•Since 1999, Abertis Foundation has contributed to the sustainable development of the regions where Abertis operates, in areas such as road safety, the environment, social action and culture, and its work now forms part of the Group's Sustainability Strategy.

•Over the years, the Foundation has promoted strategic alliances around the world, with partners such as UNICEF Spain and UNESCO, with special impact in countries such as Spain, Brazil, India, Mexico or France, among others.

•In the field of education, Abertis Foundation has awarded more than 700 scholarships around the world through collaboration with institutions such as the Carolina Foundation, or the AVENIR scholarships in France, while 200 researchers were recognized through its International Network of Abertis Chairs.

•To commemorate this anniversary, the Foundation has planned different acts and events involving some of the partners and institutions that have worked alongside the Foundation over the years.

16th May 2024.- Abertis Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, contributing to the sustainable development of the regions where Abertis operates. The Foundation channels the Group's commitment to society through collaboration agreements with national and international bodies, and pays special attention to organisations involved in promoting education and health-related schemes in the field of road safety.

To commemorate this anniversary, the Foundation is organising different events over the coming months, starting with a road safety and innovation conference on 5th June in Madrid, which will feature some of the partners and institutions that have worked alongside the Foundation over the years, such as UNICEF Spain. Different cultural events are being planned with partners such as the Palau de la Música, or with the Network of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves based at the UNESCO International Centre located in Castellet castle, Abertis Foundation’s head office; and as part of its anniversary celebrations, the Foundation has completely revamped its website.

"This Abertis Foundation anniversary highlights the value of an ambitious project that kicked off 25 years ago with the vision of contributing, through the valuable knowledge provided by Abertis, to facilitate the implementation of projects that have a social, economic and cultural impact in the regions where the Group is present," said the president of Abertis Foundation, Elena Salgado. "We aim to maintain this strong commitment, which allows us to move forward as an organisation while at the same time enabling us to promote our responsibility to society. This is the spirit with which we were born and which will continue to be active in the future".

A global initiative

Over these 25 years, Abertis Foundation has made possible the development of social, cultural and environmental projects that have been fundamental within the environment on which its activity impacted. Fundación Abertis has awarded more than 700 scholarships around the world by partnering institutions such as the Fundación Carolina, the AVENIR scholarships in France, and other relevant local scholarships in the different countries in which the Group is present.

It has also built partnerships and strategic alliances geared to promoting social, environmental and cultural development schemes, such as UNESCO, the Red Cross, the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona, as well as other foundations such as the Princess of Girona Foundation, the COTEC Foundation, the Euroamerica Foundation and the Joan Miró Foundation.

In addition, it has provided assistance in times of humanitarian crises, such as its support to UNICEF in the effort to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines against HIV/AIDS worldwide, or regional crises such as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico or Hurricane Otis in Mexico, through its subsidiary in the country.

The Foundation's activities revolves around five strategic pillars: road safety, environment, social action, education and culture, in line with the Group's Sustainability Strategy.

Driving social transformation through road safety

Road safety is one of the Foundation's key pillars and reflects Abertis' experience around the world. Its international awareness campaigns such as "Vidas en movimiento", "Yo te llevo", "Puedo esperar" and "El apagón" have aimed to raise awareness about current mobility issues, as well as to warn of the risks of driving recklessly, using a mobile phone or under the influence of alcohol. In this regard, Abertis Foundation is financing one of the Road Safety Education programmes that has impacted young people in Spain most heavily, namely "Tenemos Que Repetir" (Let's do it again”), directed by Sebas Lorente, a renowned motivational speaker, which aims to raise awareness and sensitise young people to the importance of behaving responsibly when driving. This programme has had a direct, face-to-face impact on more than 16,000 students in six years, in more than 100 schools throughout Spain.

Abertis has also been a strategic ally of UNICEF Spain since 2017, committed to the fight against one of the main causes of death among schoolchildren: traffic accidents. That is why the alliance focuses on alleviating the lack of safe infrastructures in school zones, improving drivers' and their passengers' behaviour and promoting safe and sustainable mobility for children in cities, reinforcing available resources, as well as the legislation in high-risk countries in relation to road safety, promoting its dissemination and compliance.

The Foundation's headquarters, the UNESCO International Centre

Environmentally speaking, ever since 2014 Abertis Foundation's head office, Castellet Castle (Barcelona), has housed the UNESCO International Centre for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves. This Centre aims to conduct an in-depth study of the Mediterranean region, as it is located in a unique, biodiversity-rich environment, and its ISO 14:001 certification guarantees correct environmental management, minimising its impact on the territory. A pioneering model of public-private partnership within the scope of the United Nations' MaB (Man and Biosphere) Programme, the centre is backing an ambitious programme of scientific and informative activities linked to the network, and in 2023 it hosted the first meeting of the three Thematic Networks officially recognised by UNESCO. This followed the formal approval last June of the Thematic Network of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, MedMaB, the third to be approved worldwide, which is now in its 10th year.

Abertis Chairs: more than 200 international students recognised

In 2003, Abertis Foundation launched the International Network of Abertis Chairs as a university-industry knowledge transfer initiative scheme and, since then, it has collaborated with renowned national and international academic institutions. After more than 20 years, the network has grown both in number of universities and countries involved, expanding its scope not only in the road safety field, but also in sustainable mobility issues. The International Network of Abertis Chairs currently consists of the Chairs in Spain (Polytechnic University of Madrid), France (École des Ponts-ParisTech), Puerto Rico (University of Puerto Rico), Chile (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), Brazil (University of São Paulo), Mexico (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and Italy (University of Padua).

In the 20 years that this network has been in operation, nearly 900 researchers and students from 15 different nationalities have participated, while more than 200 have been recognized throughout the different editions.

Promoting culture around the world

Thanks to close collaboration with the administration and cultural entities such as the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Abertis Foundation has taken the work of some of Spain's leading artists, such as Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Diego Velázquez and Antoni Gaudí to countries such as France, Italy, the United States, Argentina, India, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Chile. One recent example is its sponsorship of " Miró Universe", a travelling exhibition which, thanks to the cooperation of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation and together with the Joan Miró Foundation, has exhibited several pieces by Miró in Embassies and Consulates all over the world.

• Press release