The Cabildo of Lanzarote has been awarded the Solidarios Grupo Social ONCE Canarias 2025 Award in the Public Administration category, in recognition of its pioneering role as an institution committed to inclusion, accessibility and improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable people in Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
This award, one of the most important in the social field of the Canary Islands, recognizes the work of the Cabildo as the central axis of an island model of care, which integrates the seven town councils, the Third Sector and the citizens, with innovative, cross-cutting and people-centered public policies.
President Oswaldo Betancort explained that this award is a support for an island welfare model that puts people at the center. "It represents the collective effort of the island Institution and the social entities that work daily for a fairer and more inclusive island. Lanzarote is today a benchmark in accessibility and care because we believe in a society where no one is left behind," he said.
Under the slogan "Lanzarote: the Island of Care", the Cabildo has developed an Island Strategy for Accessibility and Inclusion 2024-2030 that includes more than 400 specific actions. In addition, it has promoted the first Social Agreement in the Canary Islands, with an investment of 35.5 million euros in social and health resources, and has tripled its budget in social welfare to reach 55.9 million in 2025.
The Councilor for Social Welfare and Inclusion, Marci Acuña, thanked ONCE for this award and highlighted this recognition. "This award is an incentive to continue advancing. From the Cabildo we have shown that another way of doing social policy is possible, a way that is close, collaborative and with a real impact on people's lives. ONCE recognizes today a way of governing based on care and equity," said Acuña.
The award ceremony will take place within the framework of the gala that will take place on June 25, at 7:00 p.m., at the Teatro Guiniguada, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The Cabildo's candidacy was selected for its ability to generate a profound and sustainable social transformation.
A social policy that translates into real action
The jury of the ONCE Solidarity Awards has valued the Cabildo of Lanzarote's firm commitment to a welfare model focused on people, translated into large-scale projects that are marking a before and after on the island. These include the first Social Agreement in the Canary Islands, with an investment of 35.5 million euros that has allowed the consolidation of public places for the elderly and people with disabilities, generate stable employment in the Third Sector and guarantee humanized and continuous care.
Likewise, the Cabildo has led the opening of the first community home for people with intellectual disabilities within the state project "Mi Casa", and has recovered key infrastructures such as the ADISLAN therapeutic pool, closed for years and now fully operational.
The integral approach of its policies is also reflected in the island's mental health network, in the implementation of the Orange Point to make cultural and sporting events accessible, or in the promotion of the Altavista Comprehensive Care Center, a strategic project in collaboration with Cáritas that will allow to care for dependent elderly and vulnerable families.
These actions are completed with the execution of the Island Accessibility Plan, endowed with more than 7 million euros, and an annual financing line of 800,000 euros aimed at strengthening the work of the entities of the Third Sector. All this configures a public model of social action that makes Lanzarote a benchmark not only in the Canary Islands, but in the whole of the State.
