Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

7 P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches Speech XXXIII At this time and place, many memories and lessons come to mind each autumn. Memories that make us think, learn, discover and grow in terms of ideals and values which move us and strengthen our faith in humankind. I am referring, of course, to the words, images, books and feelings we zealously guard at the Foundation as the most precious of treasures, that we wish to preserve so as to share them without bound. We meet once again to present our Awards to the Laureates whose work motivates us. It is a great privilege to see them assembled here at this celebration so significant and highly valued in Asturias and beyond its borders. Welcome, therefore, to this land, accustomed to maintaining with an iron will the values that have enabled it to progress while always managing to remain hopeful even in critical situations. Today our Laureates receive well-deserved honours, for which we first and foremost congratulate them all. They also receive our gratitude, because through their example they remind each of us that we must assume our responsibilities with a sense of duty. In turn, by acknowledging in them the best of science, culture, solidarity and sport, we enrich our cultural heritage and offer an image far removed from the pessimism that so often holds us back from a better future. We also wholeheartedly thank our Trustees and Patrons, the media and the people whose presence here contributes to the significance of this event and, in short, to all who support our goals. As the Inca Garcilaso already stated more than 400 years ago from magical Peru, “There is but one world.” The work of the Foundation, summed up in each edition of our Awards, is perhaps the best example of our desire to open up and take part in that world, whose diversity is actually an opportunity —an opportunity for gathering and solidarity, for understanding, dialogue and cooperation—, never a problem nor an obstacle. This evening, to a certain extent, this theatre proudly stands as a beacon of knowledge, wisdom and tolerance, and our greatest desire is for everyone, especially the young, to let themselves be guided by the excellence shining forth from this wonderful group of people. Let us now learn a little more about our Laureates’ merits. The Award for the Arts has been conferred on Michael Haneke. Filmmaker, screenwriter and playwright; in short, a person in whom an acute artistic sensitivity and a profound insight into the reality —and complexity— of human nature converge. That is why, perhaps, in addition to unanimously applauding him, the critics have dubbed him the “poet of the cinema of discomfort”. There is a plethora of adjectives extolling the ethical and artistic intensity of his work: his vision is keen; his analyses, relentless; his discourse, consistent; his technical mastery, extraordinary; and his narrative pace and creation of suspense, masterful. All thanks to an innovative talent which, by evocatively revealing the darker side of the human condition, has created a novel, overwhelmingly beautiful and eerily effective form of representing the world via the big screen A form that makes us think, moves and unsettles us, obliges us to seek answers, leads us to question our very nature, how we live, what we do in our daily lives. In short, echoing Godard’s words, Haneke’s cinema is “a thought that forms, a form that thinks”. The Dutch sociologist Saskia Sassen has received the Award for Social Sciences. A specialist in the study of migratory flows and the role of large cities in the global economy, she coined the term “global city”: that city which, according to Sassen, is a frontier zone. “Our greatest desire is for everyone, especially the young, to let themselves be guided by the excellence shining forth from this wonderful group of people.” Watch video