Renfe is committed to culture, education and sport as integral parts of society, contributing to improving society and allowing citizens a better quality of life, better equipping them to take on everyday challenges in these times.
Along these lines, the company believes that the best way to stimulate the growth of society is through education and culture. Renfe’s Commitment to Culture encompasses numerous activities, especially those that have a special link with the railway world.
For Renfe, this is the only way of connecting with its public, by broadening dialogue through use of the widest range of languages. That is why the company wishes to get behind actions that help to promote culture and education in Spain: encouraging reading through the distribution of free books to customers, supporting film and theatre festivals, collaborating in cultural events, bringing theatre to the trains, sponsoring various prizes for literature, photography…
Renfe, supporting Culture
Renfe supporting the Theatre
Cadiz Theatre Festival
Renfe collaborates with the Cádiz Latin American Theatre Festival, an event with avant-garde tendencies that aims to build a cultural and artistic bridge between different realities.
Madrid’s Teatro Real
The railway company is a Protector Member of Madrid’s Teatro Real, collaborating with the goals of the Fundación del Teatro Lírico: promote, protect, conserve and disseminate lyrical and musical arts in all their forms.
Titirimundi
Renfe sponsors the International Puppet Theatre Festival in Segovia, Titirimundi, one of the most recognised and prestigious puppet theatre festivals in the world. As sponsor, Renfe is involved in an important cultural event with centuries of tradition behind it in Spain, taking place in a range of theatres, mainly in Segovia, in May.
Palau de la Música Catalana
Renfe collaborates with the Fundación Orfeó Catalá-Palau de la Música Catalana in its architectural tours programme. Renfe customers who show a ticket will obtain a discount of 50% on admission to architectural tours of the Palau. The railway company is also a Protector Member of the Foundation that organises concerts and promotes the activities of the Orfeó Català choir groups.
Maestranza Theatre
Renfe has sponsored the theatre activities of the Teatro de la Maestranza y Salas del Arenal, in Seville, since 2005. The Teatro de la Maestranza y Salas del Arenal is a commercial company owned by the Culture Department of the Government of Andalusia, the Provincial Government of Seville and the Seville City Council. It manages and operates all of the cultural activities that take place at the theatre. Its goal is to properly disseminate and encourage enjoyment of Spain’s cultural heritage.
Theatre for children
The Theatre for Children at the Museo del Ferrocarril in Madrid has a varied agenda, for different ages and on subjects that appeal to the pupils, ranging from contemporary theatre for all types of audience to puppet theatre. Renfe is the sponsor for this initiative.
Theatre and dance in Valencia
Renfe collaborates with Teatres de la Generalitat Valenciana, which coordinates all theatre and dance activities. Its activities include the ongoing programming for the theatres that directly depend on this organisation: Teatre Principal, Teatre Rialto, Sala Moratín, Teatre Talia and L'Altre Espai in the city of Valencia, and Teatre Arniches in the city of Alicante.
Peak Season-Autumn Festival of Catalonia
Renfe is the main sponsor of this Catalonian stage arts festival in which drama, the circus, dance and music share spaces around the city of Girona with new Catalonian creative talent.
Musical “Hoy no me puedo levantar”
Renfe, in its role as the official transport provider for the tour of the musical, “Hoy no me puedo levantar”, will enable the cast of 40 artistes taking part in the show to visit 29 Spanish cities as part of its commitment to culture.
Renfe supporting the Cinema
Seville's European Film Festival
Renfe is the Official Transport Provider for Seville's European Film Festival. The festival’s programme provides a marvellous opportunity to introduce young people to film culture, offering them a wide range of leisure and cultural options. University students, and young people in general, go to make up the core public of this festival, for whom special prices and season tickets are made available to get them into the cinemas.
