Moventia, another year with the Palace of Catalan Music

Moventia is renewing its partnership with the Palace of Catalan Music for another year as a Protector Patron in order to help promote the artistic schedule organised by the Orfeó Català-Palace of Catalan Music Foundation.

A benchmark in sustainable mobility, the company stands firmly by its commitment to promoting culture as it believes this to be a key sector for rebuilding the local economic fabric and creating jobs. This action forms part of Moventia’s Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Plan, which was created as a way for the company to voluntarily help build a better society.

According to Sílvia Martí, Vice-President of Corporate Affairs, Internal and Institutional Communication of Moventia: “Culture is a driving force for investment and enhances our reputation as a country but, unfortunately, it has been hit hard by the fallout from the pandemic. These are all reasons why Moventia remains committed for another year to this organisation, which uses its activities, concerts and choirs to promote musical practice and training, and, in short, to bring knowledge of Catalan heritage and culture closer to a wider audience, a reflection of our society”.

In the words of Mariona Carulla, Chairwoman of the Orfeó Català-Palace of Catalan Music Foundation: “We are very pleased to continue receiving the support of Moventia in our patronage programme. Contributions like those made by this company are essential to promoting our artistic activity and continuing our mission to bring music to all”.

The safety of Moventis, once again guaranteed by Applus+

Moventis has been assessed by Applus+ in terms of health and safety for another year. The company earned the new Applus+ Hygiene and Control Protocols certification applicable to the transport and tourist services sector in compliance with its action protocols against risks stemming from COVID-19.

This certification guarantees the health and safety measures implemented by Moventis and recognises its strict compliance in various areas, such as the physical environment with basic and hygiene measures as well as technical measures, and the working environment with organisational measures that include checks on personnel at every company forming part of Moventis.

Applus+ analyses the protocols in place at organisations and companies, and verifies their suitability in terms of current regulations, as well as the actions required based on the situation. Once these protocols have been validated, the client’s premises are audited on site to analyse the effective implementation of the requirements established by the protocols. 

This procedure reaffirms the mission undertaken by Moventis as a business group that is committed to people, society, the environment and the quality of all its services.

Diversity Charter

19 Moventia companies have now signed the Diversity Charter, an initiative promoted by the Diversity Foundation in Spain with support from the European Commission, the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, the Department of Enterprise and Occupation of the Regional Government of Catalonia and the employers’ associations CEOE, Fomento del Trabajo and PIMEC.

Specifically, four Moventis companies have renewed their membership of this initiative (Marfina Bus, Marfina S.L., Sarfa and TCC SA), which have now been joined by Autobusos de Lleida, Autocares Calella, Auto Pla Vic 4×4, Avenix, Casas, Comercial Martí, Ízaro, La Vallesana, Marfina Serveis, Motorprim, Moventis Illes, Sarsa Vallés, Stern Motor and TCC2 SL.

The companies from the Moventia group were the first in the mobility sector to join this commitment and have been renewing their support since 2012.

The Diversity Charter represents a commitment to promoting the main principles of equality, respect for everybody’s right to inclusion regardless of profile and recognition of the benefits to be gained from cultural, demographic and social diversity within the organisation. It also supports the implementation of policies to foster a prejudice-free working environment and non-discrimination programmes for disadvantaged groups.

As part of their commitment to promoting equality and inclusion in the workplace, the companies of the Moventia group that have voluntarily signed the Diversity Charter respect the rules governing equal opportunities and anti-discrimination, and assume the basic principles of awareness, inclusion, building a diverse workforce and work-life balance.

Conclusion of the IV TRAM Barcelona Open, with Moventis

 

The IV TRAM Barcelona Open, held between 19 and 22 May at the Royal Polo Club in Barcelona, took place without incident thanks to the health and safety protocols implemented by the organisers and their partners. This globally benchmark international wheelchair tournament was supported by Moventis-Transports Ciutat Comtal (TCC) as the official transportation provider for the 40 participating athletes from 13 different countries.

In the words of José Coronado, Director of the TRAM Barcelona Open: “involving Moventis – TCC in the tournament as sponsors this year represented a huge leap forward in quality for us. We were able to offer an adapted transport service of the highest quality from a company with extensive experience in mobility for people with functional diversity that is merely enhanced by the spectacular image of the minibuses. The result was a complete success and the players made a point of saying so during the tournament.”

 

The tournament concluded this year’s event with victory in the men’s category for Gustavo Fernández from Argentina, who beat Vandorpe from Belgium 6/1 and 6/4 in an exciting final. In the women’s category, Diede de Groot from the Netherlands was crowned as the TRAM Barcelona Open champion. The number one in the world and hot favourite at the tournament beat Yui Kamiji from Japan (second in the world and second seed at the event in Barcelona) in the grand final 6/4 and 6/1.

The Spanish doubles team of Martín de la Puente from Galicia and Daniel Caverzaschi from Madrid took home the title in the men’s doubles category at the tournament. They are both members of the Spanish national team. De la Puente and Caverzaschi beat Gaetan Menguy from France and Jef Vandorpe from Belgium in the final 6/2 and 7/5. The title in the women’s doubles category went to Macarena Cabrillana from Chile and Diede de Groot from the Netherlands, who beat Angelica Bernal from Colombia and Charlotte Fairbank from France 6/2 and 6/2.

