Spanish
With the commitment to strengthen the Dominican cultural identity in young people of the diaspora, Banco BHD and the Dominican Consulate in New York launched the campaign "Origins of Excellence". This is a program to recognize the academic excellence of meritorious students of Dominican origin residing in New York. It aims to identify high-achieving students, as well as those who excel in areas such as culture, sports or community participation.
The campaign's main piece is an audiovisual that shows how thirty meritorious young people experience visiting the Dominican Republic for the first time.
Fidelio Arturo Despradel, executive president of Banco BHD, highlighted that "since we heard about Orígenes de Excelencia, an initiative of the Dominican Consulate in New York, we connected with this deeply inspiring purpose: to recognize the Dominican cultural identity in young people of the diaspora, who, from abroad, make our flag shine with their talent, their discipline and their academic excellence. With this experience we confirm that the history, values and traditions of our country are beacons that illuminate, even being kilometers away."
On the other hand, Jesús Vásquez Martínez, Dominican consul in New York, emphasized that "we wanted these young people who, despite feeling Dominican, had never had the opportunity to know the Dominican Republic, to have the opportunity to do so. It is our way of thanking them for representing us so worthily. We thank Banco BHD for joining the program with this audiovisual material that seeks to present these national heroes and the sacrifice of their families, which has allowed them to become proud Dominicans and examples of academic excellence."
In the main audiovisual piece, testimonies from these young people are presented and the journey of a week is visualized, during which they visited historical places, dialogued with authorities and business leaders, and above all, had closeness with their people, their culture and their identity.
"At Banco BHD, we feel a deep commitment to initiatives like this, because they respond to principles that define us as an institution: the pursuit of comprehensive human progress, the conviction that education is an engine of development, and the certainty that values are the backbone of any society," expressed Josefina Navarro, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility at Banco BHD.
The presentation of the campaign "Origins of Excellence" was attended by Jesús Vásquez Martínez, Dominican consul in New York; Carolina Mejía, mayor of the National District; Opinio Díaz, deputy minister of Consular and Migration Affairs; Celinés Toribio, deputy minister for Dominican Communities Abroad; José Rafael Espaillat, ambassador rector of the Institute of Higher Education in Diplomatic and Consular Training; Major General Ramón Guzmán Peralta, director of the National Police; Miriam Germán, former attorney general of the Dominican Republic; Andrés Maldonado, executive president of the BHD Financial Center; Steven Puig, president of Banco BHD; Fidelio Arturo Despradel, executive president of Banco BHD, and Josefina Navarro, senior vice president of Corporate Communication and Social Responsibility of Banco BHD.
Origins of Excellence
In June of this year, in its first edition, the Origins of Excellence program recognized thirty students through a process that evaluated their academic performance, leadership, and community commitment.
Among the prizes, the winners enjoyed this trip to the Dominican Republic with one of their parents or guardians, with an extensive program of activities that included a visit to the National Palace, where they were received by President Luis Abinader; to the National Congress, with a lunch with senators and deputies; to the Colonial Zone and to public educational centers, as well as trips to the interior of the country and to the place of origin of their parents.
