He Navarrese Volunteer Council received this Wednesday the Provincial Parliament Medalthe highest distinction granted by the Legislative and with which on this occasion recognizes the trajectory of people and organizations involved in “building a better society”also through its collaboration with institutions.
The event was chaired by President of the Parliament of Navarre, Unai Hualdeand had the presence of President of the Government of Navarra, María Chivite; the president of the Chamber of Accounts, Ignacio Cabeza; the Ombudsman of Navarre, Patxi Vera; and representatives of ASPACE, ADACEN, CERMIN, ANFAS, CEAR, ANARADS, the Food Bank, the Red Cross or Proyecto Hombre. A representation from the Regional House of the Valencian Community was also present, in tribute to those affected by DANA.
Unai Hualde began his speech by emphasizing the determination of all the people, companies, groups and professionals who, in one way or another, are part of the volunteering“this social network united by the main interest of improving what surrounds us, what is common to us”. “Navarre has a militant societywho protests against injustices, who expresses their demands and, above all, lends their shoulder when needed. This is not an altruistic task because, although there is no cost involved, there is an interest in improving the ecosystem of which we are a part. Volunteering is a clear identity of our company, Marca Navarra. And a driver of social change, because in addition to investing time and effort to help, it addresses important issues and contributes to raising awareness,” Hualde emphasized.
He president of parliament called for taking care of this intrinsic solidarity against those who “deny climate change, interpret the migratory phenomenon as a threat or do not see a problem in gender-based violence.” “Fortunately, in Navarre they are in the minority. This is perhaps due to our activism, to our social commitment. Despite everything, we must not spare the efforts of the institutions, always alongside civil society, without losing sight of the objective, which is none other than to enable a better and fairer society”, underlined Hualde.
Thus, after highlighting the implementation of III Volunteer Plan 2024-27 and the upcoming development of a new provincial law called to “regulate volunteering as a driver of social change”, the President of Parliament alluded to recent DANA tragedy For transfer again “support and solidarity” to the victims and their familieshighlighting the collaboration of Navarrese society, “always ready to help for hundreds of causes”.
Yolanda Ibáñez, first secretary of the Parliamentary Council, and Mikel Zabaleta, second secretary, then read the institutional declaration that approved the Council of Presidents of Parliament “In sign of recognition and gratitude to all the groups, entities and people that make up the Navarrese voluntary service. “In the same way, they announced the agreement of the Parliamentary Commission to grant the Medal.
Following, Unai Hualde presented the medal to Natalia Herce, vice-president of the Navarrese Volunteers Counciland the texts of the agreement and the institutional declaration to Almudena López, president of the house of the Valencian Community of Navarra.
After receiving the MedalHerce and López thanked the award, they advocated adjusting the decision-making and management areas to the logical parameters of a society “organized and willing to participate”, generate meeting spaces and transformative collaboration“. All this to achieve a “fairer and more prosperous” environment, a task in which they highlighted the contribution of volunteers.
Herce declared that “behind the Navarrese volunteer ecosystemrepresented by the Volunteer Council, there are thousands of citizens and entities who welcome and support them, in addition to the people and public administrations who facilitate this management. ” ” 44.4% of the Navarrese population, many of them women, have volunteered at some point in your life. Now the challenge is to update the provincial law on Volunteering, which dates from 1998, and to strengthen the social entities that channel individual solidarity,” he stressed.
Almudena López gave the thank you “to all the volunteers and residents of Navarre“Thank you also to the Navarrese institutions, who did not hesitate to offer equipment, vehicles and troops. And, of course, to this House, for recognizing the work of volunteers in each of their actions, especially those that concern Valencia,” he underlined.