MOVENTIS TCC TRANSPORT OFICIAL BCN OPEN TRAM.mp4 from Videosmoventia on Vimeo.

 

Moventia maintains its support for FERO

In 2021, Spain stands among the top three participants in the IRONMAN Study, the largest global registry of advanced prostate cancer patient samples, highlighting the commitment from Spanish society to this research. In fact, Spain has tripled its involvement from 80 to 237 patients within a period of 12 months. This figure once again demonstrates the solidarity of Spanish patients with this long-term project that will help us better understand the disease and develop new therapeutic options for the future.

Guillermo Mora, a 71-year-old patient who was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago and who has been in the metastasis stage for three years, wanted to share with Spanish society what it means to take part in a project like IRONMAN: “The responsibility to end this disease not only lies with doctors and researchers. As patients, we must be able to help and I feel that if my time, my experience and my samples can help us find a cure one day – hopefully sooner rather than later – then that is the least I can do. We are essential to the medical research and we have to be proactive if we want to achieve what so many of us so anxiously desire”.

This spirit of involvement and commitment to cancer research is the driving force pushing Moventia – a benchmark company in sustainable mobility – to maintain its commitment to this project through the FERO Foundation year after year as one of the main donors making it possible for Spain to be on the global IRONMAN map.

In the words of Silvia Martí, VP of Corporate, Internal and Institutional Communication at Moventia: “we have been supporting FERO on various projects for more than six years because we believe that we must all feel involved if we want to make real progress in cancer research: patients, relatives, researchers, doctors, civil society, companies, etc. Every one of us does our bit. For that reason, we are more convinced than ever that our effort to support IRONMAN year after year will be able to help people like Mr. Mora to improve their quality of life and find solutions that now seem unimaginable”.

Moventia’s support for this initiative forms part of the actions planned under its Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Plan as a voluntary expression by the company to help build a better society.

More visibility and research

The spirit, strength and determination of Mr. Mora seem inherent to the hundreds of Spanish patients who have joined this project in one year. However, he calls for more visibility and commitment to a disease with which 1 out of 8 men will be diagnosed during their lifetime[1]. “Prostate cancer is as equally prevalent as breast cancer but has a much lower profile in the media and therefore lacks the same level of support… We must make people more aware, ensure they have themselves checked, know the warning signs, etc. because with cancer, more than ever, time is golden”.

“I am always surprised by how open our patients are to taking part in projects like IRONMAN, how motivated they are to form part of projects that can help us better understand the disease. We are tremendously grateful to them and we try to respond by learning as much as we can about the disease from the data and the samples that they provide us with so altruistically”, explains Dr. Joaquín Mateo, Head of the Translational Prostate Cancer Research Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), the oncologist for Mr. Mora and one of the coordinators of the study here in Spain.

The project

The IRONMAN project is based on three main lines of action: a systemic collection of clinical data from patients with advanced prostate cancer (treatments, evolution, response to them); to this register are added data on the personal life of the patients (how they live with the disease, how the treatment affects their daily life); and, finally, a bank of participating patient samples is created in order to conduct translational research with them. The goal is to become a major international platform for clinical and molecular data from patients in 16 different countries in order to help better understand the disease and to fight it more effectively in the future.

“IRONMAN is special because, besides what we learn from the project itself, which we hope will be a great deal, it helps us build a network between researchers and hospitals in our country, which I’m sure will facilitate many other projects and lead to progress in this field in the future”, explains Dr. David Olmos, Head of the Clinical Research on Prostate Cancer Unit at the National Centre for Oncology Research (CNIO) and Spanish coordinator of the study alongside Mateo.

Eleven benchmark Spanish centres are already taking part in this research network, which connects oncologists in Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Asturias. Furthermore, the project in Spain is also backed by the FERO Foundation and the Movember Foundation, two non-profit organisations engaged in promoting cancer research.

Moventis supports the Pilarín Bayés Awards

Once again, Moventia (through Autocares Calella) supported the XVIII Pilarín Bayés Awards by providing the transportation for primary school children from various schools across Catalonia taking part in the event. The award ceremony took place at the Catalan National Art Museum on 1 June.

The prizes are presented in recognition of stories written by primary school children. The awards seek to encourage reading and to bring books closer to children, stimulate their imagination and make them reflect and work on issues based on values. They are organised by Editorial Mediterrània in partnership with Obra Social San Juan de Dios. Lockdown was the chosen theme for the competition this year. An experience shared by all children but approached very differently in every home.

 

Many congratulations to all the winners!

 

 

 

 

Culture is a driving force for investment and enhances our reputation as a country

Sílvia Martí, Vice-President of Corporate, Internal and Institutional Communication of Moventia, took part in the “Culture as a Catalyst for the Economy” meeting held at the Círculo Ecuestre with support from the Catalunya Cultura Foundation. 

