XXV Anniversary

Today, the Rafael del Pino Foundation celebrated the commemorative event of its XXV Anniversary, an event that counted with the participation of His Majesty King Felipe VIThe event's closing speech was given by the Rafael del Pino XXV Anniversary Excellence Scholarship winner, who presented the Rafael del Pino XXV Anniversary Excellence Scholarships to a new generation of young leaders.

During the ceremony, which took place at the Foundation's headquarters in Madrid, the president Maria del Pino recalled the figure of Rafael del Pino y MorenoThe Foundation's founder, who emphasised that "his commitment to society, his generosity and his vocation of service to Spain led him, on the verge of turning 80, to create the Foundation that bears his name. With a clear vision: to contribute to the economic and social development of Spain, through the promotion of talent, the training of leaders and the promotion of the values of entrepreneurship, innovation and freedom".

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Foundation has doubled the budget allocated to the Scholarships of Excellence, which has enabled it to award 19 scholarships to young people with outstanding academic and professional careers, thus reaffirming its commitment to promoting talent and leadership in Spain.

Maria del Pino He also stressed that "a free and prosperous society can only be built on the basis of merit, effort and education", and recalled that "the future is also built on memory, gratitude and responsibility", principles that have guided the Foundation's work during this quarter of a century.

The event also featured a panel discussion in which leading scholars of excellence shared their academic and professional experiences after training at some of the best universities and research centres in the world. Taking part in the conversation were Iñaki Berenguerfounder of LifeX Ventures, CoverWallet, Contactive and Pixable; Juncal ArbelaizSchmidt Science Fellow at Princeton University; Héctor Ciriafounder of Aleos Capital and former CEO of Quirónsalud; José María FernándezManaging Partner at AltamarCAM and former Director General of the Treasury; and Luis Perez-BrevaDirector of the MIT Innovation Teams Program and founder of S1 Industries PBC. Their interventions reflected the impact that the Foundation has had on their careers and their commitment to building a more innovative and open society.

His Majesty King Felipe VI closed the event by highlighting the Foundation's commitment to talent, knowledge and values that contribute to the progress of society.

Since its creation in 2000, the Rafael del Pino Foundation has awarded scholarships to 348 young Spaniards to study masters and doctorate degrees at some of the best universities in the world. But its work has not been limited to scholarships. Through the Rafael del Pino Campus, it has promoted more than 561 training programmes aimed at strengthening the leadership skills and strategic vision of more than 57,000 participants, and has accompanied more than 134,000 young people in their training in skills such as critical thinking, creativity and entrepreneurship.

The Foundation has also established itself as a benchmark for the debate of ideas, organising 462 conferences and dialogues that have brought together in Madrid 40 Nobel Prize winners and heads of state and international leaders from the academic, economic and scientific spheres. In addition, it has promoted 122 research projects in collaboration with world-renowned centres, contributing to the analysis of major contemporary challenges from a perspective of rigour, excellence and social utility.

The celebration concluded with a cocktail gathering of scholarship holders, trustees, collaborators and friends of the Foundation, putting the finishing touch to an event that not only paid tribute to the history of these 25 years, but also strongly projected its commitment to the future.