Intergenerational Ambassador Awards
The first edition of the Intergenerational Ambassador Awards has been held at the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology of the University of Granada, headquarters of the Macrosad Chair, in an exclusive gala, which has been attended by different institutional and business representatives of the Andalusian community in Spain.
After more than 15 years working with an intergenerational approach, materialized in its mission and value proposal, we connect generations, Macrosad promotes, in a transversal way, activities and initiatives in all its centers and services, betting on the transfer and generation of scientific value, through of its innovation ecosystem, of which the Macrosad Chair in Intergenerational Studies is a part.
For the second consecutive year, the Chair has coordinated, at a national level, Global Intergenerational Week, an event promoted by the Scottish entity, Generations Working Together, which involved fourteen countries who, for a week, disseminated events, projects and programs that value intergenerationality.
Coinciding with the commemoration of the European Day of Solidarity and Cooperation between Generations, which was held on April 29, the Macrosad Chair in Intergenerational Studies at the University of Granada (UGR) has promoted the First Edition of the intergenerational ambassador awards, some unprecedented recognitions, at a national level, and that are born with the purpose in order to distinguish the effort and work of public and private entities, associations and individuals, who have stood out for their determined defense and promotion of the connection between people of different generations, fighting age discrimination.
The jury, which has been formed by three members of the Mixed Commission of the Chair (Guadalupe MartÃnez, Vice Dean of Internationalization and Transfer of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology of the UGR; Rosa Bonachela and LucÃa González, Director of Development and Director of Innovation of Macrosad, respectively), as well as three professionals with extensive experience in the intergenerational field (such as Sacramento Pinazo, president of the Valencian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology; Ignacio Chato, member of the Commission for Intergenerational Programs of the Government of Extremadura; and MarÃa Jesús González, director of the Chacolines Albolote Early Childhood Education Center, which is part of the Macrosad’s Intergenerational Reference Center (CINTER), unanimously valued originality, track record and exemplarity of awardees.
The gala, which was chaired by Pilar Aranda – Rector of the University of Granada- and Andrés RodrÃguez – General Director of Macrosad-, and presented by Mariano Sánchez, Director of the Chair, was attended by a group of representative personalities from different areas of the Andalusian society, such as the Junta de AndalucÃa (Andalusian Regional Government), town halls of different Granada municipalities, and the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FAMP), among others, who have witnessed this pioneering event, which will lay the foundations for future editions and some awards that will position Andalusia and, specifically, the province of Granada, as an intergenerational benchmark at a national and international level.
The award-winning in the six established categories have been the following:
- Natural person: Salvador Sánchez, Superior Technician of Sociocultural Animation at the Residence and municipal day center for the Third Age of Almassora, for his dedication and innovative capacity when applying an intergenerational community approach to his work.
- International Ambassador: Professor Matthew S. Kaplan, Professor of Intergenerational Programs and Aging at Pennsylvania State University (United States), for a lifetime dedicated to researching and promoting intergenerational relationships.
- Public person: Petra MartÃnez and Anna Castillo, for their interpretation of MarÃa and Verónica in the film “La vida era eso” [Life was that], by David MartÃn. The jury considered that the intergenerational couple, played by the two protagonists, has made a significant contribution to making the public aware of the value of intergenerationality.
- Private entity: Padre Manjón School (Granada), for its exceptional, solid and continuous commitment to intergenerationality in its educational project.
- Public administration: Municipal Housing Board of the Alicante City Council, for its decision to build an exemplary building for intergenerational housing in Plaza de América, the first bet in a series of intergenerational developments.
- Association/foundation: Hartu-Emanak, for his career in intergenerational work initiated by older people
For more detail and links please read the full press release below.