,113 job opportunities will be created this year in Andalusia alone, of which 33,595 will be for vocational training graduates.
As for the Dual Vocational Training (VET) model, which will be the prevailing one in the coming years, in Andalusia the percentage of students enrolled in Dual VET over the total number of VET students is 5.1%, 1.3 points higher than the national average, which stands at 3.8%, according to the Observatory.
The conference is named after a study carried out by CaixaBank Dualiza in collaboration with Fundación CEOE. It suggests a future marked by the evolution of current professions rather than the emergence of new ones; a future in which the production model will change the relationship between people and their jobs through the impact of digitalization on how work is organized, and by the arrival of hybrid profiles, with broader generic knowledge, more specialization, greater ability to manage specialized information and greater responsibility when it comes to making decisions.
This new model will replace the previous one, an industrial model based on qualification. However, it will take time for it to become institutionalized, we are just witnessing the beginning now and it will not be fully established until the medium term.
One of its main characteristics will be a tendency to intellectualize work, meaning that more and more competencies related to mental procedures for analysis, planning and decision-making will be required; in other words,what we refer to as soft skills.
The territorial director of CaixaBank in Andalusia, Juan Ignacio Zafra, stressed the importance of this type of study focused on “looking to the future to analyselabour market trends, the types of profiles that companies will demand and how we could anticipate those needs”.
Zafra recalled that, to do so, “training and hard work will be essential, two pillars that are part of the intrinsic values that our entity, CaixaBank, fosters through its own activity and by promoting projects such as Dualiza. We are convinced of its usefulness to improve social cohesion”.
Meanwhile, the president of CEA, Javier González de Lara, stressed “the conviction among Andalusian businessmen that Andalusia’s productivity and competitiveness begins with the training of the young people of Andalusia. Our economy’s drive, in the long-term, begins in the classroom and in the tools with which we endow the new generations”.
In this regard, and given the 36% youth unemployment rate in Andalusia, Gonzalez de Lara said: “Our land is full of talent. Let’s train our young people for the new challenges and let’s find the formula for success, which consists of joining public and private efforts: robotics, renewable energies, Artificial Intelligence, and data analysis… These are fields in which Andalusian companies need to build new, reskilled teams”.
Likewise, the president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, stressed the importance for companies of studies such as the one presented today, as they allow them to understand the state of their main tool for competing: talent. “Companies are a fundamental institution in Spanish society in general, and in Andalusia in particular. They are part of the solution now and for the future: 8 out of 10 jobs originate in companies and they create 50% of social wealth each year. To take them into account is to contribute to the welfare of society”, she pointed out.
In turn, the director of CaixaBank Dualiza, Paula San Luis, stressed “the need to continue promoting knowledge in order to provide appropriate data to make decision-making easier, not only for those who have some responsibility in training fields, but also for those who are choosing their educational path right now”.
Andalusian sectors
The researcher Oriol Homs and the head of Caixabank Dualiza’s Knowledge and Innovation centre, Monica Moso, have also addressed some of the trends that will mark the most relevant industries in the Andalusian economy.
The industrial sector will be affected by the general ageing of the employed population (baby-boom generation), as well as by the need for a higher qualification of workers. The lack of intermediate-VET-qualified professionals will pose a problem for the replacement of the workforce.
Something similar will happen in the agri-food sector where, in spite of the clear progress towards a more highly qualified workforce, there is still an excessive proportion of workers who do not have any qualifications related to their professional duties. This contrasts sharply with the use of over-qualified labour in different jobs, which generates an imbalance between the different training levels entering the labour market.
In the technology sector, the challenge will be to reverse a trend marked by the male-dominated nature of its professions and a reduced presence of young people.
Challenges ahead
In order to face the challenges ahead, the study raises a series of considerations that would contribute to training a greater number of VET learners and equipping them with the skills required by the labour market. The most urgent, in fact, is to provide the market with a greater number of VET-qualified professionals, since it would be necessary to practically double the current number of VET graduatesto reach European rates. This would not require any major investment, all that would be needed would be to improve drop-out rates.
Furthermore, pending challenges such as the introduction of a digital method in all VET courses or requiring a minimum level of English as a qualification requirement should also be analysed. The new scenario will also require training in soft skills and the introduction of sustainability in curricula.
CaixaBank Dualiza
CaixaBank Dualiza is the commitment of the CaixaBank Dual Training Foundation to promote and expand Vocational Training, as well as to advocate forthe fundamental role that this type of training must play in the future of our society.
Only through more training can we achieve a more cohesive society with fewer inequalities.
To this end, CaixaBankDualiza backs the demands of teachers and schools and works with companies to train future professionals and improve their employability.
Since its inception, almost 26,000 students, 2,800 companies and 1,700 schools have benefited from its activity.
