Iberdrola

This charity holidays initiative was presented today at the company's corporate building in Madrid

• Under the auspices of the Corporate Volunteering scheme, a group of employees from different countries will be travelling to São Paulo to help young people at risk of social exclusion, by providing them with training 
• The volunteers will teach the young people how to use IT tools and web applications, to improve their chances as future job-seekers in the run-up to the major sporting events to be hosted by Brazil 

IBERDROLA has set up Iberdrola-São Paulo 2.0, an international cooperation project that aims to provide training in Brazil to a group of young people at risk of social exclusion, in collaboration with Fundación Deporte Integra. The project aims to help a group of young people aged between 12 and 14 to improve their chances of integration in society and in the job market, by providing them with training.

The project was presented today at an event held at the company's corporate building in Madrid and attended by the IBERDROLA Group's Director of Human Resources, Ramón Castresana, and the Chairman of the Fundación Deporte Integra, Enrique Álvarez.

Under the auspices of the IBERDROLA Group's Corporate Volunteering scheme, a group of employees from different countries (Spain, UK, US and Brazil) will be travelling to São Paulo to help teenagers at risk of social exclusion, by providing them with training on computing, office tools and web applications.

This will help them compete on an equal footing as future job-seekers, so that they may make the most of the opportunities that will arise in relation to the major sporting events to be hosted by Brazil in the coming years. The IBERDROLA professionals have received face-to-face and virtual training over the course of four months to acquire the necessary technological skills and a basic grasp of Portuguese.

After the three-week stay in São Paulo is over, the project will enter a new stage that will last for a year. During this time, the volunteers will develop a sponsorship relationship with the young people so that they can guide and support them in their training via on-line communications and web cams.

The IBERDROLA Group's involvement in the Iberdrola - São Paulo 2.0 project is based on our company's commitment to the most disadvantaged sectors of society and the company is proud to provide its best assets for this mission: its people. This initiative is proof of the company's commitment to economic and social development in the countries where it operates.

It also takes the Corporate Volunteering scheme up a notch, as it is the first time that a charity holiday initiative has been offered to the company's staff.


International Corporate Volunteering Scheme

With a view to harnessing the solidarity of its employees, the company has an extensive Corporate Volunteering scheme in place to encourage its professionals to take part in social projects that are aligned with their values. In the last year, IBERDROLA offered its staff 6,500 opportunities to get involved in volunteering, some in collaboration with leading associations and others organised by the company itself. Over 2,000 members of staff took part.

All of these initiatives are coordinated by the International Volunteering Portal, a website created specifically to harness the talent, time and energy of the company's professionals. This on-line tool is bilingual (Spanish and English) and has evolved into a global volunteering community open to all of the employees in the IBERDROLA Group, who may choose between face-to-face or virtual initiatives, share their experiences of volunteering and propose activities.

IBERDROLA has won various prizes for its Corporate Volunteering scheme, such as the Ciudadano award from the Asociación Premios Ciudadanos, and the Foro Debate Ciudadano, for the Group's charity initiatives with the neediest members of society.


Fundación Deporte Integra

Fundación Deporte Integra is a not-for-profit institution with the primary aim of using sport to aid the inclusion of various disadvantaged groups in society, with a special focus on children. Its commitment to society means that its field of action is both inside and outside Spain, where it carries out social projects to enhance the well-being of the neediest members of society.

In an alliance with various private sector enterprises, the Fundación Deporte Integra promotes general projects, sometimes unrelated to sport, which help to improve accessibility for people with disabilities and promote the social integration of groups with problems. This project in collaboration with IBERDROLA is a prime example of giving young people at risk of social exclusion the chance to complete training courses that will make it easier for them to join the job market in future.