The Spanish Chamber of Commerce recognizes the work of the territorial Chambers in the economic and social development of the country

Second edition of the Chambers Awards

The winners of this second edition have been: the Chamber of Castellón in the Internationalization category; the Zaragoza Chamber in Digitalization; the Chamber of Lorca in Formation; the Chamber of Lanzarote and La Graciosa in Sustainability; the Cáceres Chamber of Entrepreneurship; the Madrid Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation; and the Alicante Chamber in the Social Leadership category.

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The Spanish Chamber of Commerce has held the second edition of the Chambers Awards whose objective is to recognize and value the work of the territorial Chambers in different areas of special relevance for the economic and social development of our country.

 

The winners of this second edition have been: the Chamber of Castellón in the Internationalization category; the Zaragoza Chamber in Digitalization; the Chamber of Lorca in Formation; the Chamber of Lanzarote and La Graciosa in Sustainability; the Cáceres Chamber of Entrepreneurship; the Madrid Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation; and the Alicante Chamber in the Social Leadership category.

 

The delivery has been presided over by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Hector Gomezwho pointed out that "the Government welcomes the invaluable support provided by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and its territorial network to companies in our country, especially SMEs, in the objectives and challenges they face every day, such as digitalization, sustainability, training, and internationalization. With your work, you drive business success, and that translates into success for Spain." 

 

From the Chamber of Spain, its president, José Luis Bonet, has highlighted “the vocation of service to the business community and social leadership of the chambers of commerce.” The president of the Chamber of Spain has assured that “the business fabric has shown resilience and willingness to transform” and “the chambers of commerce are at their side together with the administrations to help them.”

 

According to José Luis Bonet, “in the last three years we have intensified our work to help the business community undertake the necessary transformation that they must face after the disruptive events that we have experienced: the pandemic, first, and the war in Ukraine. ”

 

Internationalization Award

The Castellón Chamber has been the winner of the award in the Internationalization category for its project “QUALICER 2022, World Congress on the Quality of Tile and Ceramic Flooring”. QUALICER was born as a modest discussion forum on tiles and has become a world congress on the quality of ceramic coverings and today also addresses the quality of the process, the product and the installation of ceramic tiles, as well as of its qualities. ”This is the most exciting award that a Chamber can receive because it comes from within. "It recognizes a 20-year trajectory, when we decided to bet together with the College of Engineers on innovation and the internationalization of the ceramic industry," said the president of the Castellón Chamber of Commerce, Mª, when collecting the award. Dolores Guillamón. 

 

Digitization Award 

The winner of the digitization award was Chamber of Saragossa for its applicationWe will be back”. A mobile application that has managed to make local businesses in Zaragoza more competitive through easy and intuitive digitization of establishments and consumers. Through this, purchases made in participating businesses generate a refund to continue purchasing at a discount in other establishments in the city. The vice president of the Zaragoza Chamber, Berta Lorente, explained that this is a project “that arose to help boost trade at a delicate time, as a result of the pandemic.” Lorente also thanked the rest of the chamber for the solidarity shown in the face of the fire that the Chamber of Saragossa at its headquarters.  

 

Training Award 

The winner of this award has been the Chamber of Lorca with its initiative “Training and personalized attention to the unemployed”. The Chamber trains unemployed people to improve their qualifications and chances of finding a job. Juan Francisco Gómez, president of the Chamber of Lorca, has highlighted “the work of the entire team at the Chamber of Lorca that has made this project possible.”  

Sustainability Award

The winner of this category was Chamber of Lanzarote and La Graciosa for his project “Following the trail of early sustainability”. Aware of the change that is taking place in the business community to incorporate sustainability into its management, the Chamber champions the first tourism sustainability cluster in the world. José Valle, president of the Chamber of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, recalled that these islands are “a true reflection of sustainability. We believe that we must work and champion action to reach the goal of zero emissions in 2050.”

Entrepreneurship Award

The winner in the Entrepreneurship category was Chamber of Cáceres for its “Cáceres Lab” project. The objective of this initiative is to contribute to the economic and social development of the province of Cáceres and fight against depopulation and the flight of talent through a process of promotion, consolidation and optimization of entrepreneurship. Upon receiving the award, the president of the Chamber of Cáceres, Gabriel Álvarez, referred to the need for projects that allow young people to be offered opportunities and “retain talent in depopulated Spain.”

Arbitration and Mediation Award

The winner of this award has been Chamber of Madrid for its initiative “Madrid Court of Arbitration and Jurisdiction-Arbitration Observatory”. It is a portal that offers, in an orderly and classified manner, judicial resolutions issued by Spanish Courts, Community Courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Urquiola de Palacio, president of the Court of Arbitration of Madrid, recalled, when collecting the award, that arbitration offers companies a resolution of conflicts through a third party who is a specialist in that matter. At the “Arbitration Court we make an effort to always be one step ahead of the needs of business owners,” she de Palacio explained.

Social Leadership Award

The winner in the Social Leadership category was Alicante Chamber. “Solidarity gastronomic Alicante” is a project carried out by volunteers from the hospitality sector in the province of Alicante, with which the food needs of people from all corners of the province have been met. Carlos Baño and Jesús Navarro, president and vice president of the Alicante Chamber, collected the award. “With the pandemic, we detected needs when we saw the NGOs overwhelmed,” Baño explained about the start of the project. “The Chamber has the advantage of knowing all sectors of the territory and we did what Chambers know how to do: be a useful tool,” he assured.