Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches 9 between history and progress. This may be the result of his wanderlust, of his contacts with the universities and cultural milieus of America, where he has been a truly exceptional ambassador of Spain. Or perhaps it is the outcome of what he himself elegantly calls life’s “squalls”, for Francisco Ayala also represents the Spain of exile, which teaches us the lesson of having been able to prolong —in spite of suffering the heartbreak of fraternal conflict— those intellectual ambitions of the “Silver Age” of our culture, which at the beginning of the 1930s endeavoured to serve Spain from the viewpoint of culture rather than ignorance, equity rather than political extremism and reason rather than lack of understanding. We are striving to overcome some of the miseries of that period in this chapter of our history that we are building today, this time acting as one. This year’s Prince of Asturias Award for the Social Sciences has been conferred on PierreWerner and Jacques Santer. The former set the foundations for and boldly paved the way toward monetary union. The latter has formalised and consummated the reality of the euro, from his position as President of the European Commission. Both are firm believers in Europe who have worked hard to strengthen the links between the different countries and have always advocated perfecting the Community and, in a word, our future. It is through them that we also acknowledge a good number of distinguished Europeans whose efforts have been decisive in the success of this collective project. This process involves moving towards a mutually linked and irreversible Community for the countries of the European Union and their citizens. It is also, after centuries of dissent and war, a wager for freedom in diversity, now that we have been made stronger through unity; a wager, in short, for peace. Economic change will mean that the single currency will also have deep political and social repercussions that will profoundly affect the daily life of Europeans. We face a great moment in the history of humanity, since a strong Europe is not only good for Europeans, it is also good for the world. This new Europe cannot be built from the perspective of economic and commercial relations alone. The sustenance for the European spirit must also be solidarity, so as to take on unemployment, humanitarian aid, cooperation with the most underdeveloped countries, democratization of supranational political institutions and a shared culture; this pluralistic culture that is in turn made up of so many rich national cultures. At the same time, our continent must maintain the fundamental character that has made it stand out from among other peoples: its condition as a privileged space for cultural activity. We want Europe to continue to be the source of the mightiest expressions of human creativity, a land of painters and writers, scientists and philosophers, musicians and architects; beings who search for progress and welfare without renouncing that humanism of vigorous Christian roots, ever illumined by the eternal flame of freedomof thought. To strengthen these foundations is particularly important at the present time, when the globalising power of economic conditions and impregnates our lifestyles and attitudes. The Award for International Cooperation has many names this year: the names of seven extraordinary women who are fighting to defend women’s and children’s rights, and against the violence and discrimination that they are victims of in different parts of the world. Their efforts, which should unite us all, bring to mind that beautiful metaphor of an Indian writer, “The lantern I carry in my hand protects me against the darkness of the road ahead.” Let us remember their names: the Mozambican Graça Machel; the Algerian Fatiha Boudiaf; our Guatemalan sister Rigoberta Menchú; Olayinka Koso-Thomas, from Sierra Leone; the Afghan Ishaq Gailani; the Cambodian SomalyMam; and the Europeanwho is closest to us, the Italian Emma Bonino. All of them struggle on many fronts against the fanaticism and prejudice that, even in our century, continue to turn children into soldiers in wars that are not theirs; harm women to the very core of their being and strip them of their dignity; force refugees into an endless exodus; violate human rights and basic liberties; kill humble innocents without reason or purpose; or confine their “Our continent must maintain the fundamental character that has made it stand out from among other peoples: its condition as a privileged space for cultural activity.”