The Annual Report is a document that lets us take stock of the actions carried out by the Abertis Foundation in the areas of environment, road safety, social action and culture. From 2015, I would like to highlight two awards of recognition. Firstly, the Biosphere Responsible Tourism certification obtained by Castellet Castle. Secondly, the Stela Award, which the Madrid Down Syndrome Foundation conferred on us for our work towards integrating this group into the workplace in the Road Assistant Project.

The Biosphere Responsible Tourism distinction is an international tourist stamp that certifies the best practices in environmental management at Castellet Castle, the Abertis Foundation’s headquarters and the UNESCO International Centre for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves. The centre’s first major milestone was the creation of the Network of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves in 2015, today comprising 61 representative areas from 14 countries on both shores of the Mediterranean. The UNESCO International Centre also hosted an Ibero-American summit of Biosphere Reserves, at which 16 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean were represented. I should also highlight that the number of visitors to Castellet Castle went past 50,000 this year. Since 2004, when the headquarters of our foundation opened to the public through guided tours, it has received 100,511 visitors.

The Road Assistant Project, which received the Stela Award, lies halfway between our social action and road safety initiatives. Its aim is the integration of young people with Down syndrome in employed work, and involves them observing and noting down the road safety habits of parents and children at school arrival and departure times in Madrid and Barcelona. Internationally, I would like to highlight that we are carrying out road safety educational and awareness-raising activities in the main countries where the Abertis Group operates: Brazil, Chile, Spain, France and Puerto Rico.

We also have an international overview of our activity in cultural spheres. In 2015, we promoted an exhibition of the great painter Velázquez at the Grand Palais in Paris and a show of the artist Joan Miró in São Paulo and Florianópolis. Additionally, nearly 170 pieces from the Kunstmuseum Basel were exhibited at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.

Salvador Alemany