Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches 11 as they crossed the border that had been built to be insurmountable, the two halves of Europe also saw the ideological walls that impeded the view of a future of cooperation and integration in peace begin to collapse. Today, Berlin celebrates that unstoppable force, built of hope and valour, of pardon and concord, which managed to bring down the Wall. It has vertiginously recovered its former splendour and the brilliance of its culture and creativity, which it had never really fully lost. It has been reborn once more as a city full of life, a lover of progress and of peace. The year the Wall fell ushered in a new age, one that is perhaps uncertain and unpredictable, but an age which is more humane and freer. Today, Berlin is a great European capital, above all a symbol of hope: it is loved by the young, it is a world reference for those who are committed to all that culture, creativity and coexistence supposes. We dedicate our sincere admiration and our affection to the people of Berlin in the persons of their Mayors, Klaus Wowereit, Walter Momper and Eberhard Diepgen, and also to all Germans, as they are celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the creation of the German Federal Republic. Ladies and Gentlemen, Let us evoke now, at this time of such vertiginous and profound changes that humanity is experiencing and on this evening in the Campoamor Theatre illuminated by the light of freedom and culture, the hope with which we open up to a new world. A world in constant transformation, in which the industrial society we have known gives way to the communication and knowledge society in which scientific and technological advances occur continuously, situating us in a new age; a world in which education is now not only a basic human right, but also an essential requisite to find work and the basis for the collective success of nations. We continue to witness the inexorable development of globalization, which affects and conditions substantial aspects of our lives, health, security, natural environment and coexistence within the diversity of languages, cultures and religions. In short, a world in transformation in which a stable and prosperous international economic order is no longer possible without values that inspire it and upon which it is founded or without determined cooperation between states. Unemployment, the most painful consequence of the economic crisis we are experiencing, offends our dignity as human beings and is our main concern. It calls for states to facilitate the necessary social protection to those who find themselves in this situation, at the same time as they implement all the necessary means for young people to be able to find work and for the unemployed to be able to return to the workplace as soon as possible. In Spain, this crisis has also shown us that we need new bases upon which to grow and generate employment which makes it possible for citizens and their families to be able to live their lives with dignity, security and trust in the future. This new scenario that we face situates Spain and the other nations with whom we share beliefs and values at a crossroads. We know, and we have learned so from the endless lessons that our history offers us, that the greatest hopes as well as the greatest achievements are born from the greatest difficulties. Spain has more than shown in recent decades how to overcome challenges in an exemplary way and I have complete trust in the capacity that we Spaniards have to build a more solid and equitable future, one of prosperity and well-being, which we all long for. To do so, we must apply the best of ourselves to this task. Let us reflect collectively, sincerely and deeply about our challenges and priorities, our strengths and our weakness. Let us embark upon this path without waiting for others to be the ones to solve what we ourselves must face, and let us bring to this great individual and collective effort all our capacity for enterprise, imagination and innovation. “Fortunately, everyday more and more of us are aware of the need to preserve the environment, to stop the deterioration and reduce the dangers that threaten our planet.”