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Fundación VINCI Colombia: prioritising education and inclusion

#diversity
#inclusion
#integration

Fundación VINCI Colombia, the Group’s first foundation in Latin America, was created in 2021 by VINCI Construction and its local subsidiaries, and VINCI Highways (VINCI Concessions). As a member of the international “Fondation VINCI pour la Cité” network, it lends its support to social and professional integration initiatives and promotes equal opportunities in a country affected by inequality. 

 

For Lina Hurtado, Director of Fundación VINCI Colombia and Head of Communication at Via Sumapaz, and Liliana Naranjo, Deputy Director, this project lies especially close to their heart, since they share the same vision of the positive impact that such initiatives can have on the local communities.

What are the main social and economic challenges facing Colombians? 

Colombia is racked by deep-lying inequalities. More than one in five Colombians are living beneath the poverty line, and the unemployment rate is above 10%, which exacerbates wealth inequality even further.

Many children are denied access to a quality education. Due to a lack of financial resources, they are sometimes forced to give up their studies. 

When it comes to the working world, a divide still exists between men and women, with wage gaps climbing as high as 28%.

We are committed to reducing these inequalities through Fundación VINCI Colombia. It may call for non-stop action, but we are determined to make a difference! 

Fundación VINCI Colombia was created amidst the health crisis. How did the pandemic influence your actions and the needs of the local communities?

Lina Hurtado: 

We began toying with the idea of creating a local office of the Fondation VINCI pour la Cité in Colombia back in 2020. The project started taking shape in 2021 after we received funding from the Fondation VINCI pour la Cité in France. 

During the height of the pandemic, we focused our initiatives on providing food aid, since the crisis had placed many families and isolated people in an even more precarious situation. We identified a number of hunger relief associations and we started coordinating our efforts with them.  

Liliana Naranjo, Deputy Director of Fundación VINCI:

Tackling hunger might not be at the top of our priority list anymore, but our teams are still taking action in this particular area. Volunteers from the Âbaco association, which we are supporting, are active in the field every day as they hand out food and water to impoverished communities across the country. This initiative continues to play a vital role in our commitment to reduce inequality in Colombia.

How did your actions change after the pandemic and what challenges are you now focused on addressing?

Lina Hurtado : 

We are currently directing our efforts towards what we believe are two essential areas, namely education and inclusion. These two issues are intimately related. We have decided to collaborate with a wider range of associations, including Global Medicine, She Is Foundation, Soy Hemi Fundacion and Casa de la Mujer, in addition to Âbaco which we were already working with. Five projects with these associations were sponsored in 2023.  

visuel femmes en Colombie

In Colombia, women often play the role of mother. We want to give them a choice and show them that being a mother is not the only option available to them, and that they can embark on a career if they so wish.  

 

Since this is part of our everyday life, we are striving to incorporate even more women into the construction and infrastructure sector. They are still a rare sight in the industry, and we firmly believe that a greater balance would be beneficial to everyone. In addition, our volunteers’ actions are encouraging even the youngest girls to consider a career in the sector. 

In a few years, it will simply be wonderful to see how some of our new female recruits will have benefited from the support they received from Fundación VINCI Colombia.

Lina Hurtado, Director of Fundación VINCI Colombia and Head of Communication at Via Sumapaz

Liliana Naranjo: 

Inclusion and education are intimately related. Our programmes also involve supporting moves to integrate children who come from underprivileged backgrounds (or living in extremely precarious conditions) or from migrant families, or who have cognitive disabilities.

We are committed to identifying key local projects that create the greatest positive impact in the long term. As such, we are strengthening the VINCI Group’s reputation in Colombia.

Any final words?

Lina Hurtado: 

All these beneficial initiatives would not be possible without the dedicated efforts of our employee volunteers, who generously donate their time to furthering these causes, in addition to their own professional commitments at VINCI or within other partner entities. Fundación VINCI Colombia is striving to encourage even more employees to engage with these causes. Their active participation in these projects is invaluable and brings a deep sense of meaning to their everyday work. 

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