• The Private Social Investment Index (IISP in Spanish) evaluated the consolidated country-wide performance in 2021 corresponding to the SURA Companies and through the SURA Foundation.
• Quality of education, cultural activities, peace-building and citizen training are some of the pillars of SURA's social capital management function this year.
• In 2022, the Organization's investment in these aspects on a nationwide basis, shall total more than COP 30,000 million.
• Also at the top of the Index are Grupo Argos, Nutresa and Bancolombia, companies that form part of Grupo SURA's investment portfolio.

SURA was one of the organizations that was evaluated and included in the Private Social Investment Index (IISP) and earned a special mention in the Recognition category as one of the Colombian companies that obtained the highest rating for its best practices regarding its social capital management function, this according to the respective survey released last Friday by the firm Jaime Arteaga & Asociados. Also, several companies that belong to Grupo SURA's portfolio, such as Grupo Argos, Grupo Nutresa and Bancolombia, earned top positions in the study´s overall ranking.

The aforementioned  index evaluated five categories (Synapsis, Focus, Management, Alignment and Recognition), bearing in mind the challenges facing Colombia in terms of private social investment, such as developing inclusive economic opportunities; contributing to sustainable food systems; supporting peace initiatives as well as those aimed at building democracy and advancing its climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection agenda.

"External evaluations such as the Private Social Investment Index allow us to identify signals so that SURA can be more assertive in terms of its impact and scope for transforming people´s lives, and the territories in which these reside, on all those fronts on which we are working through our Companies in Colombia as well as the Sura Foundation. Companies must be aware of the shared responsibility we have  with the societies to which we belong," stated María Mercedes Barrera, Grupo SURA´s Head of Corporate Citizenship  and the Director of the SURA Foundation in Colombia.

Any company, regardless of its size,  can produce positive changes in its environment, if there is a genuine willingness to build and participate in conversations and actions that strengthen us as a society. With this intention, SURA seeks to enhance the country´s social fabric through different initiatives being staged this year, with an investment of more than COP 30,000 million, both directly though the Companies as well as the SURA Foundation.

Quality of education
The SURA Foundation's Felix and Susana program has trained more than 200,000 individuals, including teachers, students and caregivers, with regard to peaceful coexistence, comprehensive sexual education and life skills in Colombia, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

SURA also forms part of the companies that make up the Rural Education Alliance in the Department of  Antioquia (ERA in Spanish), which promotes competency-based training for youngsters so as to be able to facilitate the continuity of their educational process in rural areas beginning with first primary grades all the way through to higher education.

Likewise, the 2022 call for applications for the Nicanor Restrepo Santamaría Scholarship, which recognizes those who have proven community leadership closed this Friday, having received more than 5,000 applications, 58% of which correspond to women eager to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in human, social and economic sciences.

Cultural activities
As part of its commitment to art and culture in all of their respective expressions, SURA provides its support to the sustainability and skills of more than 40 organizations throughout the country, including museums, theaters, orchestras, dance groups and cultural centers.

Likewise, the 2022 "Art in the Urban" call for proposals received close to 250 different submissions for bringing knowledge of art into the public domain and linking together cultural groups from Colombia and other Latin American countries.

SURA is also part of the Cultural Promoter of the Department of Antioquia, a fund that provides support to organizations within the sector and this year is conducting an analysis in different sub-regions of this same Department in order to identify opportunities for this sector.

Peace-building and reconciliation
Throughout its history, SURA has been involved in various peace-building initiatives. This is the case of the Taparales project in Dabeiba (Antioquia), which currently involves 45 families, signatories of the Peace Accord, as well as rural families with regard to implementing productive agricultural projects.

Also, since 2008, SURA has formed part of the Solutions Alliance, a business initiative that promotes employability, training and entrepreneurship support for former combatants and victims of the armed conflict that previously afflicted the country. In this regard, our SURA Companies have hired 126 people in this type of situation in just the last year, thereby helping them to reintegrate into society in a dignified manner. Likewise, the SURA Foundation in Colombia has been involved in various cultural initiatives associated with the process of appropriating the findings of the final report recently submitted by Colombia´s Truth Commission.

Citizenship and democracy
Finally, as part of SURA´s commitment to enhance the country´s social fabric, a call for proposals for the civic engagement initiative, #PensarConOtros, has been made available on gruposura.com, this due to close on August 10, the purpose of which is to build citizenship and strengthen democracy in Colombia for which up to COP 600 million shall be assigned for implementing all those selected projects in the categories of Citizen Training and the Appropriation of the Truth.

SURA is also helping to support the sustainability of 16 think tanks, such as Fedesarrollo, Fundación Ideas para la Paz and Transparencia por Colombia, which together with other initiatives, are strengthening the country's institutional framework and based on  their knowledge, research and efforts are helping to enhance public policy-making in aspects which are key for Colombia's ongoing development.