The participating NGOs and associations set up info booths in IE University’s cloister to showcase the projects they carry out, such as donating clothing and books, collecting non-perishable food for the Spanish food bank, animal adoption campaigns and promoting the NGOs on social media.
Our intention here was to boost the social impact of our students—and our institution—alongside the NGOs. These are specific, short-duration volunteer initiatives with a specific execution date to encourage student commitment. It’s one way students can learn about the altruistic work of NGOs in Segovia and do their part to help vulnerable groups of people, and also to be enriched by an experience that we know they’ll never forget.
María Bravo, Coordinator of IE University Campus Life.
The 2021 Volunteer Fair was made possible thanks to IE Campus Life and several IE University student clubs (IE Sustainability Office, IE Gender Equality Office, IE Girl Up Segovia, IE Rotaract Club, IE Eco Club, IE Charity & Social Awareness Society and IE SDGs Club), as well as the Plataforma Voluntariado Social de Segovia, the Voluntariado Joven de Castilla y León, and the Junta de Castilla y León.
The NGOs and non-profits that participated in the fair include: Asociación Amanecer, Asociación Autismo de Segovia, Asociación Española contra el Cáncer, AIDA Books, Forem, Plataforma de Voluntariado de Segovia, Voluntariado Joven de Castilla y León, Secretariado Gitano, Aspace, Asociación Parkinson Segovia, Fundación Personas, La Palma en Nuestra Mano, PVSG, Espavila, Banco de Alimentos de Segovia, El Despertar de España, TanakaLab, Asociación Animalejos, Segovia por el Clima, ADA (Alzheimer Segovia), Sic4Change, Religiosas María Inmaculada, Cáritas, Cruz Roja Juventud, Asociación de Miastemia de Segovia, and Manos Unidas.
For us at IE University, it’s a privilege to have such a wonderful historic campus like the Convent of Santa Cruz la Real, and to be able to educate our students in Segovia, which is a welcoming, friendly and caring city that enriches our students’ experience. This type of initiative helps us contribute to projects that impact society, to improve situations of vulnerability and to strengthen the relationship between our students and the people of Segovia.
Maríia Bravo, Coordinator of IE University Campus Life.
Nacho Dean showcases our planet’s beauty at the Creativity Center
Nacho Dean, from Malaga, is the first Spaniard to travel around the entire world on foot—between 2013 and 2016, a total of 1,095 days and 33,000 kilometers—in order to document climate change, the greatest environmental threat facing the planet. During the Nemo Expedition, he swam between five continents to send a message of preservation of our seas and oceans.
Author of two books—Libre y salvaje (Ed. Planeta 2017) and La llamada del océano (Ed. Planeta 2020)—Nacho Dean was a finalist for the 2014 Discovery Awards and a nominee in the Princess of Asturias Awards, in the 2015 Concordia category. He was also awarded the Medalla de la Ciudad de Málaga in 2016, the Premio Talentia a la Cultura y el Deporte in 2019, and the Premio Aventurero del Año from the Fundación España Rumbo al Sur in 2020.
As part of IE Sustainability Week and sponsored by IE Campus Life, Nacho Dean—naturalist, communicator and adventurer—exhibited 32 photographs and 2 collages at the IE Creativity Center in Segovia. These images depicted the expeditions that led him to walk and swim across the entire globe. The exhibit, titled “Our Home: The Earth,” consisted of a set of photographs, maps, copies of his books and some of the most emblematic objects that accompanied Nacho Dean throughout his adventures. The purpose of the exhibit was “to convey to the visitor the values of sustainability and exploration, as well as to show the beauty of the planet we live on and emphasize that it’s in our hands to take care of it,” says Dean. Each photograph had a QR code where the explorer told a story about the time and place where it was taken. “In addition to being audiovisual, the exhibit is an audiobook where you can immerse yourself in the details, sensations and experiences of my expeditions,” says Dean.
The exhibit, which was free and open to the public and followed the established public health regulations, was on until December 11th.