Let’s remember. José Hierro, María Zambrano, Román Perpiñá Grau, Jesús López Cobos, José López Portillo and Alberto Sols García were the first Prince of Asturias prize winners and that was my first award ceremony. At that time I was 13 years old and, during the 43 years that have passed since then, I have met admirable men and women from near and far places, with magnificent careers and incredible achievements, individual or collective and of enormous impact for the progress of our societies.
Throughout these more than four decades – the last 20 years with the Queen and more recently also with Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía -, I have had the honor and responsibility of praising the winners, of pronouncing the ‘laudatio ‘ in this ceremony.
Therefore, allow me to share with you an intimate thought: You will understand that I tell you that I see with emotion – as a King and as a father – that Leonor, as Honorary President of the Foundation, is in charge of doing so from now on, as we just heard and saw a moment ago.
For me it has been a great privilege and continuous, exciting and rewarding learning. Imagine what it has meant to know such extraordinary people in such a close way, like our award winners, to feel that I have grown (in every sense) each year receiving the guidance and example of their lives, of their works. And I know that, for you, Leonor, – along with your sister Sofía – it already is. You will see how each year you will be even more so.
As time goes by you will look – you will look – at previous editions and you will remember (as we have all done) with gratitude and affection these Asturian experiences: the words, gestures and emotions with which our winners punctuate this great little story of our Foundation, from Oviedo and Asturias, for all of Spain, transmitting to us its great contribution to humanity.
Ladies and gentlemen. In each edition, this ceremony is a faithful reflection of the Foundation’s objective, its will, our will to recognize those people and institutions whose work has the capacity to bring progress and hope to so many lives and communities.
I congratulate, of course, all our winners this year: your names will also go brilliantly into our collective memory. Your greatness is measured by the positive impact you have on society; and there are your works to prove it. Thank you for sharing your passion and commitment with all of us.
If we had to choose a common denominator among you, a synthesis of all your merits or even the first and last reason for your works, we would condense it into a single idea or concept: the person.
You all speak to us, more explicitly or more subtly, about some of the facets that make this necessarily multifaceted concept shine: the person through love, beauty, dedication, commitment, compassion, the search for limits. of knowledge or the defense of freedoms. You put us in front of, in short, that which magnifies us and helps us to fulfill ourselves.
In this globalized world of great magnitude and opportunities, among unimaginable technological advances, dehumanization is a latent risk. You, the winners, remind us with your example that, at the center of any speech, action or decision, whether in the economic, social, political or artistic field, the person must always and inescapably continue to be. History warns us of the serious consequences of deviating from that path. As it alerts us to the serious risks of ‘polarization’, of the denial of the other for their convictions or beliefs; because they think, pray or vote differently.
One of our great thinkers, Adela Cortina, says that “the worst punishment that can be inflicted is the condemnation to invisibility, to ignoring the existence of the other, rejection, contempt.” We are seeing it these days with the atrocious images – of death and desolation – that come to us from the Middle East, Ukraine, Africa and other places in the world, devastated by open conflicts and systematic violations of human rights, which force us to an incessant call for restraint and humanity; also to denounce and do everything possible so that Peace and Security become compatible, complementary and conducive to coexistence, or at least coexistence.
But we also see it in closer and everyday areas: in any inequality, prejudice or injustice, or in any discourse conditioned by fear or based on indifference or radicality.
It is, therefore, the obligation of the institutions, but also of civil society (of the citizens), to fight against everything that is separated, even one iota, from that comprehensive respect that we owe to the person, to any person, to the dignity of any human being; against everything that is separated from the will and commitment to continue building societies capable of living together, dialoguing and working for the common good.
Defending the dignity of the person also means protecting and promoting the regime of Rights and Freedoms that guarantees it, and that underpins our Democracy. And, in the external sphere, it implies strengthening the architecture of the treaties and institutions that support the International Community. Multilateralism and cooperation, without a doubt, are our best tools to face the global challenges of our time.
Ladies and gentlemen, this incessant fight for the dignity of others is, ultimately, the greatest support of ours. Henry David Thoreau wrote it well, “every man has the task of making his life worthy, down to its smallest details” and it is, certainly, a noble and dignified task to show, recognize and celebrate the potential of every human being. That is why today, in this ceremony, we are here to celebrate yours: the merit that is contained in each of you, in your life and in your work.
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