The event highlighted the importance of culture as a fundamental factor in boosting the economy and creating jobs and wealth. Sílvia Martí was very adamant about this, saying that “culture is a driving force for investment and enhances our reputation as a country. Unfortunately however, the level of investment is far below the European average”.

In saying this, she was referring to the figures on public investment in culture in Spain, which currently stands at 1.2% of the budget with an impact on Spanish GDP of 3.4%, while this impact is 4.7% in Europe.

During the debate, Sílvia Martí also expressed her concern over the foreseeable difficulty to be encountered by culture companies – especially the smaller ones – in accessing Next Generation funds to enable them to finance key projects in their sector. “I am very interested to know how this will happen, when and what the deadlines will be. The culture sector is suffering tremendously and, if the public authorities do not take an interest, we will continue to have a serious problem in the world of culture”.

Agreement on this came from everyone else taking part in the round table discussion moderated by Georgina Ferri, CEO of the ARA newspaper, and featuring Ramón Agenjo, Vice-President of the Damm Foundation; Anna Gener, CEO for Barcelona of Savills Aguirre Newman; and Eusebio Güell, President of the Güell Foundation. They all agreed on the urgent need for a country like Spain to approve a Patronage Act, one of the central issues in cultural policy over the last decade and which seeks to incentivise donations of private capital for cultural activities.

Webinar on senior mobility

Josep Maria Martí took part in a webinar on Friday, 23 April, promoted by the Mobility Institute and presented by the Chairman of RACC, Josep Mateu, on the conclusions reached by a study conducted by this organisation in partnership with Deloitte and entitled “The boom of the future: senior mobility”. The event was used to highlight the mobility needs of the over-65s, a growing part of the population that will experience a veritable “demographic tidal wave” when everyone born during the baby boom of the 1960s reaches retirement age.

 

The round table discussion in which Josep Maria Martí took part was focused on senior mobility, both as pedestrians and as users of public transport. The Managing Director of Moventia took the opportunity to offer his own vision of mobility outside of the major cities in the metropolitan area and talked about on-demand mobility services, such as shared buses. He went on to present the projects that Moventia is currently working on in the field of group transportation to meet the needs of senior citizens.

DAS WELTAUTO delivers a ŠKODA KODIAQ to SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES in Catalonia

Das WeltAuto, the second-hand vehicle brand of the Volkswagen Group, delivered a ŠKODA KODIAQ to SOS Children’s Villages in Catalonia to help the children of Aldea de Sant Feliu de Codines in Barcelona get around.

The loan of this vehicle, which was handed over at Sarsa Terrasa, forms part of the “A Chance to Help” project that will support the mobility of over
300 boys and girls.

The vehicle was handed over during an event held on the Sarsa premises in Terrasa (Barcelona). The event was attended by: Carlos Calatayud, Sales Director of ŠKODA Spain; Enric Fauste, Managing Director of the Sarsa Group; Jordi Doménech, Manager of ŠKODA and SEAT for the Sarsa Group; José Luis Escobar, Regional Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Catalonia; and Carmen Nicolás, Director of Aldea de Sant Feliu de Codines.

The loan of this car forms part of the “A Chance to Help” project consisting of seven second-hand vehicles in total from Das WeltAuto to provide mobility services under the protection programmes run by this NGO in various autonomous regions of Spain. This initiative is a response to the commitment from the Volkswagen Group to helping children at risk of exclusion. Das WeltAuto is giving seven vehicles to SOS Children’s Villages to meet the mobility needs of around 300 boys and girls growing up without the care of their parents at six of the villages managed by this organisation throughout the country. The vehicles will be on loan for one year, at the end of which they can be swapped for others of a similar nature.

This ŠKODA KODIAQ and all the vehicles included in the initiative have passed an exhaustive testing process by Das WeltAuto and come with the Volkswagen Group guarantee. The vehicle models were chosen according to the needs expressed by SOS Children’s Villages.

Through this initiative, Das WeltAuto seeks to help integrate vulnerable children by providing vehicles that will help them attend training activities, visit the doctor or enjoy recreational activities that require travel.

Moventia attends Conference on Best Practices for Equality Plans

Agustí López Fitó, HR Manager at Moventia, spoke at the Conference on Best Practices for Equality Plans held on 25 March, the goal of which was to reveal what companies and social entities in Sabadell are doing to support gender equality and respect for sexual diversity. Best practices were also shared by Pilar Medel, the Equality and Technical Human Resources Coordination Officer for Parc Taulí; Estela Sánchez, General Manager of DICOMOL, SL; and Júlia Alsinet, the Partner for l’Eixida of Telar Cooperatiu. 

Agustí López Fitó spoke about the Moventis project carried out in partnership with the Catalan Employment Service (SOC) to train new bus drivers. Participants in the project are given the chance to obtain both the D and CAP licences, with a period of work experience at companies in the Moventis group. 50% of trainees were subsequently given a contract at the company. 

This project seeks to raise the number of available driving professionals by training the unemployed or others wishing to improve their current employment status. Priority is given to young people, women and other groups at risk of social exclusion.