Ana Botín, chair of Universia and Group executive chairman of Banco Santander, oversaw the closing ceremony today in Salamanca of the IV Universia International Rectors' Meeting with a speech advocating a more prominent role for education since it is the ”main response and best tool for facing the great challenges and dealing with the problems of today and the future".  The two-day meeting, which coincided with the University of Salamanca's 800th anniversary, brought together 600 rectors from 26 countries representing 10 million university students around the world, in a discussion with the theme “University, Society and Future” on the challenges facing universities. The conclusions are set out in the ‘Salamanca Charter’, a document that “reiterates the universities' commitment to continue leading progress by reinventing and transforming themselves”, according to Ana Botín.

His Majesty the King of Spain and the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, presided over the opening ceremony of the Universia IV International Rectors' Meeting held today in Salamanca. Also in attendance at this event were the Ibero-American Secretariat General, Rebeca Grynspan, the Secretary General of the OECD, Ángel Gurría, the Spanish Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, the president of Castile and Leon, Juan Vicente Herrera, and the chairman of Universia and Banco Santander, Ana Botín.

Banco Santander, S.A. (BME:SAN) and Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), a global fintech leader, have completed a first practical use of blockchain for investor voting at an annual general meeting (AGM). The implementation of a solution that employs blockchain technology enhances global proxy vote transparency and increases operational efficiency, security and analytics, which is beneficial for investors, issuers, agent banks and custodian banks.