The energy of the living: Activity Report 2024

In the midst of the noise, haste and uncertainty that mark today’s world, it is sometimes difficult to see signs of hope. But they are there. During the past year 2024, from the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation we have accompanied stories that remind us that change is possible. It is not always visible to the naked eye, but it springs up in the hands that cultivate, in the words that unite, in the ideas that are shared with generosity. This report is not only a summary of activities, it is a way of saying that we are not islands, that there are many people who continue to bet on the common, on care and on imagination as engines of transformation.

This report is much more than a review of the Foundation’s actions in 2024: it is the reflection of a path that we have traveled for 15 years in France and for 10 years in Spain. During this time, we have accompanied many people who believe in the power of the common to transform the world. In these pages we share not only the milestones, efforts and achievements of the last year, but also the story of this collective journey that has allowed us to learn, grow and dream together. Today, as we look back, we feel gratitude for all that has been built and we renew the hope that drives us to continue imagining and creating more just, supportive and sustainable futures.

This publication shows how in 2024, from the Foundation in France and Spain, we have awarded 242 grants for a total value of 13.7 million euros. In addition, this last year has marked a decade since the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation arrived in Spain, ten years in which more than 40 million euros have been contributed to improve the future, distributed among 624 grants.

Sustainable food requires a holistic approach

In the face of the challenges facing our food systems, in 2024 we have continued to bet on an idea that is as simple as it is powerful: everyone should have access to healthy, fair and respectful food for the earth. With 6.5 million euros, 2.9 million in Spain alone, allocated to support Sustainable Food projects, we have accompanied initiatives that transform the way we produce, distribute and share food. From community gardens to cooperative logistics networks, learning spaces and local distribution, each project reflects a common conviction: another way of feeding ourselves – more democratic, agroecological and supportive – is not only possible, but is already underway. When it comes to feeding the present and the future, the best recipe is the one that is cooked between many hands.

Throughout 2024, we have continued to make a strong commitment to Sustainable Food that puts people, the territory and care for the planet at the centre. The second edition of the unoconcinco meeting, held in Madrid, brought together more than 200 attendees and 40 experts from various sectors to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the food system. It was a fertile space for exchange, where ideas and concrete proposals to accelerate the agroecological transition were shared. In the same line of generating collective knowledge, the SABE Community was born, a network promoted by former fellows of the Daniel Carasso Fellowship program that connects research with social action to transform the food system from scientific evidence.

In addition, three fundamental initiatives have been consolidated to strengthen the sustainable agri-food fabric. The Sustentta programme, in collaboration with Red2Red and Agroa, has accompanied various agri-food cooperatives in their transition process, combining technical assistance, face-to-face meetings and adapted training. On the other hand, the Network of Agricultural Test Spaces (RETA) has continued to grow, offering new generations of farmers without land or previous experience the possibility of entrepreneurship with technical support, temporary access to infrastructures and legal accompaniment. Finally, RITA, the Network for the Promotion of Small Food Transformation, has been born, an alliance between six entities that seeks to make visible, strengthen and accompany artisanal and local transformation initiatives. Through visits, trainings and mutual support networks, RITA has begun to weave a fairer, more accessible and viable ecosystem for small-scale food processors.

Citizen art is a tool to understand the present and build the future

In a context marked by fragmentation, uncertainty and great social and ecological challenges, art is revealed as an essential language to look at the world again with sensitivity, critical sense and hope. In 2024, we have reaffirmed our commitment to Citizen Art by allocating 6.2 million euros to support projects in France and Spain – of which 2.6 million have been in Spain – that make art a place of meeting, dialogue and collective transformation. Behind each initiative there are artists, cultural mediators, collectives and educators who, with their proposals, strengthen social ties, defend diversity and invite us to imagine fairer and more livable futures. Thus, Citizen Art continues to demonstrate that it is not only a tool to understand the present, but a living force to build what is to come.

Throughout 2024, the promotion of Citizen Art has resulted in an intense and diverse activity aimed at reinforcing the role of art as a driver of social cohesion, critical thinking and collective transformation. The PLANEA network, after five years of work integrating artistic practices in public schools, closes its first cycle with visible and valuable results, and prepares its expansion to three new autonomous communities. In parallel, the third edition of the Alliances for a Cultural Democracy call has selected seven initiatives that explore new forms of mediation in territories as diverse as Cáceres, Barcelona or Cádiz, with a total budget of €500,000. She also highlighted a new edition of NOTAR, which has opted for three longer residencies in which art, education and activism have been intertwined to imagine other forms of cultural mediation, from collective cooking to hydrofeminist thought.

In addition, strategic projects such as Concomitentes have achieved national recognition for their commitment to sustainability and social understanding. This year, new works have been inaugurated such as Legado Cuidado, Narrativas Solares or Aguas Vivas, and a new line has been launched aimed at young creators with the initiative Os contos do leite en Lugo. For its part, the Red ACTS has consolidated its four territorial nodes, while programmes such as GRAPA and MAIA have continued to explore the intersection between art, science and citizenship from spaces such as the CCCB, Sónar+D or Canal Connect. Finally, the Art to Come call has had a great response with 1,195 proposals submitted, of which eight projects have been selected to be developed in different regions of the country. With an endowment of €170,000, this initiative reinforces the commitment to collectively imagine desirable futures from art, diversity and commitment to the social.

Impact investing as a drive towards the desired future

In the last year, we have taken a decisive step in our impact investment policy, consolidating a strategy that seeks to strengthen transformative initiatives in the fields of Citizen Art and Sustainable Food. The third edition of the Tiina program, in collaboration with the Ship2B Foundation, has allowed us to grant soft loans for a total of € 220,000 to five projects with a marked social commitment: Del Pueblo, focused on the recovery of orchards and rural employment; Mum’s, which promotes healthy eating in work environments; B-Murals, which encourages citizen participation through urban art; Kultursistema, a digital tool for strengthening the cultural sector; and Meloom, a music platform focused on accessible wellness. This edition marks the end of a first stage of collaboration between the two foundations, in which €600,000 has been mobilised, and gives way to a new phase with an increased endowment of €500,000 per year and two calls per year, which represents a structural reinforcement of this line of work.

In addition, the Infinito Delicias project has established itself as the Foundation’s most ambitious commitment in the field of impact investing. In anticipation of the opening of doors at the end of 2025, Infinito Delicias, which already has its own team, has begun its activity online and with visits from small groups of future collaborators and interested neighbors. The building will house an auditorium and workshops, experimental kitchens, indoor gardens, coworking areas and residencies for artistic and scientific research, all aimed at offering creative and sustainable responses to ecological, cultural and social challenges. Recognised with the Holcim Award Gold (Europe 2023) as the most sustainable building on the continent, Infinito Delicias stands as a European benchmark in circularity, inclusion and community, anticipating a new way of inhabiting and transforming the city from the common.