Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

6 O viedo | C ampoamor T heatre | dedicate themselves to these kinds of endeavours enable us to renovate our faith in mankind; a faith so often sullied by the vicissitudes of history. I am also pleased at the granting of the Exemplary Town of Asturias Award to the Friends of the Villaviciosa-Cubera Countryside Association, which I will have the chance to visit tomorrow in order to present the Award, meet the members, and learn about the conservation efforts they carry out in such outstanding fashion. I also wanted to dedicate a few words of acknowledgement to the quality of our Juries, which, as in previous editions, have contributed their objective and disinterested judgement for the well- being and growing prestige of the Awards. The satisfaction that we feel today has been tarnished by some dramatic events. I wish to condemn with all my might the bloodshed that took place yesterday in Madrid in which innocent citizens lost their lives or suffered terrible mutilations as a consequence of cowardly, heartless, murderous terrorism. For them, their families, and also for all those who have previously suffered at the hands of this mindless barbarism, my emotional remembrance and my solidarity goes out to you in these trying times. The prosperity and joy of communities flourish when values such as freedom, solidarity, education, creativity, love of work, capacity for sacrifice and cooperation exist in harmony within them. It is fitting that we reflect on these circumstances in difficult moments. In order to overcome them, we must contribute all of our efforts and our collaboration without ever losing the hope of attaining a brilliant future for our Principality, to whose destiny I cast my lot with the rest of the Asturian people. With the same loyalty that you have always afforded me, I join you now in order to reach that better future that I believe in and for whose attainment I pledge all my efforts. “The prosperity and joy of communities flourish when values such as freedom, solidarity, education, creativity, love of work, capacity for sacrifice and cooperation exist in harmony within them.” 18 th O ctober 1991