Malaga Film Festival
Renfe has sponsored the Malaga Film Festival since 2006. The festival was first held in 1998, and it has been true to its main aim in each subsequent edition: to encourage the dissemination and to promote Spanish cinema. Year after year, it brings together different sectors of the industry, creating forums, debates and talks aimed at analysing the progress and needs of our cinema, while also serving as a showcase for the work of professionals in the audiovisual sector.
Furthermore, Renfe and the Film Festival have created the “Renfe Ave New Values” award, which is presented at the festival's closing ceremony. The award acknowledges talent and the promising future of the young actors who are competing in the official section. The winner is chosen by popular vote.
Huesca International Film Festival
Renfe has been the official transport provider for the Huesca Film Festival since 2006. This Festival is organised by the ‘City of Huesca’ International Short Film Competition Cultural Association. It is considered the best promotional event for film art in the Autonomous Region of Aragón.
The Madrid - Gijón ‘Tren Negro’
Renfe, as sponsor of the Black Week Association, runs a “Black Train” (‘Tren Negro’) to carry those taking part in this multi-cultural festival that has been held in Gijón since 1988, dedicated to “noir’ and suspense fiction.
Valladolid Film Festival
Renfe sponsored the 53rd Valladolid International Film Week in 2008. The International Film Week, popularly known as the SEMINCI, is one of the oldest and most consolidated festivals held in Europe. From its beginnings it has been known for introducing Spain to new, unknown and little-known film makers, and for facilitating access to new fields of cinematographic expression.
Valencia's Mostra de Cine Film Festival
The Valencia – Cinema del Mediterrani International Film Festival is considered the biggest promotional event for the art of film in the Autonomous Region of Valencia.
Renfe sponsored the 2008 edition of the festival. It also hosted the “Días de Cine” exhibition on several Cercanías trains in the Valencia hub during the month of October 2008, with the aim of informing users about the event.
The “Reinu de Llión” International Festival of Historical Television and Cinema
Renfe is sponsoring the first edition of this initiative, which aims to foster the historical perspective in its broadest sense, through productions that have come down to us in audiovisual format. Another aim of the event is to disseminate and promote the European audiovisual industry, affording particular emphasis to productions from the European Union and from those countries that do not have a strong audiovisual tradition, have restricted linguistic coverage, or which are geographically limited.
Promoting reading
Train Awards, “Camilo José Cela” for short stories and “Antonio Machado” for poetry.
The Spanish Railways Foundation promotes, organises and runs cultural activities related to the railway, such as poetry, short story, narrative and photographic prizes, as well as art exhibitions and other similar events. The Spanish Railways Foundation organises a literary competition every year entitled “Train Prizes” in which poetry and short story writers compete.
In 2008, 1,687 works by 1,442 authors from 32 countries took part in the competition. 20,000 copies of the winning entries were published for distribution among passengers on Alta Velocidad, Larga Distancia and Media Distancia train services.
Short Story Competition, “The train and travel”
On World Book Day, some 30,000 copies of a collection of the “The train and travel” short stories were distributed at Madrid's Atocha Cercanías station, while at the same time launching the third edition of the competition. Stories of no more than 99 words related to the experience of travel, and moving towards a destination, can be entered in the competition.
The “Tasta´m” programme to promote reading
Renfe has increased its collaboration in the “Tasta´m” programme, which is aimed at encouraging reading among the general public and promoting publishing in Catalan by way of installing three new stands in the boarding area for Ave and Avant services at the Barcelona Sants station.
“Women travellers short story” Contest
This initiative, promoted by the mujeresviajeras.com portal, invites Spanish women to write of their travel experiences. The winning entries will be collected together and published in a book. Renfe sponsors the initiative called the First National “CASIOPEA” Women Travellers' Short Story Competition.
Seville Book Festival
The Seville Book Fair Association has organised this event in order to contribute to the defence of the book and to promote reading, thus converting April 23 into a day on which books and reading take centre stage. Renfe is the official transport provider for the fair.
