Last Thursday, November 28th, the Alvaralice Foundation held the award ceremony of the 10th Annual Civic Award for A Better City. The event took place in Centro Cultural Comfandi’s main auditorium in Cali. Thirteen initiatives were recognized for their social innovation and collective work. These initiatives have helped change the image of the capital of Valle del Cauca.
This award is a recognition that seeks to identify, strengthen and highlight collective initiatives of social innovation in order to improve the quality of life of their communities. This year in Cali, a total of 103 social organizations applied for the awards. The attendees of the event experienced an exciting evening where life-changing social and civic potential of the city was acknowledged.
The first prize was awarded to the Canalón School Foundation, which obtained 13 million pesos in seed capital to continue working on their initiative. Their mission seeks to preserve the cultural heritage of the Colombian Pacific region through artistic, cultural and ancestral expressions by developing workshops, musical activities, “rondas” and educational games. These activities generate socio-economic and cultural development, promoting co-existence and peace, through activities that help children and youth develop their life projects.
The second prize went to the Manos con Alma project, of the FUNDAPEDCO foundation, a project for vulnerable persons with cognitive or intellectual disabilities. This initiative focuses on helping the beneficiaries in creating arts and crafts products (necklaces, bags, picture frames, eyeglasses holders, etc) that are then commercialized and sold. This project contributes to building a more inclusive social fabric, since people with disabilities have been stigmatized by their conditions and have failed to reach their potential in their artistic development.
The third prize went to the initiative “Me integro como mujer” (“I integrate as a Woman”) of the Progresar Foundation. This is a project that raises awareness of the role of women who take care of individuals with cognitive or intellectual disabilities. This project seeks to strengthen the role of these women in the community, not only empowering them from a social and economic approach, but also improving their self-esteem and their role in the community.
The Civic Award is coordinated in Cali by the Alvaralice Foundation and supported by the Bolívar Davivienda, Carvajal, Corona, Club Campestre, Fanalca, WWB Colombia and Plan Internacional foundations, as well as educational institutions such as Colegio Freinet, Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios and the Center for Education and Research for Urban and Rural Community Development (CEDECUR), as well as social media such as Noticiero 90 Minutos and the newspaper El País.