Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches 9 Dissident and committed, Paul Krugman defends the idea that an economy should first and foremost fight against social injustice and inequality, and the need for there to be people with an active conscience in support of the most needy. “The free market,” he has said, “is a useful tool but not a religion.” An ever-more sustainable welfare state should be a vital, key priority for all societies that seek to effectively confront the challenges of globalization in a new century that sets its sights on achieving balanced and fair development. Journalism of the most vivid and profound type has been the protagonist of our Awards on a number of occasions.This is once again the casewith thebestowingof theAward forCommunication and Humanities on Jean Daniel, a French journalist of Algerian descent. Combining the precision of sharp, effective criticism with a tone of serenity and commitment founded upon understanding, Jean Daniel has remained faithful to values of independence and humanism that set him apart in the world of international journalism and place him alongside distinguished and decisive intellectuals of the past century, such as Albert Camus and André Malraux. Despite the difficulties generated in an environment of such complexity and self-interest, Jean Daniel has lucidly argued that informative, socially-committed journalism should not be confused with public spectacle and the merely audiovisual, and that truthful information is quite the opposite to certain messages, described in his own words as “perverse and frightening”, that the mass media sometimes serve up to us. The example of Jean Daniel, a journalist of our times and for our times, can serve as an invaluable aid in a commitment —that should unite us all— to lay the foundations to sustain a more educated and learned society, in which the media enables citizens to access truthful information that provides the means to form independent opinions and criteria. The Award for International Cooperation bestowed upon the European Union’s Erasmus programme brings us back to Europe and its culture and —more importantly— to our young. Few firmly established projects are as deserving of this Award as this pan-European programme for educational exchange. Two thousand universities from thirty countries are involved in it. As the Jury has pointed out, it is “one of the greatest projects in international cooperation in the history of mankind”. The facts and figures regarding the educational, cultural and social benefits of such an ambitious programme, speak for themselves as regards the wisdom and foresight of a project that reflects, like no other, the ideals of peace, solidarity and integration at the heart of the project for the construction of Europe. Since its launch in 1987, two million young Europeans have had the opportunity to study in another European country, learning its language, freely communicating with lecturers and fellow-students alike, sharing their customs and cultures. One would be hard-pressed to imagine a system that contributes in such an efficient and exciting way to fostering a sense of belonging and the consolidation of an awareness of European citizenship. The success of the Erasmus Programme ratifies the immense benefits that an awareness of one’s own idiosyncracies and those of others, contact between different languages and cultures and an understanding of differences provide for our coexistence within Europe. In short, it has highlighted the paramount importance that this exchange of experience in an ever more receptive world has on the character building and the broadening of horizons of our young people. Once again, education and culture are shown to be irreplaceable for coexistence and mutual understanding as tools for increasing people’s opportunities and also as factors for integration and social peace. Human qualities and sincerity have always validated the sublime value and exemplary nature of art. Such is the case of Spanish musician and guitarist Paco de Lucía, who has been granted the Award for Arts for the universal nature of his work, his creativity, its genuine character, which is both innovative yet also respectful of the essence of Flamenco, the essential art of Andalusian culture, which is so universal yet such a part of us. The sounds and rhythms of Paco de Lucía’s guitar, his loyalty towards tradition yet at the same time his originality and heterodoxy, have “We look towards new, promising horizons, guided by the idea that the united peoples of Spain are the greatest guarantee of stability and the progress of all.”

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