Museums
Friends of the Prado Museum Foundation
Renfe is a Protector Member of the Friends of the Prado Museum Foundation, to promote, stimulate, support and develop the museum’s cultural and educational activities.
Guggenheim Museum
As an Associate Company of the Guggenheim Museum, Renfe participates in a Corporate Members’ Program, a forum with a large presence of important companies that are leaders in all the sectors, collaborating with the Museum Foundation in its arts and education activities.
Reales Atarazas Museum Foundation in Seville
This foundation, which aims to contribute to the Reales Atarazanas in Seville becoming a museum that houses the rich and varied history of Seville and the Guadalquivir River, will be sponsored by Renfe to carry out activities of general interest in 2009.
Alzira Museum of Audiovisual Arts
Renfe and the Alzira Museum of Audiovisual Arts signed an agreement to encourage the use of the train to travel to Valencia and visit the museum.
City of Arts and Sciences
Renfe collaborates with the City of Arts and Sciences as Collaborator/Official Transport Provider of this cultural and science space. This space, distinguished with the unmistakeable hallmark of Santiago Calatrava’s architecture, enables learning by having fun and enjoying art, science and nature. L´Hemisfèric, the Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe, L'Umbracle, L'Oceanogràfic and the Palacio de las Artes are the main buildings in this complex.
Other cultural activities
Seville International Contemporary Art Biennale (BIACS)
Renfe supports the activities of BIACS. This biannual artistic and social event seeks to attract the most representative agents in the world of contemporary art, thus contributing to promoting cultural tourism in Seville. These exhibitions open a window onto the world of free thought, new trends, reinterpretations and new approaches to life.
Seville Flamenco Biennale
The Flamenco Biennale started over 27 years ago, remaining a reference point for the world of flamenco, both as regards its artistic quality and success with the public . For this reason, Renfe, as part of its cultural commitment, sponsored 15th Edition dedicated to “Flamenco Muses”, in which the art’s most representative artists and shows took part.
Network of Spanish World Heritage Cities
In 2007, in collaboration with the Grupo de Ciudades Patrimonio, introduced a Travel Passport that gives passengers who obtain it and fill it in the chance to accumulate points to take part in special offers and be entitled to new train journeys. The initiative is part of the Collaboration Agreement signed last February, in the context of the Fitur International Tourism Fair, between the company’s Alta Velocidad-Larga Distancia organisation and the network of Spanish World Heritage Cities, brought into association by UNESCO in 1985.
The aim of this agreement is to promote travel to these cities on board the different Renfe Alta Velocidad-Larga Distancia trains, through offers for getaway trips to Tarragona, Cordoba, Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Cáceres, Cuenca, Salamanca, Segovia, Santiago de Compostela, Mérida and Toledo. The World Heritage Cities Passport can be obtained at all stations from which trains depart to these cities. Once the journey has been made, at the destination station the passenger can have one of the boxes in the Passport stamped on presenting the train ticket.
Summer in the City, Madrid
In 2008 Renfe sponsored the 23rd edition of the Summer in the City festival in Madrid. At this cultural and festive event, the people from Madrid and visitors were able to enjoy shows, concerts, dance, theatre, opera, circus performances, etc. held at different venues, such as the Conde Duque centre, the Jardines de Sabatini, the Centro Cultural de la Villa, the Teatro Español and Plaza Mayor, among others.
Reconstruction of the statue, “La Vieja Negrilla”, in León
Renfe collaborated with the León Town Council Cultural Committee to replace the sculpture entitled “La Vieja Negrilla”, by Amancio González, a social and cultural reference for the city, which was seriously damaged as the result of a car accident.
Bilbao Craft Fair
Renfe sponsored the 25th Biartea, Bilbao Craft Fair, at which 50 craft workshops demonstrated their work, techniques and displayed their products.
