Rome, October 8th, 2013 More than 570 projects, around 52 million euros contributed to help 400,000 people, including children, teens, the sick, the disabled and the elderly who live in difficult conditionsthis is the fruit of 10 years of work by Enel Cuore Onlus, the Enel Group non-profit, which today, in Rome, celebrates this important accomplishment with Enel Chairman Paolo Andrea Colombo, Enel CEO and Enel Cuore Chairman Fulvio Conti, Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin and the mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi.
Reducing inequality, stated Enel Chairman Paolo Andrea Colombo, is the challenge that we face in restoring stability to the economic and social structure as a whole. From this perspective, the business system has been assigned a truly social role: that of becoming a crucial hub between the business world and society, between business and stakeholders, between companies and citizens. It is a solidarity that must be understood as the ability of the business system to perceive the needs of disadvantaged segments of the population, to understand the weakest signals that arise in the various social contexts in which they operate, and to know how to respond to these needs in an appropriate manner.
Enel Cuores 10 years of activity, commented Fulvio Conti, CEO and General Manager of the Enel Group and Chairman of Enel Cuore, demonstrates the Groups commitment to developing and supporting those communities in which we operate. The non-profit sector is now one of the most active in Italy and Enel Cuore is one of its most important actors. Social responsibility and philanthropy are two complementary expressions of the relationship between businesses and the community, and with Enel Cuore, we have decided to aim for an ideal of that cooperation that places people at its centre.
To celebrate its first 10 years, Enel Cuore has decided to convey The words of solidarity through a number of initiatives to encourage the non-profit sector, and public opinion in general, to rethink how the world of philanthropy communicates. In doing so, it will be possible to introduce a new vocabulary drawn from daily life and the values of persons, whether volunteers, operators, or citizens. The celebration was kicked off with a web campaign entitled Words that are important: an Internet site to which anyone can contribute their creativity and feelings and suggest one or more works describing the world of solidarity. Over 2,000 words have been received, almost half of which by Enel Group employees.
Twelve of the words submitted have been chosen and illustrated by twelve artists. They have become part of the Adventuring with your fingers The words of solidarity, a tactile exhibition for sighted and visually impaired children sponsored by Enel Cuore in partnership with the Italian Federation of Schools for the Blind (Federazione Nazionale delle Istituzioni pro Ciechi). The traveling exhibition began in Turin and will visit 11 cities, closing in Naples in December. The opening of the Roman stop of Adventuring with your fingers at the Macro-Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome will be celebrated in conjunction with Enel Cuores 10th anniversary. The show will run until October 13th.
A brief documentary on the exhibition has been produced for Sky Arte HD (channels 130 and 400 on the Sky satellite service) and will debut today at 8:30pm. Adventuring with your fingers will also be shown on Friday, October 11th, at 4:00 pm at the Macro Museums auditorium, as part of the round table on Works and images to be touched, consisting of several of the artists involved in the project, as well as teachers and educational experts.
Enel Cuore
Enel Cuore Onlus was founded in 2003 by Enel SpA and its subsidiaries in an effort to create an autonomous, non-profit structure whose goal would be to optimise the Groups philanthropic resources, reflecting the values expressed in its Code of Ethics, breathing life into social solidarity initiatives for supporting those who live in difficult conditions.
Enel Cuore operates mainly in Italy and in those countries where Enel is present by supporting local non-profit organisations in promoting specific projects for meeting the precise needs of people, families and communities, through tangible programmes with measurable, lasting benefits.
More specifically, Enel Cuore makes donations towards social projects, particularly those targeting children, the elderly and the disabled, in specific areas, such as: welfare, healthcare, education and sports.
From the date of its formation up to today Enel Cuore has supported 576 projects in Italy and abroad, donating around 52 million euros towards them.