The City Council and "la Caixa" are committed to integration, favoring access to the Caves for people with functional diversity

12/01/2021 Actualitat

The City Council and "la Caixa" are committed to integration, favoring access to the Caves for people with functional diversity

This afternoon, Benifallet City Council and "la Caixa" Welfare Projects have signed a collaboration agreement that will allow the accesses to the Benifallet Caves to be adapted to people with functional diversity and to bring this heritage element closer to these groups. The agreement is part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Cave of Wonders.

Under the agreement, the Caixa will provide 12,000 euros to improve access to the Wonder Caves and also services to peope with functional diversity. To this amount are added 2,400 euros more that will be used to design and print Braille leaflets for people with visual impairments, the acquisition of adapted audio guides and the scheduling of four annual visits in sign language for deaf or hard of hearing people. The agreement will also allow the signing of collaboration agreements with entities, schools and centers specializing in caring for peope with functional diversity in order to have free acces to the guided tours service.

The Mayor of Benifallet, Mercè Pedret, thanked "la Caixa" for its involvement in making this action possible, which will bring the Caves closer to these most vulnerable groups, facilitating visits and access. "The Cabes are a heritage and natural element that we want everyone to be able to enjoy and to do so fully". "We need to contribute to a society that is more respectful of diversity", he added. "Real equality is effective in solving the needs of each and every person".

CaixaBank's Director of Insitutional Banking in Terres de l'Ebre, Tatiana Caro, thanked the City Council for the opportunity to collaborate with the project. Caro emphasized that from "la Caixa" we have always believed in the value as an element of social integration. We wanted to promote access to culture for all audiences to improve their understanding of the world their communication, their socialization and, ultimately, their well-being". He added: "Spaces such as the Caves of Benifallet are much more than a natural space. Their value transcends physical space: they bear witness to our history. The essence of our culture. That is why it is vital to work in its preservation and conservation for future generations".