International Terenci Moix Prizes
Renfe is the Official Transport Provider for the ‘International Terenci Moix Literature, Cinema and Scenic Arts Prizes’, which were born out of the Ana María Moix’s desire, as a writer and Terenci’s brother, to acknowledge love for his silver screen. Four prizes are awarded: career in scenic arts, career in cinema, career in literature and best book of the year.
Real Club de Enganches
Renfe supports the activities of the Real Club de Enganches, which organises the Horse and Carriage Exhibition at the Real Maestranza Bull Ring in Seville. In the latest edition, Renfe collaborated in the exhibition's gala dinner.
Train, architecture and city
Renfe ran a cultural promotional campaign titled ‘Train, architecture and city’, in stations in the Madrid Cercanías hub. At the entrances to Getafe-Centro, Alcalá de Henares and El Escorial, huge panels were installed which displayed pictures and gave explanations of the most important architectural structures in each city. The initiative was part of the ’2007 Week of Architecture’, which Renfe Cercanías sponsored.
The Betizu children’s festival
Renfe provided transport for thousands of children for the ETB Betizu children's festival, which was held on 5 June at the Parque de Doña Casilda in Bilbao. The proximity of the Cercanías station in San Mamés to the festival venue meant that members of Club Betizu, numbering over 65,000 in the Basque Country, were entitled to special conditions to travel on Cercanías trains.
Photographic exhibitions on Valencia Cercanías trains
Trains on the Valencia Cercanías hub have photographic exhibitions for rail passengers, on subjects as diverse as culture, sport, the environment and, often, social awareness. By means of its involvement in such activities, Renfe aims to have its journeys point beyond the mere travelling from one point to another by offering added value to its customers.
Some of the exhibitions held in 2008 dealt with figures from Spanish athletics, the Copa del Rey football final, the 150th anniversary of the railway, the Valencia Jazz Festival, the origins of Formula 1 Grand Prix racing, the elimination of violence against women and the campaign entitled “A train with values for a better world”. Some of the subjects dealt with in 2009 were child exploitation, organised by Red Cross personnel in Niger; International Women's Day and the Entrepreneur's Day.
“A Place on the Planet” Project
With the aim of encouraging values such as tolerance, solidarity, respect, cooperation and collaboration among second-cycle primary school pupils, the NGO “A friendly world” has created audiovisual material with Don Quixote as the main character, to be distributed in schools in the Castile-La Mancha region and part of Extremadura. This project represents the second part of printed teaching material to be distributed in 100 schools in Guatemala. Renfe has sponsored both projects, thus setting Don Quixote up as a model of solidarity, not to mention a traveller with ideals.
Renfe supporting Education
Promoting research
Renfe sponsors the Railway Research Prize in conjunction with the Monforte Town Council and the universities in Galicia, with the aim of promoting collaboration between universities and companies to meet the demands of changing technology.
Amigos del Ferrocarril
The Federación Española de Asociaciones de Amigos del Ferrocarril (FEAAF) brings together most of the Friends of the Railway associations that exist in Spain. Renfe’s collaboration consists in transporting all of the associations to the meeting point for the Federation’s two meetings.
Promoting Spanish history and geography
The Spanish Geographical Society is a non-profit Association that aims to bring the recovery of Spanish history in the world to the Spanish people, to broaden geographical and social knowledge about different peoples, encourage human contact and comprehension of different cultures and lifestyles and to become the impulse for passenger projects serving research, science and the arts, to revitalize geography and travel as a form of personal discovery that is playful and subjective, using the means and methods of the 21st century. Renfe is a Protector Member of this Society and has been the Sponsor of its Prizes since 2007.
Renfe collaborates with journalists from all over Spain
Renfe collaborates with the Federation of Spanish Press Associations (FAPE), which is the body that represents, coordinates, manages and defends the profession of journalism in Spain. The company encourages travelling by train for the FAPE, by applying discounts on some of its products.
