Celebration of the Abadía Retuerta (Spain) Award 5th Anniversary
The first three editions (2011-2013) were held in Buenos Aires (Argentina), in Villa Ocampo, which was the home of the well-known writer, essayist, translator and intellectual Victoria Ocampo donated to UNESCO “so that it would help, in a live and creative spirit, promote, study, experience and develop cultural, literature, art and social communication activities.”
The next three editions (2014-2016) were held in IE Business School (Madrid, Spain) at the Paper Pavilion, designed by architect Shigeru Ban, Pritzker Prize winner in 2014.
During the last three ceremonies, Alexandra Cousteau -granddaughter of the famous oceanographer and scientist Jacques-Yves Cousteau and advocate of environmental protection and sustainable management of ocean and water resources, as ambassador of OCEANA – conducted the ceremony.
The 5th Anniversary of the Award -2015- was held in Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine –one of the Sponsors of this Award in Spain. This Abbey –built in the 12th century and currently restored and turned into a hotel- was recognised by the Spanish Government as a place of “cultural interest,” and has recently received the “Europa Nostra” Award for the excellence in its 7-year restoration process.
On the other hand, this Award has been making an important contribution to the academia. The book titled “Sustainable Luxury and Social Entrepreneurship: stories from the pioneers” edited by Miguel Angel Gardetti and María Eugenia Girón in 2014, describes –in the first person and told by themselves- the story of the pioneers who participated in the first editions of the Award. It was presented on 2 July, 2014 at IE Business School (Madrid, Spain), and on 21 October, 2014 at the London Business School.
The presentation of the second volume, titled “Sustainable Luxury and Social Entrepreneurship 2: more stories from the pioneers” was held on 22 June, 2016. Also, two cases were developed: a teaching case called “CASO LOEWE: Sostenibilidad y Lujo Durable [LOEWE CASE: Sustainability and Durable Luxury”] and a study case called: “LOEWE: Luxury and Sustainable Management”.