Alliance seeks to facilitate young spectators’ attendance at cultural events
The Tenerife Island Council and DISA Foundation held a press conference on 16 May to announce the signing of an agreement regarding the promotion of the youth-oriented programme ‘Prevenidos’. An initiative of Auditorio de Tenerife’s Educational and Social Affairs Department, the programme intends to facilitate the attendance of young people at shows included in the auditorium’s programme, in which the foundation is to serve as an intermediary.
The details of this new alliance were disclosed by the Minister of Culture of the Island Council of Tenerife, José Carlos Acha, DISA Foundation Director, Sara Mateos, and the artistic director of the Auditorio de Tenerife, José Luis Rivero.
José Carlos Acha said that the initiative reflects‘”the demonstrated commitment of DISA Foundation and Auditorio de Tenerife to youth in several different projects. Our ‘Prevenidos’ programme encourages them to attend cultural events on a regular basis’. The youth targeted by the initiative are students at educational centres, training programmes, music ensembles, conservatories and universities.
He went on to explain that the programme focusses on the three basic lines of action of the European Youth Strategy: engage, connect and empower. It shows youth ways to take part in everyday life; it encourages them to make connections, form relationships and share experiences; and it promotes enablement and acknowledgement of learning.
Sara Mateos described the programme as ‘a noteworthy accomplishment for DISA Foundation’ and stated that “although Auditorio de Tenerife deserves praise for many reasons, our foundation deeply admires the work done in its Educational and Social Affairs Department.
After defining the alliance as an exciting undertaking, she expressed her belief that the programme will be the first step in a productive relationship with new projects”. She called the programme ‘a wonderful undertaking’ and added that, ‘if what we want is accessible culture and a cultured society, our work will have to start at the beginning’.
José Luis Rivero said that ‘Prevenidos has successfully completed an initial stage with the participation of 1,700 youths, and we are here today with DISA Foundation to promote this initiative with the results and the experience we have obtained’. He added that the auditorium’s collaboration with the foundation has been highly satisfactory, because we are working towards the same goals: to make a positive impact on human lives.
He continued: ‘Young people usually enjoy their first exposure to high-quality art, and they experience this under the same conditions as the rest of those in attendance. Furthermore, the decision to go to the auditorium is their own. We provide them with information, and they decide of their own accord.
As a means of enhancing their experience, the youth may inform themselves beforehand of the show they have chosen from the auditorium’s programme. A digital educational resource will allow the students to use it on their own, thus encouraging their individual participation in future artistic and cultural offerings.
DISA Foundation’s involvement in the Prevenidos project consists of manifesting DISA Group’s commitment to the development of the archipelago through the undertaking of a series of CSR projects that have contributed to the ongoing improvement of Canarian society for over 80 years. DISA Foundation promotes several CSR initiatives in line with its core activities: social affairs, environmental issues, sports, cultural events, scientific matters, education and research.
In addition, the foundation’s promotion of culture and art corresponds to its belief that both are essential to the development of any society, because societies that appreciate culture also maintain a shared knowledge base that may be used to further develop other fields of knowledge.