Fundación Prodis [The Prodis Foundation] is a non-profit organization founded in Madrid in 2000 at the initiative of a group of parents and professionals of a Special Education Centre (Maria Corredentora), bearing in mind the future of its students with intellectual disabilities once they end their compulsory basic education.
After many years of work and strong growth, both in number of users and programmes and services, today Prodis is a benchmark in the support and comprehensive education of people with intellectual disabilities in order to achieve their social and labour market inclusion.
At Prodis we believe that everyone is responsible for contributing to create a fairer and more ethical society where happiness, autonomy, dignity, and the value produced by work are accessible to everybody.
Innovation is part of Prodis’ identity, being a distinguishing feature of all our programmes or services, which are implemented following an in-depth analysis of needs.
Some of the most relevant milestones in our short but intense history:
In 2005, we pioneered the creation of the first own degree at the Autonomous University of Madrid – Programa Promentor – for education aimed at employing young people with intellectual disabilities. A few years later, in 2014, we created an adapted Master’s Degree, which led to a 93% increase in the students’ employability rate. Today, thanks to the training and work of the Labour Inclusion Service, more than 170 people with intellectual disabilities are now employed at different companies in Madrid under the supported employment model.
In 2011, at the same time as the opening of our head office, our Special Employment Centre (CEE) was launched, which engages in the provision of professional services to companies and individuals, and whose raison d’être is the creation of direct and quality employment for persons with disabilities in a protected environment.
Ten years later, in September 2021, we set up the i360 Instituto Inclusivo de Formación [i360 Inclusive Training Institute], to respond to the new training demand of people with intellectual disabilities, as well as the need for teachers to learn educational and training techniques that favour inclusion in the classroom, or companies’ requests to receive training and awareness-raising to promote diversity and inclusion policies in their businesses.
In 2022, in line with our principles, accompanying people with intellectual disabilities throughout their life project, we created Aula Senior, an active ageing programme that seeks to slow cognitive decline and continue working on the autonomy and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities.