The Princess of Asturias Foundation

21 nominations from 11 different countries are in the running for this award, the third of eight international awards that are bestowed each year by the Prince of Asturias Foundation, and which are now in their thirty-second year.

Jury meeting for the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. ©FPA

The meetings of the jury responsible for awarding the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, the third of eight international awards that will be bestowed by the Prince of Asturias Foundation, will be held on May 22^nd and 23^rd. The awards will be bestowed this year for the thirty-second time in their history.

According to the Statutes of the Foundation, the Prince of Asturias Awards aim “to reward the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanistic work performed at an international level by individuals, institutions or groups of individuals or institutions”. As part of this spirit, the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities shall be conferred on those “whose creative work or research in humanistic activities as a whole or in relation to the social communication media, within the framework of the sciences and disciplines that both activities comprise, represents a significant contribution to universal culture”.

There are 21 nominations in the running for this Award from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, United States and Spain.

The Award is endowed with fifty thousand Euros, a sculpture created and specially donated for the awards by Joan Miró, a diploma and an insignia.

The Jury, which is to meet at the Reconquista Hotel, will be made up of the following members:

José Antonio Álvarez Gundín
Adela Cortina Orts
José Manuel Diego Carcedo
Alberto Espinosa i Puig
Javier González Ferrari
Miguel Ángel Liso Tejada
Catalina Luca de Tena y García-Conde
José Antonio Sánchez Domínguez
Ricardo Senabre Sempere
José Antonio Vera Gil
Enrique de Ybarra e Ybarra
Ramón López Vilas (secretario)

Members of the juries will hold an initial meeting with the media at 12 noon on Tuesday 22^nd in the "Salón de Consejos" of the hotel (on the first floor), immediately prior to being formally convened and starting their deliberations. The jury will then elect a president from amongst them. The Jury secretary will be appointed by the Foundation.

Their decision will be made public at 12 noon on Wednesday 23^rd in the Salón Covadonga of the hotel (on the ground floor), and jury members will then be available for interviews.

The reading of the jury’s decision will be broadcast live for more than 150 countries via the main national and international radio and television channels. The signal will be openly transmitted via Hispasat satellite (America and Europe). In addition, there will be a live Internet broadcast at the Foundation's website.