CEA, serving Andalusia through companies
CEA, the leading business association in Andalusia with more than 180,000 companies and 750 territorial and sectoral organisations represented, operates to serve the region by working with companies, SMEs and the self-employed as levers for development and job creation. Its permanent communication with society and, specifically, with the Administration, allows it to convey and defend the needs of the productive fabric and the people who do business on a daily basis. Thus, its commitment to social progress translates into actions such as the Andalusian Roundtables for Dual VET, which it is currently developing together with the Andalusian Regional Government, or the “Transformando Futuro”, a programme run in conjunction with the La Caixa Foundation and aimed at helping Andalusians over the age of 45 to re-enter the labour market.
At the events, discussions were focused on the evolution that some of the main sectors of the economy will undergo and how this will affect the workers who are currently in the market or will join it in the coming years. A market in which, according to www.observatoriofp.com, almost 10 million job opportunities will be created during this decade.
These events, which are being held in different parts of Spain in conjunction with CEOE’s regional organisations and CaixaBank’s regional offices, are based on a study prepared by CaixaBank Dualiza in collaboration with the CEOE Foundation. This study suggests a future marked by the evolution of current professions rather than the emergence of new ones. It predicts that the future production model will see a change in the relationship between people and their jobs through the impact of digitalization on how work is organized, and by the arrival of hybrid profiles, with broader generic knowledge, more specialization, greater ability to manage specialized information and greater responsibility when it comes to making decisions.
The president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, stressed the importance of studies such as this onefor companies, as they allow them to understand the state of their main tool for competing: talent. “Companies are a fundamental institution in Spanish society. They are part of the solution now and in the future: 8 out of 10 jobs originate in companies and they create 50% of social wealth each year. To take them into account is to contribute to the welfare of society”, she pointed out.
The director of CaixaBank Dualiza, Paula San Luis, highlighted that “CaixaBank Dualiza’s intention in promoting this type of study is to provide data that allows for decision making based on figures, in other words, the promotion of action-oriented knowledge that serves to improve all those things that need to be improved in our vocational training and to promote, even more, those that are performing well”
From left to right, the President of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez; the Regional Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Internal Affairs of the Community of Madrid, Enrique López; and the President of CEIM, Miguel Garrido.
This morning, the CEOE Foundation, the Madrid Business Confederation (CEIM) and the Community of Madrid signed a protocol whereby they undertake to jointly promote entrepreneurial and employment actions to support the Ukrainian people and those displaced by the conflict that the country has been suffering since February 24 due to the Russian invasion.
The signing of the agreement, which took place at the Hospital Enfermera Isabel Zendal in Madrid, was led by the president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez; the president of CEIM, Miguel Garrido; and the Regional Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Internal Affairs of the Community of Madrid, Enrique López. Also present at the event were the regional government’s Deputy Regional Ministers of the Presidency and Economy, Miguel Ángel García and Manuel Llamas, respectively.
In the words of Fátima Báñez, “this protocol is a new social commitment for the people, and working together for the people is working together for everyone’s progress. The Community of Madrid together with CEIM are at the forefront of public-private collaboration”. The president of the CEOE Foundation said that “we have launched Empresas por Ucrania (Companies for Ukraine) to provide information and facilitate fast integration through training and employment, because there is no greater social policy than employment.”
In turn, the president of CEIM, Miguel Garrido, reiterated that Madrid’s business community condemns Russia’s military attack on Ukraine and pointed out that ” faced with a situation like this one, everyone must react jointly, the administration and the civil society, and that is why companies are responding by offering employment and opportunities; we have the obligation to make this happen, although we need to have the necessary tools to be able to create this employment”.
More than a thousand companies, half of them SMEs, are currently offering more than 4,000 job vacancies covering a wide range of specialist profiles. Of all the companies participating in this initiative, 20% are from the Community of Madrid. The signing of this protocol will serve to establish a space for coordination and collaboration between the parties -the Community of Madrid, through the Regional Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Internal Affairs, the CEOE Foundation and CEIM-, with a double purpose: on the one hand, to promote joint actions that encourage Madrid companies to continue adopting measures of humanitarian support and solidarity through donations, volunteer actions or any other kind of aid to the Ukrainians; and on the other hand, to promote, in coordination with the public employment services, the employability of displaced and refugee Ukrainian people, offering job vacancies in the Community of Madrid, in all sectors, as well as free training and skill acquisition that will enable their incorporation into the labour market.
The CEOE Foundation, pursuing its goal of channelling the solidarity and social action of Spanish companies, has launched, together with private sector entities, the digital platform ‘Companies for Ukraine’. This platform is born with the aim of concentrating training and employment offers, preferably for people from Ukraine, as a preliminary step to achieve their effective integration in Spain.
