The Hogar Afundación institute in Vigo celebrated its 75th anniversary with a commemorative day that began at 12.00 and was attended by Pedro Otero, General Director of Afundación; Fr García Sánchez, Superior of SSM; Abel Caballero, Mayor of the Municipality of Vigo; and Ana Ortiz, Delegate of the Junta de Galicia in Vigo. There were also numerous past pupils and teachers who have accompanied the current staff and students.

The event was opened by Mr Otero, who pointed out in his address that the Hogar Afundación institute is one of the main vocational training centres in the city of Vigo.

Subsequently, a round table entitled Istituto Hogar AFundación: 75 years of transformation of lives and formation of the future represented the central moment of the meeting. Moderated by teacher Ángela Ladín, the speakers were: Antonio José Reinaldo, former student and President of the parents' association; Carlos Iglesias, former student and now also a teacher of Graphic Arts; Adolfo Santiago, former student and employee of the GKN Company; and Arón Manuel Toucero, current student at the school. Their various interventions, through different perspectives, have highlighted the validity of the education offered by the Salesian centre.

Finally, the event was closed by Ms Ortiz, the Mayor of Vigo and the SSM Provincial, who gave thanks for the 75 years of life and Salesian education in Vigo with these words:

“The preventive system has taken root in Vigo. History is a teacher of life when the experiences we live generate a learning process in us and the testimonies we have heard today show that Don Bosco's pedagogy has left an indelible mark on the lives of many people.

These 75 years show that educating is really a matter of the heart. The Hogar Afundación was a meeting place where familiarity generated trust and confidence opened up possibilities that were latent in those who came to this school, to open up opportunities for them in the world of work and in the social fabric.

Today they demonstrate that education is possible when you join forces and generate alliances with shared values. Like that of Afundación and the Salesians. Those with public institutions present. Those with the social and entrepreneurial fabric of a city.

This is how we want to continue to educate, with the Preventive System as our best asset. What we experienced today is an encouragement for the educational community, and I would like to thank the teachers whose dedication ensures that the institute continues to be a place with a Salesian heart."

Since 1948, the Hogar Afundación Institute in Vigo has been a reference centre for vocational training in the city and its surroundings. It offers a total of 9 training courses,  six of which are at are intermediate level - Digital Printing, Graphic Printing, Welding, Machining, Electrical and Automatic Installations and Telecommunications Installations - and three at higher level - Production Scheduling in Mechanical Manufacturing, Industrial Automation and Robotics and Electronic Maintenance.

As part of the promotion of knowledge as a fundamental driver of complete social development, Afundación, the Social Work of ABANCA, has incorporated the dissemination of research and practical training in the different productive sectors in its business-oriented higher education model. To this end, it has centres like this geared towards the labour market.

With about 80% of student recruitment registered for work, thanks to the close communication with the business community, this is a school that is characterised by its commitment to innovation, internationalisation, social involvement and sustainability, and the programs carried out in the centre always seek to combine these principles to enhance each of them. Thus, for example, in the most complicated moments of the 2020 pandemic and given the lack of medical safety equipment, the Salesian institute, at the request of its faculty and volunteer students, made masks and visors as a first protection barrier. Through a network of solidarity encouraged by the centre, more than 14,000 of them were delivered, helping to alleviate the lack of this feature where it was most urgent.

Photos of the event and a video commemorating the anniversary are available online.

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