June 16, 2021: Queen Letizia and the First Lady of South Korea, Kim Jung-Sook, visited the ONCE Foundation Headquarters in Madrid.
They visited the exhibition halls “Inserta” and “Cambio de Sentido”, where the exhibition “Two glances about the same reality” is currently located, which includes works by artists with and without disabilities who at some point have participated in the ONCE Foundation Art Biennials, where the Queen and the First Lady observed some of the most characteristic works exhibited.
It is a multidisciplinary exhibition that brings together works by very diverse authors, such as the photographer Pete Ecker or the painter Dan Miller. It also has artists of recognized international prestige, such as Cristina García Rodero.
During the tour of the ONCE Foundation facilities, the Queen and the First Lady also learned first-hand entrepreneurship initiatives led by people with disabilities in the surroundings of the EspacIA room, a place for coworking and innovation.
There, the attendees were explained the different projects in which the ONCE Foundation is immersed in order to make the new digital revolution inclusive. The experimental robot “PACA” (Personal Accessible Cognitive Assistant) welcomed the attendees.
In EspacIA, Doña Letizia and the First Lady saw a demonstration by Enrique García, a technician from the Accessible Technology and R&D department of Fundación ONCE, a young man with a disability who promotes accessibility in video games with the Xbox Adaptive Controller accessible controller from Microsoft. His goal is that everyone can enjoy video games on equal terms.
Before concluding the tour, the First Lady of Korea presented Miguel Carballeda with a Braille watch manufactured by a Korean company.
At the end of the visit, the Queen and the First Lady approached a vendor from ONCE, and after each bought a coupon from the Organization with the number commemorating the beginning of diplomatic relations between Spain and Korea, on 17 March 1950 (17350 and 50317), they exchanged those between themselves.
The priority objectives of the ONCE Foundation are “Employment” and “Training for employment” for people with disabilities and the dissemination of the concept of “Universal Accessibility”. During the 2012-2021 period, ONCE and the ONCE Foundation have committed to creating 15,000 new jobs for people with disabilities and will promote training actions in favor of 30,000 people with disabilities.