by Domnall Óg
Home >> A Strong Foundation
In March this year Ferrovial became part of the Trans-Texas Corridor project; the largest infrastructure project ever in the US.
If this were Hollywood such success would be symbolised by plush limousines, vast mansions and all the trappings of conspicuous wealth.
But this is not Hollywood. This is Spain. And Spain, as we know, is different.
In May 2001 Ferrovial’s founder said thank you.
“I have set up the Rafael del Pino Foundation,” he said, “to return part of what the Spanish society has given to me throughout my personal and professional life.”
The aim of the foundation is to build Spain’s future leaders. But not just industry leaders. The economy, business, law, justice, mass media, politics, public administration, international relations and, of course, teaching are all areas to which the Rafael del Pino Foundation intends to contribute.
In a world dominated by the English language, the foundation also works to promote Spanish as a means of communication. Spanish is, after all, the second most widely used language in the world.
Believing that you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been, the foundation also intends to foster the knowledge of history.
The Rafael Del Pino Foundation administers four special awards:-
- The Libre Empresa Prize is awarded to books published by Spanish authors, which highlight the values of market economics.
- The Virrey del Pino Prize is given to the best work written about any period of Spanish American history.
- The Investiga Prize rewards the best Doctoral dissertation on economy, law, business, politics, international relations, media or education.
- The Trámite Parlamentario y Municipal Award values the initiatives which eliminate inefficient regulations or foster competition.
Whether you’re building bridges or building futures, you need a strong foundation. Perhaps the Rafael Del Pino Foundation will prove to be one of Spain’s most enduring.
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Posted on http://www.weeklyletter.com at 2005-09-30 02:00:00 +0200
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1) I think a leader must be simpathethic, capable to asume risks and be like a boat capitan, the capacity to lead a team and get the best of every partner of that team.
2) In my opinion, Foundations exist to pay less to the Governments, I don´t think in them.
3) If I could set up a Foundation…I don´t know, perhaps to save different cultures that are in extintion around the world.
Thank you for your comments Laura.
Yes, I agree. Leadership is not the same as management. I think it is also true that foundations may sometimes do jobs that governments should be doing but I don’t think that it is case with the Rafael del Pino Foundation.
I like your idea of a foundation. Many cultures are in danger of being swallowed by ‘dominant’ cultures of dubious value.
This World, where we live, is more and more unified, from a cultural point of view (same customs, same language, same emotional manifestations, same feeding, same technology, etc.), these are imposed by the dominant culture that it usually is the strongest economically speaking. This situation is called “intoculturation� (in Spanish “endoculturación�) by social anthropology.
It is terrible for all because we lost the wonderful of the different cultures.
I don’t Know if the Rafael del Pino foundation is the best option, but I’m agree with the Laura’s commentary about that the foundation born for to reduce taxes. In any case, I think that it is very interesting that this company considers to give back to the society some thing of the total profit that it has received from where it is located. This way we don’t lose all different culture, and we could enjoy of the general memory and the other histories.
When we study history, we can know as it was the results of the before culture and technology revolutions and we can to use that for to know that it the more important what we don’t have to lose in the way.
Yes, I agree! A sensible appreciation of history will help us avoid losing our cultures along the way. Empires rise and empires fall. HIstory repeats itself.
One of the best comments on the superficiality of power is the poem “Ozymandias” by one of England’s greatest poets Shelley. It describes an old, abandoned statue discovered within the ruins of an ancient empire.
‘And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’
-Percy Bysshe Shelley
1792-1822
It reminds me of the movie “Planet of the Apes”, when Charlton Heston sees the ruins of the Statue of Liberty and realises that his whole adventure had happened on the island of Manhattan.
I think that this foundation gives a lot of money back to society. I agree that health would be a good area for a foundation but health services need good leaders too. The enviable British National Health Service was established thanks, in part, to excellent leadership.
The aim of the foundation is to build Spain’s future leaders. They have earn a lot of money and now they want to teach more people to earn more money. It is like to make a superior class. With the awards they want to support differents works that could be profitable for the society, but they don´t seem to be very practical.
I think that it is most interesting to found a Foundation that looks for the culture or the health of people, like a hospital, a university, something like that. But in all these cases I agree: the secondary aim of foundations is to earn more money and to pay less taxes to the state.