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accident at work, was the one who got us
hooked to the world of adapted sports
twelve years ago.
He told us that after his accident; he could
not work anymore and discovered that
sports were not only a way for physical and
emotional rehabilitation, but also for profes-
sional rehabilitation. Today he is a sports-
man with an impressive list of achieve-
ments.
Ivan showed us that adapted sports repre-
sent an additional aid for physical, emotio-
nal, social, and even professional rehabilita-
tion for those who had suffered an accident
at the workplace. Prevent’s work in the field
of sports is currently based on four lines of
action: 1) encouraging adapted sports for
children and adults who become disabled;
2) scholarships for sportsmen; 3) organizing
the Prevent Campus for children with cere-
bral palsy; 4) organizing the Inclusive Pre-
vent Award Athletics Championship where
athletes with or without disabilities compete
simultaneously.
Another reason why we remain committed
to the world of adapted sports, beyond the
benefits for people and their environment, is
the lack of resources for training and com-
peting on equal footing. A good chair for
competing, adapted transport for travelling,
special materials, all of this requires additio-
nal financial resources which families can-
not often afford.
The second edition of the Entrepre-
neurs’ Classroom
You are already involved in the second
edition of the Entrepreneurs’ Clas-
sroom in collaboration with ESADE,
which, through a training and mento-
ring program for entrepreneurs with
disabilities, prepares these individuals
for successfully carrying out their busi-
ness initiatives. FCC is participating
again this year in this initiative and
some of our executives contribute their
experience and knowledge in various
business management aspects. Last
year’s edition was a success in terms
of response, support, and results. What
can you tell us about this second edi-
tion? Are there any novelties? Is there
any project that stands out due to its
originality?
I have been working at Fundación Prevent
for the past 18 years. The Entrepreneurs’
Classroom is certainly one of the best pro-
jects that we have launched. I define it as
an exemplary cooperation model because
of three reasons:
•
Firstly, because of the values that it
promotes: commitment, respect, and
professionalism in the classroom,
among other values.
•
The players involved are another rea-
son that make the Classroom special:
it is promoted by a third-sector entity
jointly with one of the most prestigious
business schools, with the involve-
ment of entities such as ONCE, priva-
te companies such as FCC, indepen-
dent professionals and entrepreneurs
with disabilities; a wide array of orga-
nizations and professional profiles that
fit in perfectly.
•
And, lastly, the environment is one of
the differentiating elements. The Clas-
sroom has an important social envi-
ronment and we should also bear in
mind that it has a clear economic en-
vironment for entrepreneurs and so-
ciety. The results of the first edition
were exceptionally good: 7 of the 15
selected projects were launched suc-
cessfully. In the second edition, 19
and 13 projects were selected from
Barcelona and Madrid, respectively.
There are ideas related to art, accessi-
Practicing sports
is certainly a healthy habit
for everyone and its
benefits are unquestionable
even more so when
we talk about sports and
disability
bility applied to art and consumer
goods; training, leisure; technology,
etc. The six best projects of each edi-
tion (Barcelona and Madrid) will recei-
ve a 5,000 euro scholarship to help
launch the business.
As to the types of disabilities, there are
students with diminished mobility, visual,
hearing, and mental disabilities. The suc-
cess of this program is the fact that disabi-
lity is considered only in terms of achieving
accessibility in spaces and academic con-
texts. The academic level is the same as in
cases where the students did not have any
connection with Fundación Prevent. The
enthusiasm and the thirst for knowledge is
the common denominator of all students.
The involvement with their students and
their projects is shared by the professors
and tutors.