"Today we reward the emotion that is contrary to skepticism: the hope"

USPA NEWS - The Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony was held on Friday, October 25 at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, under the presidency of the King and Queen of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, and with the presence of the Princess of Asturias, Leonor de Borbón, and the Infanta Sofía. The 2024 Princess of Asturias Awards seek to recognize the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work carried out by individuals, institutions, groups of individuals or institutions at the international level. They are awarded in eight categories: Arts, Social Sciences, Communication and Humanities, Concord, International Cooperation, Sports, Scientific and Technical Research and Letters.

This year's winners were the Spanish composer and singer Joan Manuel Serrat, Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts; Marjane Satrapi, Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities; the also Spanish Carolina Marín, Princess of Asturias Award for Sports; Michael Ignatieff, Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences; Ana Blandiana, Princess of Asturias Award for Literature; Daniel J. Drucker, Jeffrey M. Friedman, Jens Juul Holst and Svetlana Mojsov, winners of the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, and Joel F. Habener, Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research.

Representing the Magnum Photos agency, Princess of Asturias Award for Concord, the current president, Cristina de Middel, attended the ceremony; accompanied by the photographers and former presidents of the agency Thomas Dworzak (2017-2020) and Olivia Arthur (2020-2022).

On behalf of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, the ceremony was attended by its Secretary General, Mariano Jabonero Blanco; Alexander Chaverri Carvajal (Costa Rica), first doctor of the Paulo Freire academic mobility program; Maria Isabel Pires Gomes Guerra (Portugal), head of the Bilingual and Intercultural Border Schools project, and Martín Lorenzo Demilio (Argentina), head of the OEI in Colombia.

The writer Ana Blandiana; the academic and essayist Michael Ignatieff; the cartoonist, film director and painter Marjane Satrapi; and the Spanish composer and singer Joan Manuel Serrat gave speeches at the forty-fourth edition of the awards. Marjane Satrapi explained that “for a long time I have believed that the key for any human being to be able to live with dignity, to never suffer brutality or humiliation because of their sex, ethnicity or color, was education. But didn't Goebbels have a PhD in philosophy? Didn't Dr. Mengele take the Hippocratic Oath? Are we wrong when we define education?,” she asked. "Perhaps before educating our children to be economically and socially successful, we should teach them that true success lies above all in humanism."

"That what allowed man to place himself above all living beings was that he created societies; and a society only exists because – unlike an animal that is condemned to die when it breaks a leg – we take care of our fellow men. We carry them on our shoulders and keep them safe. Man alone does not survive in nature. He only survives by joining together with others and creating societies. And the sine qua non condition for achieving this is empathy," concluded Satrapi.

The Spanish composer and singer Joan Manuel Serrat also elaborated on the subject. In its verdict, the jury of the awards praised his commitment and Serrat explained it in his speech. “I prefer roads to borders, reason to force and instinct to civility. I am a social and rational animal that needs man beyond the tribe. I believe in tolerance. I believe in respect for the rights of others and dialogue as the only way to resolve matters fairly. I believe in freedom, justice and democracy. Values ??that go hand in hand or they don't,” he said.

After the speeches of the award winners, it was time for the Princess of Asturias, Leonor de Borbón. This year she celebrates her first decade as heir to the Throne and, in her sixth speech at the awards that bear her name, she pointed out that "today we reward the emotion contrary to skepticism or discouragement: the emotion of hope," before praising the land of Asturias: "Being in Asturias, coming to Oviedo every year and experiencing with all of you the enthusiasm that is breathed these days, makes us feel welcomed and loved in a land where I am very happy," she said.

The ceremony concluded with a speech by King Felipe VI, who warned that “in this globalised world of great magnitude and opportunities, among unimaginable technological advances, dehumanisation is a latent risk.” The performance of the national anthem ‘Asturias, patria querida’ brought the events to a close.