Barclays Spaces for Sports was recognised last night with a Sport Business award at the Global Sports Forum in Barcelona.
The trophy was presented to Evelio Acevedo, Corporate Responsibility Director and Head of Barclays Foundation, Barclays Spain in front of an audience which included high-profile personalities from sport, governments, business, NGOs, charities and federations.
The Trophy Ceremony formed part of the second Global Sports Forum attended by Jordi Hereu, the Mayor of Barcelona, and Lucien Boyer, General Commissioner of the event. The two-and-a-half day conference involved more than 1,000 participants from no fewer than 50 countries, taking part in debates involving more than 70 expert speakers from six different continents.
The awards recognised programmes that are examples of the role of sport across various categories – Education; Sport Business; Health; Sport, Culture and Creativity; Sport in the City; Major Sport Events; Philanthropy and Cooperation; and Geopolitics. Innovation, social impact, sustainability and a challenging identity were the key elements to be demonstrated, with the winners in each category chosen by a panel of experts.
Since its launch in the UK in 2004 with partners the Football Foundation and Groundwork, Barclays Spaces for Sports has created 200 sports sites in disadvantaged areas across the UK benefiting half a million people. In 2008 it was extended globally with further sites and projects already established in South Africa, the United States, the UK, Spain and Zambia. Barclays is also working with charity Compassion for Migrant Children in China to benefit a migrant community in Beijing.
Evelio Acevedo also took part in a panel session at the Forum entitled ‘Sport as a force for Social Equality’, where he shared some key findings and learnings from the Barclays Spaces for Sports programme.
Hannah Willis, Associate Director for Global Community Investment at Barclays, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Barclays Spaces for Sports has been recognised with this award. We’re particularly please that, since the programme was extended globally in 2008, we’re now achieving recognition on a global scale for the work being done to revitalise disadvantaged communities and tackle key social issues.”
The programme won Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year at last year’s Peace and Sport Awards in Monaco. It has previously been recognised with a number of UK awards, including the BUPA Healthy Community Award at the Business in the Community (BITC) Awards of Excellence in 2007, Best Grass Roots Sports Sponsorship at the Hollis Sponsorship Awards 2007 and the Sport England Community Programme Award at the Sport Industry Awards 2007.
Barclays has committed more than £37 million to Barclays Spaces for Sports since its inception, along with a further £30m donated and raised by partners the Football Foundation.
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