Words by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Asturias at the 2021 Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony

I am delighted to return to Oviedo to celebrate the presentation of our Awards. I have always seen my parents acknowledge –on this stage– a job well done and the initiatives and ideas that make societies better. That is why I believe that, once again this year, we should always remember that our Laureates are essential guides for us all.

This ever so interconnected world in which we live allows all of us to become better acquainted with the work of those receiving our Awards here today. Likewise, in my case, as a pre-university student, I think of all the young people for whom this will be the case and how much we can all learn from you.

I congratulate you all and admire you:

Gloria Steinem, for her committed defence of women’s rights; Marina Abramović, for her extraordinary talent and for the emotion she incites in her audience; Camfed, for its crucial work in educating so many women and girls who endure discrimination or violence; Amartya Sen, who dedicates his intelligence to seeking solutions to social inequalities; Emmanuel Carrère, for enabling us to feel and for helping us understand the world; Teresa Perales, for her strength, determination and perseverance; the Covid-19 vaccine researchers, who have shown that science brings safety and progress; and José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen, for feeding those in need.

Discovering you –through your work and lives– is something that has inspired me all the more to receive instruction and to study. You project onto us, the youngest members of society, the certainty that we also have a lot to contribute, that we can be important and show that we are responsible to imagine a more sustainable, fairer, better future for us all. Studying and observing your work, dear Laureates, is truly inspiring and gives me strength to continue to shoulder my responsibilities and always act with great commitment.

My thanks to all of you who make it possible for us to be here today; thank you to those who support the Foundation and foster the idea that culture, science and solidarity are crucial for our lives in common.

I will soon return to my studies with the memory of a new Awards Ceremony that, once again, inspires and moves us. Moreover, I will miss this land, Asturias, which I love so dearly and where my sister Sofía and I always feel at home.

Thank you.