FAAM once again delivers its gold awards on the occasion of the International Day of People with Disabilities

The film director Víctor Escribano, the teacher Coral Elizondo, the Biobank of the Public Health System of Andalusia and the DGT among the winners of that 18th edition

On the occasion of the International Day of People with Disabilities, commemorated every December 3, the Almería Federation of Associations of People with Disabilities, FAAM, will deliver its traditional FAAM Gold next Friday.

Awards that reach the eighteenth edition and that will be awarded in a total of nine categories to people and entities that, with their work and effort, promote the social inclusion of people with any disability.

The assembly hall of the FAAM Residence for Seriously Affected Persons will be the place from which the entity will carry out this event in person, which after the online edition of the previous year, resumes in-person presence with limited capacity and all control measures. possible.

With the aim of making this gala accessible to all of society, the organization will broadcast it live next Friday the 3rd starting at 11:00 a.m. through the FAAM Facebook channel.

For Valentín Sola, President of the Federation, these awards mean focusing on those who, from sectors as different as culture, education, sports or health, help to build a more humane and egalitarian society. It is the Board of Directors of the entity, at the proposal of its associations, who study the merits of the different candidatures and vote for the winners in each edition.

The 18th edition of the awards will reward:

Biobank Andalusian Health System

The Biobank of the Public Health System of Andalusia is an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family created in 2014 with several objectives: optimizing therapeutic procedures for patients and promoting biomedical research, all without neglecting the protection of citizens. sample donors. Two years later, BIOBANCO promoted the creation of the Andalusian Registry of Sample Donors for Biomedical Research, which allows citizens to exercise their will to collaborate in person with biomedical research, thus becoming protagonists in the development of the best medicine. possible. Since its creation, its activity has increased and in recent years it has received nearly 79,000 donations from patients with oncological, mental, cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and healthy patients. Donations that have amounted to a total of 18,500 samples with which more than 1,200 requests from researchers and teachers have been met. It is the largest Biobank in the national network and the international benchmark.

FAAM Gold Education: Coral Elizondo

Coral Elizondo has a diploma in teaching from EGB, a degree in psychologist specializing in educational psychology, and she is also an educational counselor and a graduate in universal design for learning. She is a specialist in Inclusive Education and the author of several books on this topic. Speaker at various national and international conferences and conferences. He continually collaborates in education magazines and also writes and disseminates specific proposals to advance towards inclusive, equitable and quality education. It has created an educational space to advise centers, teachers and families in the transformation of education. Her work has led her to be a creator of educational material for ONCE and to be a trainer in the Ibero-American intergovernmental coordination network for the education of people with special educational needs.

FAAM Gold Labor Inclusion: Leroy Merlín

For Leroy Merlín, diversity and equal opportunities are a strategic management tool. This is reflected in the “Diversity and Talent” axis of its Responsible Business framework, whose objective is to offer training opportunities in labor integration in a diverse and inclusive environment. With this policy, Leroy Merlín seeks to contribute to a more inclusive society through professional integration, the accessibility of its points of sale, internal and external awareness, as well as cooperating with other entities involved in social inclusion. But they go further through the marketing of product ranges and the contracting of services developed by special employment centers. In 2020, its purchases from Special Employment Centers exceeded 814,000 euros. Currently, 2.19% of its staff are people with disabilities.

FAAM Gold Culture: Víctor Escribano

7 Lakes, 7 Lives tells the story of David Riaño, an emeritus scientist at the CSIC diagnosed with ALS 10 years ago and with a dream: to travel throughout Europe and bathe in its main lakes. For six months David traveled in a van, and he did not do it alone, along with two assistants and the director of the film, Víctor Escribano, who had never before faced a montage with more than 600 hours of tape recorded. This life story is also a bet by producer José Luis López Linares and without a doubt a documentary that in the director's words infects the desire to live that its protagonist has.

About the director: Víctor Escribano is director and editor. His first contact with cinema was at López-Li Films in 2008. Years later he participated in film direction workshops in Los Angeles and New York. Upon his return to Spain and after previously passing through London, he began to direct his own documentaries, among which Blind Horizon stands out, which narrates the swimming crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar by the Paralympic medalist Enhamed Enhamed. Upon his return to López-Li Films and López Linares he was given the opportunity to direct his first feature film, 7 lakes, 7 lives.

FAAM Gold Accessibility: DGT

Improving access to obtaining a driving license for people with dyslexia and autism spectrum disorder is the objective of several projects launched by the General Directorate of Traffic. Among them, the development of a guide for examiners with guidelines for action in practical exams or the adaptation of exam questionnaires to easy reading in accordance with the UNE 15 31 01 E X standard. This is a standard that brings together guidelines and recommendations regarding to the writing and design of documents and the validation of their understandability. The ultimate goal is to make information accessible to people with reading comprehension difficulties. These are the first opening steps to make the DGT an organization open to all people.

FAAM Gold Sport: Raquel Domínguez

She is one of the most successful paratriathletes in Spain with a surprising track record. The Sevillian athlete has to her credit a World Championship in Duathlon in 2016; two European Duathlon Championships in 2017 and 2018; 2018 European Aquathlon Champion; and thirteen-time Spanish swimming champion. In addition, she is the first Andalusian with a disability to complete half Ironman and ultra-distance and marathon races. A degenerative disease reduces the mobility of her arms, forcing her to undergo more than 20 interventions. In this sense, sport has allowed him to demonstrate what he is capable of doing in each training, challenge and competition. Sport has taught her to learn, to strive, to admire and respect others and has been an encouragement to improve and give the best of herself.

FAAM Institutional Gold: Health Delegation and Torrecárdenas University Hospital

In March of last year, FAAM and five of its member associations promoted the creation of the working group of organic disability entities with the health officials of the province, among whom are the Health Delegation and the Hospital management. University of Torrecárdenas. The need to maintain coordination on issues as important as health care was vital. Sending them the needs and keeping track of everything that is transferred in the meetings has been the roadmap marked since the beginning of the constitution of this group. The great disposition, agility and coordination created has made it possible to respond to some historical demands and, above all, to create a synergy that allows us to continue working for the benefit of people with disabilities.

FAAM Gold Communication: Vicky Bendito

Words serve to work on the dignity of people, under this premise Vicky Bendito, a journalist by profession, has been working since the beginning. She began as an editor at radio stations and in magazines until she landed at the Servimedia news agency where she has established herself as a professional and where she is now working within the communication department. In addition to being a journalist, Vicky is a photographer by hobby and a defender of the rights of people with disabilities and rare diseases by conviction. In 2018 she launched the petition “I am not diminished” on change.org to have the Constitution change this term in its article 49. She has numerous awards, the most recent awarded by Cermi in the activist category this same year. In 2020, she made it to the list of the 100 TOP Women Leaders in Spain in the third sector and social impact category or the 2019 Roosevelt Woman Award for having conveyed a positive image of women with disabilities.

FAAM Gold Social Work: Mariano Sopedra

Mariano Sopedra has spent a lifetime on stage. It was at the university Spanish theater in Madrid where he trained in the world of acting and stage direction. He has more than fifty theatrical premieres with the groups he has directed not only in Almería, but throughout the national territory. Music also knocked on his door, in fact, he spent five years as a professional musician with an orchestra touring Spain, Africa and Asia. The awards began to arrive and have not stopped in categories of direction, acting and editing, among which the award for best Actor stands out in the third edition of the Almería en Corto Short Film Festival. Her love for theater and acting has also spread to associations of people with disabilities, promoting their participation and dynamization among members and those affected.