Specifically, for the creation of this digital space that brings together companies and people fleeing the armed conflict, the CEOE Foundation has had the support of Universia, Banco Santander’s open platform for non-financial services, with a view to assisting users on their path to employability, providing guidance and with a special focus on lifelong learning.
In addition, the consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, a member of CEOE, is participating by providing strategic advice and helping to coordinate the project.
The ‘Companies for Ukraine’ platform is a new phase of the CEOE Foundation’s ‘Companies that Help’ (EQA, for its Spanish acronym) programme, which was launched in April 2020 following the outbreak of the pandemic. Its purpose is to channel the economic aid and supplies that the business sector wanted to provide to the neediest groups.
This time, in a new example of public-private collaboration and solidarity, the CEOE Foundation has established a channel of action together with the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration in order to provide information, training and employment from the private sector all in one place, within the framework of the Government’s programme for the reception and inclusion of people from Ukraine.
Over the course of the platform’s implementation process, around 450 companies have already joined, ranging from large to small and medium-sized companies from very different sectors, and almost 2,000 job openings have been received to date for these individuals.
Thus, the idea is to provide a solution for some of the millions of Ukrainians who, in search of a new opportunity, are arriving in European countries such as Spain and are totally lacking the necessary tools to look for a job, starting with the fact that they do not speak the language.
The three main lines of action
Employment: Interested companies will post job openings on the platform, which will allow people to apply directly. The published offers will go through a validation process to ensure the reliability of the platform. The project is supported by the job offer aggregators Adecco Group, Randstad, Eurofirms and Job&talent, in addition to the companies that collaborate individually.
Training: to guide them in their training, free online language courses will be offered by different providers, as well as courses in other skills to promote employability, with a focus on digital skills and new jobs. These free courses do not require identification, the portal will work by redirecting the user to the original website of the course. In this case, the CEOE Foundation will have the support of partners such as CEOE Campus, UNED, Cisco Systems and Microsoft.
Information: The platform will bring together official and verified information that may be needed for the integration of these individuals.
The platform will be promoted through telematic and face-to-face channels. Information stands will be set up in the four reception hubs for people who, in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, are located in Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Malaga. There, staff from the human resources company Adecco will offer first-hand information about the platform based on an explanatory leaflet prepared in collaboration with MAPFRE.
Presentation of the project at CEOE’s headquarters
During the presentation of the ‘Companies for Ukraine’ initiative, the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, stressed that “solidarity is shown through actions” and that, although in the current situation it is inevitable to deal with economic issues, “it is time to talk about people”.
He said that the platform presented today “is an example of responsibility and true public-private collaboration”. “It is a great opportunity to make all the people who come to Spain feel at home and integrated”, he concluded.
In turn, the president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, highlighted the role of the companies that “generously and voluntarily are uploading their job offers to the platform so that these refugees can find a life project and a sense of independence”. “The solidarity of Spanish companies today is reflected in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag”, she summarised.
Juan Manuel Cendoya, Vice President of Santander Spain and General Director of Communication, Corporate Marketing and Research at Banco Santander, said: “For Banco Santander and Universia it is an honour to put our employment and guidance platform at the service of society and companies, and we thank the CEOE for their trust. I would like to highlight the great effort of the teams that have worked so hard to have a working solution in record time and, especially, thank the general director of Universia, Rafael Hernández”.
Pablo Campos, CEO of Oliver Wyman in Spain and Portugal, added: “Every year, Oliver Wyman commits a percentage of our resources, skills and experience to supporting projects where they are most needed. We are convinced that effective public-private collaboration has a huge multiplier effect on the scope and results of the different contributions to these types of initiatives”.
Partner companies of the ‘Companies for Ukraine’ Project
– Laboratorios Rovi
– Grupo Ibaizabal
– Banco Santander con Universia
– Oliver Wyman
– Grupo Adecco
– MAPFRE
– Randstad
– Microsoft
– Cisco Systems
– Eurofirms
– Job&talent
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/UhaMUdtgszc
The alliance was announced this Thursday by the CEOE President, Antonio Garamendi, the President of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, and the Undersecretary of Defence, Amparo Valcarce, at an event held at CEOE’s headquarters.
The CEOE President underlined the importance of an initiative that allows for a space of common ground between companies and society at large and the Armed Forces, the guarantors of the country’s freedom, democracy, and unity. “Society and companies need your hard work, professionalism, sacrifice and values,” he stressed. Especially at a time like the present, with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which he has strongly condemned as President of CEOE and Vice-President of BusinessEurope.
