Jordi Castells, Operations Director at Moventis and General Manager at Sarbus, was invited to appear on the La Contraportada programme on TV Sant Cugat to explain how Moventis operates and what it does exactly, specifically in Sant Cugat. During the programme, Jordi Castells also spoke about the challenges faced by public transport in the immediate future.
In 2021, Spain stands among the top three participants in the IRONMAN Study, the largest global registry of advanced prostate cancer patient samples, highlighting the commitment from Spanish society to this research. In fact, Spain has tripled its involvement from 80 to 237 patients within a period of 12 months. This figure once again demonstrates the solidarity of Spanish patients with this long-term project that will help us better understand the disease and develop new therapeutic options for the future.
Guillermo Mora, a 71-year-old patient who was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago and who has been in the metastasis stage for three years, wanted to share with Spanish society what it means to take part in a project like IRONMAN: “The responsibility to end this disease not only lies with doctors and researchers. As patients, we must be able to help and I feel that if my time, my experience and my samples can help us find a cure one day – hopefully sooner rather than later – then that is the least I can do. We are essential to the medical research and we have to be proactive if we want to achieve what so many of us so anxiously desire”.
This spirit of involvement and commitment to cancer research is the driving force pushing Moventia – a benchmark company in sustainable mobility – to maintain its commitment to this project through the FERO Foundation year after year as one of the main donors making it possible for Spain to be on the global IRONMAN map.
In the words of Silvia Martí, VP of Corporate, Internal and Institutional Communication at Moventia: “we have been supporting FERO on various projects for more than six years because we believe that we must all feel involved if we want to make real progress in cancer research: patients, relatives, researchers, doctors, civil society, companies, etc. Every one of us does our bit. For that reason, we are more convinced than ever that our effort to support IRONMAN year after year will be able to help people like Mr. Mora to improve their quality of life and find solutions that now seem unimaginable”.
Moventia’s support for this initiative forms part of the actions planned under its Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Plan as a voluntary expression by the company to help build a better society.
More visibility and research
The spirit, strength and determination of Mr. Mora seem inherent to the hundreds of Spanish patients who have joined this project in one year. However, he calls for more visibility and commitment to a disease with which 1 out of 8 men will be diagnosed during their lifetime[1]. “Prostate cancer is as equally prevalent as breast cancer but has a much lower profile in the media and therefore lacks the same level of support… We must make people more aware, ensure they have themselves checked, know the warning signs, etc. because with cancer, more than ever, time is golden”.
“I am always surprised by how open our patients are to taking part in projects like IRONMAN, how motivated they are to form part of projects that can help us better understand the disease. We are tremendously grateful to them and we try to respond by learning as much as we can about the disease from the data and the samples that they provide us with so altruistically”, explains Dr. Joaquín Mateo, Head of the Translational Prostate Cancer Research Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), the oncologist for Mr. Mora and one of the coordinators of the study here in Spain.
The project
The IRONMAN project is based on three main lines of action: a systemic collection of clinical data from patients with advanced prostate cancer (treatments, evolution, response to them); to this register are added data on the personal life of the patients (how they live with the disease, how the treatment affects their daily life); and, finally, a bank of participating patient samples is created in order to conduct translational research with them. The goal is to become a major international platform for clinical and molecular data from patients in 16 different countries in order to help better understand the disease and to fight it more effectively in the future.
“IRONMAN is special because, besides what we learn from the project itself, which we hope will be a great deal, it helps us build a network between researchers and hospitals in our country, which I’m sure will facilitate many other projects and lead to progress in this field in the future”, explains Dr. David Olmos, Head of the Clinical Research on Prostate Cancer Unit at the National Centre for Oncology Research (CNIO) and Spanish coordinator of the study alongside Mateo.
Eleven benchmark Spanish centres are already taking part in this research network, which connects oncologists in Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Asturias. Furthermore, the project in Spain is also backed by the FERO Foundation and the Movember Foundation, two non-profit organisations engaged in promoting cancer research.
Once again, Moventia (through Autocares Calella) supported the XVIII Pilarín Bayés Awards by providing the transportation for primary school children from various schools across Catalonia taking part in the event. The award ceremony took place at the Catalan National Art Museum on 1 June.
The prizes are presented in recognition of stories written by primary school children. The awards seek to encourage reading and to bring books closer to children, stimulate their imagination and make them reflect and work on issues based on values. They are organised by Editorial Mediterrània in partnership with Obra Social San Juan de Dios. Lockdown was the chosen theme for the competition this year. An experience shared by all children but approached very differently in every home.
Many congratulations to all the winners!
Josep Maria Martí, CEO of Moventia and Vice-President of Moventis, took part in the 35 IESE Mobility, an annual meeting organised by the IESE Business School and Deloitte. During the course of the event, various executives in the sector highlighted how the automotive industry is getting ready for a decade that – especially in cities – is characterised by a new, increasingly more electric kind of mobility with a greater emphasis on the use of car sharing aimed at combining more different means of transportation.
