Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches 11 represents, for the equitable, democratic way in which he pursues his political ideals and for his committed persistence in making ethics and politics inseparable from public activities. The priority anti-hunger programme in his country, his idea of a world in which models of development preferentially target the needy and the courage and wisdom of his proposals constitute enormous hope, for as Kapuściński affirms, history clearly teaches us that “there are no short cuts to the future”. In times when the young are tempted by the quest for easy, immediate success, Lula da Silva’s life provides a supreme example for all and sundry; his early years were times of abject poverty and desperation, but he did not succumb to them because of his courageous strength in adversity, his boundless energy, his great spirit and the optimism and strength of his dreams. Mr President, Mid-way through the last century, your great country dazzled the great Jewish writer Stefan Zweig, as it has since dazzled all of us who visit it for the first time. Zweig was seeking refuge in America at a time when Europe was about to succumb to the age-old barbarity of war. Brazil enthralled him with its grandiose beauty, but mostly with the peaceful coexistence of the different races that dwelled there. “There,” the admiring Zweig wrote, “man has not split from his fellow man through absurd theories about blood, race and origins.” He also added, “whilst contemplating with joyful eyes the thousand forms of beauty in that new environment, I saw the future.” Today, Mr President, Brazil has achieved a considerable level of development that confirms the forecast of the person who observed it with such emotion time ago, but it has still not managed to resolve enormous problems caused by social imbalance. Now, with your inspiration and the support of your people, your much-admired country is striving to follow the hope-inspiring path to progress, based upon equity and rejecting social exclusion. Your approach cannot but inspire people of good will. For this reason, you can count on our support and help, so that the future foreseen by the great writer we have just mentioned, and which we all yearn for, becomes joyful reality as soon as possible. Ladies and Gentlemen, We are coming to the end of the grand Awards Ceremony with which Spain expresses its hospitality, its generous heart, its admiration for the extraordinary work of the Laureates. It does so because from the dawn of history, it has known that where love of culture dwells, the chains of ignorance, darkness and fear are forever broken. This year’s Awards coincide with the commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of our Constitution, forged so that Spain would be a dearly loved place for peaceful coexistence between our wealth of different cultures and attitudes and never a place for division, want of solidarity or discord. Under the aegis and guidance of its Constitution, Spain has brought out the very best of itself; it has grasped, with extraordinary vitality, much of its enormous potential and, more importantly, developed its human resources, one outstanding facet being the rapid, beneficial incorporation of women into every facet of society, which they had been so unfairly excluded from. We are proud to see that our country is open-minded, modern and European, once again on a par with what the times require, able to adapt to life’s inevitable changes and able to confront the problems that inevitably arise in any community with strength and composure and to grasp opportunities for progress. We are also pleased to see it in the vanguard of the creation of culture and of the defence of human rights, welcoming and fraternal; and we are inspired when we realize that Spain is the homeland where we feel the warmth of compassion and of hope. Spain has never before been as free, as prosperous, as capable and as much admired as in these “We are happy that our Awards not only recognize work that is the fruit of long life, but that they are also prepared to highlight work spawned by the creative drive of youth.”