Consolidating a permanent partnership
Antonio Garamendi has included the project presented today within the framework of the joint activities that have been carried out in recent years between the CEOE, through its Foundation, and the Armed Forces, with agreements to promote the culture and heritage of the Spanish Army (something that will also be extended to the Navy and the Air Force) and advisory tasks for the creation of the future logistics base in Cordoba.
“With this initiative we are consolidating a permanent bond. Companies need qualified people with values for a modern, digital and sustainable Spain (…), where we must not only talk about skills but also about attitudes, which are indisputable in the case of members of the Armed Forces”, he said.
The president of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, emphasised that this alliance, which offers guidance, training and insertion to military personnel who want to join civilian life, will allow companies to benefit from the best professional talent in addition to values such as commitment, teamwork, responsibility, and leadership. “And the best are found in the Armed Forces”, she stressed.
Three strategic sectors
As she explained, ‘Es tu Fuerza’ is being launched with a pilot project focusing on three industries, with plans to add more: information and communication technologies (ICT), construction, and transport, which includes not only buses and road transport of goods and passengers, but also driving schools and logistics. A total of 45 professional profiles have been defined and included in the Ministry of Defence’s SAPROMIL platform to facilitate the voluntary incorporation of military personnel into the civilian field. In this way, they will be able to learn about the needs of companies and they will find support in their transition into the labour market and the process of finding new talent.
“We are embarking on a path that is going to be successful. There is strength in unity, Spain’s strength is our military, and we want that strength for our companies so that they can be the best,” Báñez said.
In turn, the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, highlighted the “unbeatable union” that the coming together of companies and the Armed Forces represents: the Spanish businessmen “who have risen to the occasion and have been at the forefront” even in the most complicated times, and without whom a better country cannot be built, and the Armed Forces that represent everything that is best about Spain, such as courage, bravery, commitment, loyalty and efficiency.
“There can be nothing better for a company than to have these men and women in its ranks. With them, you are guaranteed commitment, security, loyalty, efficiency, talent ,and a great deal of humbleness”, she concluded.
Strategic objectives
The Undersecretary of Defence, Amparo Valcarce, pointed out that this project is part of the Ministry’s strategic objectives for the transition of military personnel into the labour market and expressed her gratitude for the inter-institutional effort and the great and valuable collaboration of the business community, led by the CEOE Foundation.
She reminded the audience that military personnel are trained and qualified for professional roles not just in the Armed Forces, and that her commitment is to accompany them as they move into the private sector. This will be done in conjunction with CEOE and its Foundation, strengthening their employability in high added-value positions.
Representatives of the participating sectors also addressed the audience, highlighting the potential of this initiative. Thus, the president of the CNC, Pedro Fernández Alén; the general director of AMETIC, Francisco Hortigüela; the president of CONFEBUS, Rafael Barbadillo; the general director of Adigital, César Tello; the general secretary of CNAE, Andoni Martín; the vice-president of ASTIC, Ramón Valdivia; the general director of DigitalES, Víctor Calvo-Sotelo; and the general secretary of CETM, José María Quijano, all took part in the event.
On Monday, the ‘Sumamos Plan’ was presented in Burgos by the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, the president of CEOE CyL, Santiago Aparicio, and the head of the Castilian Government, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco. The Regional Minister of Employment and Industry, Ana Carlota Amigo, and the President of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, also attended the event.
According to the President of CEOE, the deployment of the ‘Sumamos Plan’ will enable companies to conduct mass coronavirus screening tests on their employees, promote the downloading of the ‘Covid Radar ‘ application, and provide assistance to people in situations of greater vulnerability as a result of the effects of the pandemic, among other measures.
In his speech, he stressed the importance of collaboration between public administrations and companies in the fight against the pandemic, which is why he called on all the autonomous regions to join this initiative to ensure that it is implemented throughout the country.
EVERYONE’S BATTLE
In this regard, Antonio Garamendi assured that Spanish companies “are demanding, but at the same time, we are willing and able to collaborate”, because the battle against the virus is “everyone’s battle”.
On the other hand, he urged all citizens to download the ‘Covid Radar’ application on their mobile phones, as “it is essential for tracking cases”. He also stressed the need to comply with health recommendations in the social and family environments to avoid new waves of the pandemic, and said that protocols are being complied with at the workplace by companies and workers.
In turn, the president of the regional government declared that the regional administration and firms are joining forces against the pandemic with an initiative to protect health, employment, and economic activity: “Together we will promote mass screening with antigen tests for workers in industrial parks, logistics centres, central markets and large companies”.
Meanwhile, the president of CEOE CyL stressed that “At this time, what we want most of all is to support the economy and protect jobs and, thus, we will continue to support our companies. Preserving people’s health is a priority and an exercise of responsibility by everyone, and if we all join forces, we will overcome this dramatic situation.”