Among others, this future was discussed at the event by the Chief Digital Officer of ALSA, Carlos Acha; the CEO of RACC, Xavier Pérez; the Director of Mobility of Ferrovial (MC:FER), Andrés Camacho; the Chief Strategy & Development Officer of Renfe, Manel Villalante; the CEO of EYSA, Javier Delgado; the CEO Rolling Stock of CAF (MC:CAF) and Chairman of Solaris (OTC:SPCL), Josu Imaz; and the Quality, Engineering and Strategic Programmes Director Iberia of DHL Express Spain, Rafael Pérez del Monte.
While speaking, Josep Maria Martí insisted that “recharging infrastructure must be expanded in Spain to promote this type of vehicle”, which in Barcelona remains rather lacklustre. “We should have 100,000 recharging points, not 200”, he said at the meeting. Furthermore, Josep Maria Martí stressed that this commitment should involve public-private collaboration to ensure mobility that is “more sustainable and efficient”.
All the executives taking part in the meeting also underlined the importance of harnessing the Next Generation funds to achieve greater, more rational, green, electric and social mobility. Similarly, they agreed that digitalisation alongside new technologies like ‘big data’ will change the existing mobility model in Spain, making it more sustainable, efficient and shared, through such ideas as integrated mobility.
Sílvia Martí, Vice-President of Corporate, Internal and Institutional Communication of Moventia, took part in the “Culture as a Catalyst for the Economy” meeting held at the Círculo Ecuestre with support from the Catalunya Cultura Foundation.
The event highlighted the importance of culture as a fundamental factor in boosting the economy and creating jobs and wealth. Sílvia Martí was very adamant about this, saying that “culture is a driving force for investment and enhances our reputation as a country. Unfortunately however, the level of investment is far below the European average”.
In saying this, she was referring to the figures on public investment in culture in Spain, which currently stands at 1.2% of the budget with an impact on Spanish GDP of 3.4%, while this impact is 4.7% in Europe.
During the debate, Sílvia Martí also expressed her concern over the foreseeable difficulty to be encountered by culture companies – especially the smaller ones – in accessing Next Generation funds to enable them to finance key projects in their sector. “I am very interested to know how this will happen, when and what the deadlines will be. The culture sector is suffering tremendously and, if the public authorities do not take an interest, we will continue to have a serious problem in the world of culture”.
Agreement on this came from everyone else taking part in the round table discussion moderated by Georgina Ferri, CEO of the ARA newspaper, and featuring Ramón Agenjo, Vice-President of the Damm Foundation; Anna Gener, CEO for Barcelona of Savills Aguirre Newman; and Eusebio Güell, President of the Güell Foundation. They all agreed on the urgent need for a country like Spain to approve a Patronage Act, one of the central issues in cultural policy over the last decade and which seeks to incentivise donations of private capital for cultural activities.
Josep Maria Martí took part in a webinar on Friday, 23 April, promoted by the Mobility Institute and presented by the Chairman of RACC, Josep Mateu, on the conclusions reached by a study conducted by this organisation in partnership with Deloitte and entitled “The boom of the future: senior mobility”. The event was used to highlight the mobility needs of the over-65s, a growing part of the population that will experience a veritable “demographic tidal wave” when everyone born during the baby boom of the 1960s reaches retirement age.
The round table discussion in which Josep Maria Martí took part was focused on senior mobility, both as pedestrians and as users of public transport. The Managing Director of Moventia took the opportunity to offer his own vision of mobility outside of the major cities in the metropolitan area and talked about on-demand mobility services, such as shared buses. He went on to present the projects that Moventia is currently working on in the field of group transportation to meet the needs of senior citizens.
Miquel Martí, Chairman of Moventia, took part in the 3rd Automobile Talks organised by the Fecavem employers’ association under the title of ‘Mobility in Barcelona: how does it affect Catalonia?’. Alongside Miquel Martí, the Mobility Councillor at Barcelona City Council, Rosa Alarcón, was also involved in the event. The debate sought consensus between the public sector – especially Barcelona City Council – and the private automotive sector.
Miquel Martí expressed his own point of view and shared his experience in public-private relations. He said that private mobility accounts for 45% of existing transportation services and that this fact cannot be ignored. He also stressed that the concept of mobility will change after the pandemic and efforts will be needed to work hard on preventing a foreseeable scenario of chaos in mobility, one knock-on effect of which would lead to economic chaos. “Without mobility, the economy does not exist. And if the economy does not exist, there are no jobs”, said Miquel Martí. He also highlighted the need to build a mobility model that looks ahead ten years, a metropolitan mobility pact that not only serves inner Barcelona but also the outlying areas.
