Monapart, a company with Aura
On July 5th, the 29th Aura Foundation summer event was held at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona, with more than 800 attendees. And Monapart, represented by José Luis Echeverría, had the honour and pleasure of attending and debuting as a "company with Aura".
Aura is a non-profit organisation that was created in 1989. It was the first "Supported Employment in the country, pioneer in the implementation and development of this methodology by applying it to people with intellectual disabilities. Supported Employment" is a model that began to be developed in the United States in the 1980s and facilitates the integration of people with disabilities into the labour market through a set of strategies and support procedures adapted to their special needs.
In these nearly 30 years, Aura Fundación has obtained almost 330 employment contracts for people with intellectual disabilities in prestigious companies.. For the first time in history, some participants with Down's syndrome have been working for almost 30 years, demonstrating that inclusion in the labour market is a success if the necessary supports are provided.
For its good social work and pioneering activity in the country, Aura Foundation has received international recognitionThe innovative methodology has been implemented in organisations in Spain, Europe and Latin America, and has been used as a model by APSE, EUSE and EASPD.
The event, opened by its director, Glòria Canals, and presented by its manager, Maria Cabré, also included brief presentations by representatives of companies such as Daba Nespresso, Invest for children and T-Systems. And at the event, Jaume Giró, General Director of the Fundació Bancària La Caixa, presented awards to companies that this year have hired Aura participants and that, for this reason, become companies "with Aurajoining the more than 200 that already are. Companies such as Adidas, Carrefour, Everis, Humana, Kibuka, Nomad Coffee, Panasonic, Penguin Random House, Seat, Caixa Bank and Dir include Monapart.
During the event, some videos were projected, such as the summary of the recent presentation of Aura Foundation at the United Nations in New York and another with the impacts of social networks where #AuraDownsDay became a trending topic. Diplomas for the pre-employment training programme were also awarded, as well as diplomas for participants who have been in the workforce for 10 and 20 years. Also, this is the third year that medals were awarded in recognition of workers who have been working for more than 25 years.
Finally, two participants from Aura Fundación, Irene Carballo (a recent addition to Monapart) and Jaume, welcomed the new participants and wished them the best of luck in getting a job like the one they have.
It was a very emotional event where companies, participants, families and allies of the foundation gathered to celebrate that, for yet another year, the good work of Aura Foundation has made it possible for people with disabilities to join the labour market.
