The SURA Foundation projects a social investment of COP 20 billion in 2022

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  • In 2021, the Foundation was present in 14 departments throughout the country with investments amounting to COP 18 billion, growing with more than 124 thousand people and more than 1,465 social organizations.
  • It was also a year in which we celebrated 50 years of the SURA Foundation, with a publication titled ´ Inhabiting a Place in Time´.
  • In 2022, the Foundation will continue to carry out projects focusing on its different lines, namely Cultural Promotion , Education and Citizenship and Democracy-Building.

With a social investment of more than COP 18 billion at the end of 2021 in the lines of Quality of Education , Cultural Promotion and Citizenship and Democracy-Building;  as well as in the Group’s Corporate Volunteer Program, the SURA Foundation extended its coverage with more than 124 thousand people and 1,465 social organizations in 14 departments of Colombia. 

This geographic growth in the Foundation's coverage capacity is evidence of its nation-building efforts which have helped strengthen the country´s social fabric throughout its 50-year history. Currently, the Foundation has a direct presence in the departments of Amazonas, Antioquia, Atlántico, Bolívar, Caldas, Casanare, Cauca, Chocó, Córdoba, Cundinamarca, Meta, Norte de Santander, Santander and Valle del Cauca.

“ In 2021 we commemorated our 50-year history . It was also a time for raising awareness and understanding the new challenges we face as an organization in a changing society. Over the last 15 years we have invested around COP 183 billion, benefiting thousands of people and organizations in Colombia, as well as in Mexico, Chile and other countries in the region. Today, after a learning curve spanning 50 years, we continue with our purpose of driving a more harmonious level of social development by providing new skills and capabilities , in order to grow with people and autonomous organizations and become much more aware of our current reality; placing people´s well -being front and center of each decision that is made .”, explained María Mercedes Barrera, Executive Director of the SURA Foundation.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2021

  • Line of Education Quality Line: special mention is made of the joint work carried out with REDUCA for launching the research project“ Map of Evidence Gaps with Teacher Training in Latin America”, which covered 15 countries throughout  the region and provided  recommendations regarding government policy decisions so as to improve investments in education, this based on evidence and concrete results. The socialization of this project is scheduled to be staged with educational entities in 2022.

  • Line of Cultural Promotion: contributions amounting to COP 1,500 million in 2021 for the Promotora Cultural de Antioquia,  a public-private fund that seeks to pool technical, administrative and financial efforts in order to help drive cultural development in Medellin and Antioquia. Furthermore, the Foundation gave its support for technical and business training in the Urabá Cultural Entrepreneurship program in conjunction with 22 cultural organizations in the Urabá region of Antioquia.

  • Line of Citizenship and Democracy-Building: the launching and development of a call for submissions on the part of  #PensarConOtros with the aim of citizenship and democracy-building  in Colombia, in which seven projects were selected for  civic culture training and narrating the exercise of democracy in the country.

Projected investments for 2022:

This year, the Foundation expects to invest more than COP 20 billion in projects and partnerships in keeping with its lines of action. In addition to its three lines of focus, the Foundation shall also be carrying out initiatives focused on its Corporate Volunteer program, with a more panoramic view of territorial issues and a comprehensive management approach.

In terms of specific projects, a new Cultural Entrepreneurship initiative was launched in partnership with Comfama and Interactuar, as well as the opening of the second call for proposals on cultural appropriation and encounters between territories, which is aimed at Colombian organizations dedicated to the visual and audiovisual arts, performing arts and crafts sectors, among others.

The second call for submissions for the Música Lab, a meeting and digital transformation in Mexico, Chile and Colombia,  the scaling up of the Explorando Patrimonios program with the Museo Nacional de Colombia and the continuation of Residencias Cundinamarca with the Museo de Antioquia. Another highlight is the continuation of the initiatives Tenemos que Hablar Colombia, Diálogos Ciudad Región, Cali Cómo Vamos 2022, and the support provided to the projects selected as part of the call for submissions on the part of #PensarConOtros for citizenship and democracy building in Colombia.

Finally , on the Quality of Education front, we staged the  seventh annual call for submissions for the Nicanor Restrepo Santamaría Scholarship and provided support for programs facilitating access to higher education in Colombia.