Young researchers
The Asociación de Jóvenes Investigadores-Precarios, FJI-Precarios is a national federation that coordinates the efforts of various Spanish associations of researchers who are starting out, i.e. researchers with less than four years’ experience, and experienced researchers, i.e. researchers with a doctorate or with at least four years’ research experience. Some associations of Starters also include laboratory technicians, associate teachers and similar figures among their members. Renfe sponsors the 7th Jóvenes Investigadores Conference , as the Official Transport Provider.
Trains in the Mediterranean
Renfe promotes plastic arts through an exhibition of children's and youngsters' drawings entitled ‘Trains in the Mediterranean’, which displayed the 54 drawings by primary and secondary school pupils in the Valencia region selected out of a total of 400 that were submitted in the first round of the ‘Trains in the Mediterranean’ Infant and Youth Competition.
Children's Drawing Competition
The 12th Children's Drawing Competition organised by Renfe Cercanías in Santander saw the participation of 500 Cantabrian school children, divided in three categories according to age. As in previous editions, the main subject of the drawings centred on the children’s experiences of travelling by train.
Campus Party
Renfe collaborates with the Campus Party, one of the largest on-line electronic entertainment events in the world. This annual event, which has been running since 1997, brings together thousands of participants from all over Spain and other countries with their computers for seven days, so that they can share concerns, exchange experiences and undertake all kinds of activities related to computers, communications and new technologies.
Cercanías School Activities Guides
The Cercanías School Activities Program consists of a complete range of activities targeted at heads of studies and teachers at schools, responsible for coordinating extra-curricular activities for pupils in Madrid.
Through this program, Renfe provides schools with a teaching, cultural and leisure tool that helps them to organise and carry out trips and extracurricular activities on board Cercanías trains.
With this initiative, Renfe Cercanías hopes to foster the use of trains among young people as an efficient, energy-saving, environmentally-friendly and sustainable model of transport.
Renfe supporting Sport
Spanish Rugby Foundation
Renfe and the Federación Española de Rugby implemented a Strategic Plan to introduce rugby in lower secondary school. The project promotes rugby in 500 schools around Spain and seeks to discover and foster the talent of young hopes of this sport. The program applies to the whole country through regional rugby federations, sports departments in the autonomous regions and clubs, which are in charge of sending a coach to schools to include rugby on the physical education curriculum.
“Deporte Joven” Foundation
Renfe has been a “Freely Appointed Patron” of the Fundación “Deporte Joven” since 2007. Since it was set up in 1996, the foundation has understood sport as a basic tool for education, healthy habits, a vehicle for culture and integration, in fine, an ideal means of communication and of social expression and participation, contributing to personal development as of the first stages of life.
Renfe and the Theme Trains
Cervantes Train
Renfe Cercanías runs the ‘Cervantes Train’ between Madrid and Alcalá de Henares. This journey has 2,000 years of history behind it, providing passengers with an opportunity to discover the story of the city of Alcalá de Henares brought to them by actors who play Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Dulcinea and other characters, as well as reminding them of some of the most famous and fondly remembered passages of “Don Quixote”.
Trains are for the Summer
In the summer, Renfe Cercanías offers the “Trains are for the Summer” programme, which includes 17 travel tourism suggestions and ideas. “Trains are for the Summer” is targeted at people who want to enjoy routes around the Madrid region, discover charming places in an easy and convenient manner, or get closer to nature and the main entertainment spots in Madrid itself. The 17 leisure proposals that Renfe Cercanías offers to users allows them to take guided cultural tours, to gain admission to shows and tourist attractions, to travel to destinations of enormous historical, environmental, tourist and cultural interest, and to visit museums, or go on walking and nature routes accompanied by specialist guides.
Medieval Train to Sigüenza
Renfe Media Distancia operates the ‘Medieval Train’ to Sigüenza, between the Madrid Chamartín and Sigüenza stations. This is an appealing combination of tourism, theatre, cuisine and history in a stunning environment.
