The Christian Association of Business Leaders (ACDE) presented a new edition of the Enrique Shaw Award, which seeks to recognize the social commitment of organizations with the communities where they work.
For more than 30 years, the organization founded by Venerable Enrique Shaw, a layman, father of a family and Argentine businessman remembered for his commitment and closeness to workers, has given this award and promoted Christian values in companies.
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Ana Pico, executive director of ACDE, recalled that when the Enrique Shaw award began to be awarded, “concepts such as social responsibility, sustainability or sustainable development were barely taking their first steps, but many companies were already carrying forward these values through projects that bore witness of a commitment to social inclusion, which deserved to be recognized.”
For his part, Miguel Maxwell, organizer of the award, explained: “Today we see with great satisfaction that those ideas, those values that Enrique Shaw himself proposed, have become common practices of organizations that invest more and more resources to contribute to improving the communities in which they are inserted.”
This is the 15th edition of this award, in which numerous projects with social impact are nominated each year. In the last five editions, 236 projects were received, of which 40 were awarded.
Participation has been growing and diversified over the years: of 31 initiatives presented in 2014, the number exceeded 50 projects in the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions.
In addition to participation, geographic reach was also increasing. In 2023, the last edition was held, which had 45 participating companies from the provinces of Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Córdoba, Corrientes, La Pampa, Mendoza, Salta, Santa Fe and Tucumán.
Among the winners of the last edition were: Pampa Energía and Fundación Pampa, for their initiative “A bridge to the future”, a technical training program in renewable energies for young people; and Bodega Trivento de Mendoza, for its “Winds of Opportunity” project, an educational program that provides scholarships for the completion of secondary and university studies, benefiting both its collaborators and the community in general.
In the SME Company category, Hidroper de Catamarca was awarded with its project “La Higuera, Productive Nutrient”, an initiative to develop rural communities through the preservation of centuries-old fig trees for their production.
How to participate in the Enrique Shaw 2025 Prize?
Those who wish to participate in the 2025 edition can register at https://acde.org.ar/premio-acde-enrique-shaw or write to Premioacde@acde.org.ar until May 12, 2025.
The proposals will be evaluated by a jury made up of leaders from the academic, business and social fields, who will assess the innovation and impact of each initiative.
What is ACDE?
ACDE is an association of business leaders, which is established as a space for analysis and reflection on business issues in light of Christian values.
Likewise, it focuses on action, through its social commitment in business work governed by ethical principles and at the service of the common good.
Who was Enrique Shaw?
Enrique Shaw Tornquist was a layman, businessman, husband and father of a family. He was born on February 26, 1921 in Paris (France). Shortly after, his family moved to Argentina. He belonged to the Naval Military School, where he carried out committed apostolic work.
In 1943 he married Cecilia Bunge, with whom he had nine children. In 1945 he asked for discharge from the Argentine Navy with the purpose of becoming a worker and carrying out an apostolate among the working class.
He promoted the creation of the Christian Association of Business Leaders (ACDE) and died on August 27, 1962, at the age of 41, as a result of cancer.
On April 24, 2021, Pope Francis approved the decree that recognizes Shaw’s heroic virtues, declaring him “Venerable.”
In the first days of 2025, it was learned that an alleged miracle attributed to his intercession surpassed the medical authority and will now be evaluated by a Commission of Theologians of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.