In turn, Rosa Alarcón stressed that powers over mobility issues currently lie with the municipal authorities within the metropolitan area and not with the AMB. She believes this should change so that all municipal positions can be brought closer together. She also said that the pandemic is an opportunity for mobility in general and private mobility in particular to undertake an ecological and digital transition. According to Rosa Alarcón, mobility should be focused on efficiency, sustainability and safety, lending importance to multimodal transport at the access points to major conurbations.
Das WeltAuto, the second-hand vehicle brand of the Volkswagen Group, delivered a ŠKODA KODIAQ to SOS Children’s Villages in Catalonia to help the children of Aldea de Sant Feliu de Codines in Barcelona get around.
The loan of this vehicle, which was handed over at Sarsa Terrasa, forms part of the “A Chance to Help” project that will support the mobility of over
300 boys and girls.
The vehicle was handed over during an event held on the Sarsa premises in Terrasa (Barcelona). The event was attended by: Carlos Calatayud, Sales Director of ŠKODA Spain; Enric Fauste, Managing Director of the Sarsa Group; Jordi Doménech, Manager of ŠKODA and SEAT for the Sarsa Group; José Luis Escobar, Regional Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Catalonia; and Carmen Nicolás, Director of Aldea de Sant Feliu de Codines.
The loan of this car forms part of the “A Chance to Help” project consisting of seven second-hand vehicles in total from Das WeltAuto to provide mobility services under the protection programmes run by this NGO in various autonomous regions of Spain. This initiative is a response to the commitment from the Volkswagen Group to helping children at risk of exclusion. Das WeltAuto is giving seven vehicles to SOS Children’s Villages to meet the mobility needs of around 300 boys and girls growing up without the care of their parents at six of the villages managed by this organisation throughout the country. The vehicles will be on loan for one year, at the end of which they can be swapped for others of a similar nature.
This ŠKODA KODIAQ and all the vehicles included in the initiative have passed an exhaustive testing process by Das WeltAuto and come with the Volkswagen Group guarantee. The vehicle models were chosen according to the needs expressed by SOS Children’s Villages.
Through this initiative, Das WeltAuto seeks to help integrate vulnerable children by providing vehicles that will help them attend training activities, visit the doctor or enjoy recreational activities that require travel.
Autocars Calella has signed a partnership agreement with the Catalan Hockey Federation under which the mobility company has become the official partner of this sports federation, offering its coach service to all the hockey clubs in Catalonia throughout the season.
At the signing ceremony, which took place recently in Sant Cugat del Vallés with the Chairman of the Catalan Hockey Federation, Xavier Adell Salvatella, and the Managing Director of Moventis, Miquel Martí Pierre, the two executives highlighted their commitment and drive to encouraging the practice of sport in these exceptional times.
The agreement reaffirms the position achieved by the Moventis Group as a benchmark in group mobility given its proven reliability in meeting all safety, hygiene and control protocols. This federation now joins all the other sports entities that also trust in the services provided by mobility companies of this group, which include Girona FC, CE Sabadell FC, the Catalan Swimming Federation, Junior FC and the handball teams of OAR Gracia, Balonmano Santo Quirze, Balonmano Bordils and San Martín Adrianenc, among many others.
According to Xavier Adell Salvatella, Chairman of the Catalan Hockey Federation, “we are very happy to partner with Autocares Calella and offer its transport services to our member clubs, safe in the knowledge that their athletes will travel in complete safety”. To this, the Manager of Autocares Calella, Miquel Martí Pierre, added that “we would like to express our gratitude for the trust placed in us by such an important sports entity as the Catalan Hockey Federation. The commitment by the companies in the Moventis Group to meeting safety, hygiene and control protocols is an absolute priority, and the agreements we have so far reached with sports entities and organisations in other sectors drive us to continue working every day to maintain our position as the benchmark mobility company in the public transport sector”.
Agustí López Fitó, HR Manager at Moventia, spoke at the Conference on Best Practices for Equality Plans held on 25 March, the goal of which was to reveal what companies and social entities in Sabadell are doing to support gender equality and respect for sexual diversity. Best practices were also shared by Pilar Medel, the Equality and Technical Human Resources Coordination Officer for Parc Taulí; Estela Sánchez, General Manager of DICOMOL, SL; and Júlia Alsinet, the Partner for l’Eixida of Telar Cooperatiu.
Agustí López Fitó spoke about the Moventis project carried out in partnership with the Catalan Employment Service (SOC) to train new bus drivers. Participants in the project are given the chance to obtain both the D and CAP licences, with a period of work experience at companies in the Moventis group. 50% of trainees were subsequently given a contract at the company.
This project seeks to raise the number of available driving professionals by training the unemployed or others wishing to improve their current employment status. Priority is given to young people, women and other groups at risk of social exclusion.
