ONCE
This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. (May 2013) |
Founded | December 13, 1938 |
---|---|
Founder | Ramón Serrano Suñer[1] |
Focus | Blind/visually impaired |
Area served | Spain |
Website | www.once.es |
The Spanish National Organization of the Blind (
Although it is overseen by a board of patrons made up of representatives from various Spanish ministries, it does enjoy a certain amount of freedom of movement in the day-to-day running of its activities, and its general council is democratically elected from among its members.
As of September 2013, membership of the organization was 71,460 people,[3] of whom 40% were over the age of 65.
Between them, the three pillars of the ONCE—the Directorate-General, the Foundation and CEOSA, ONCE's business corporation—employ over 136,000 staff, of whom 88.5% are people with disabilities.[4]
In September 2013, coinciding with the organization's 75th anniversary, the ONCE was awarded Spain's
From 1989 to 2003, ONCE sponsored one of Spain's leading cycling teams.
Organization
While many of their activities overlap, there are, at least formally, three divisions of the ONCE:
Directorate-General
The Directorate-General is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organization, its social and cultural work, and so on. Through its general council, it maintains institutional relations with local, regional and national government bodies, as well as representation on international bodies such as the
ONCE Foundation
In 1988 ONCE established the ONCE foundation (Spanish: Fundación ONCE) to provide professional training and employment, to eliminate architectural, urban and communication barriers and promote "Digital Solidarity", web-based services for people with any disabilities. The Fundación also has its own business arm, Fundosa, with companies dealing with accessibility, industrial laundering, and so on.
The Fundación is active in the
The Fundación has attracted support from the Spanish royal family. In May 2010,
ONCE Business Corporation
The ONCE Business Corporation (Spanish: Corporación Empresarial ONCE SA, CEOSA) is the business corporation of ONCE and owns, or is a stakeholder in, several companies across a wide range of sectors, including service companies, hotels and food companies. In the 1980s, and in order to diversify the risk of any future decrease in sales of the cupón, the managers of the ONCE started a policy of profit-oriented investment.
One of its acquisitions was a sizeable participation in the Spanish private TV channel Telecinco and the radio network Onda Cero ("Airwave Zero", based on the ONda CEro acronym). The most visible effect was the Telecinco broadcast of the daily lottery draw, the Telecupón, presented by the popular retired actress Carmen Sevilla.
Critics pointed to the paradox of blind "upstarts" running one of the newly created commercial TV channels. There were also critics who claimed that it was a manoeuvre of the then-ruling party in government, the
Later management teams divested from Telecinco following a major judicial investigation into supposed tax dodges, etc., by the main shareholder, a company belonging to Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest.[citation needed]
ONCE no longer has a stake in either of these media companies, although it does still run a media company, Servimedia, that is a news agency specialising in providing information on issues of social interest, such as disability, integration, corporate social responsibility, leisure, etc.
The Cupón
Although ONCE now has several gaming products available, their traditional product and one of the most visible aspects of ONCE is the
The basic graphic designs on the cupón is the same every day, but the theme changes to correspond to current events. For example, when the Euro became legal tender, or cultural references such as national or local monuments. Collecting old issues of the cupón has thus become a hobby for many cupón buyers in Spain.
Cupón Diario
The Cupón Diario
Sponsorship
From 1989 until the end of the 2003 season, ONCE sponsored one of the leading Spanish cycling teams. Whilst hugely successful in sporting terms and as a marketing vehicle, it was a costly project that was increasingly difficult to justify in terms of the ONCE's commitment to social integration of its members. Their former
See also
- ENAT– European Network for Accessible Tourism
- Nico (also known as Nicholas), an animated TV series ONCE made in association with BRB Internacional
- European Platform for Rehabilitation
- International Paralympic Committee
References
- ^ (in Spanish) "Los 100 años de Serrano Suñer" El Mundo. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ISSN 0214-1892. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ a b (in Spanish) "La ONCE, premio Príncipe de Asturias de la Concordia" El Mundo. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ^ (in Spanish) "La ONCE, galardonada con el premio Príncipe de Asturias de la Concordia 2013" RTVE. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ^ "The Spanish National Organization for the Blind receives 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for Concord" International Disability Alliance. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ^ "Página principal de la web de la ONCE" (in Spanish). Once.es. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
- ^ "Página principal de la web de la ONCE" (in Spanish). Once.es. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
- ^ "Página oficial del Cupón Diario de la ONCE" (in Spanish). juegosonce.es. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
External links
- ONCE's web page