The Princess of Asturias Foundation

33 nominations from 27 different countries are in the running for this award, the sixth 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 International Cooperation. ©FPA

The meetings of the jury responsible for awarding the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, the sixth of eight international awards that will be bestowed by the Prince of Asturias Foundation, will be held on June 12^th and 13^th. 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 International Cooperation shall be conferred on those “whose work with another or others in areas such as Public Health, Universal Education, Environmental Protection or Social and Economic Development, among others, constitutes a significant contribution at an international level”.

There are 32 nominations in the running for this Award from Bangladesh, Belgium, Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Holland, Hungary, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Palestine, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela and Spain.

Each Prince of Asturias Award comprises a Joan Miró sculpture, representing and symbolising the Awards, a cash prize of 50,000 euros, a diploma and an insignia.

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

Pedro Alonso Fernández
Enrique Barón Crespo
José María Bergareche Busquet
Eugenia Bieto Caubet
Silvia Escobar Moreno
Jorge de Esteban Alonso
Gloria Fernández-Lomana García
Enrique Fernández-Miranda y Lozana
Isabel Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada
Ricardo Martí Fluxá
José María Martín Patino
Jaime Montalvo Correa
Luis Javier Navarro Vigil
Francisco Pinto Balsemão
Marta Reynal-Querol
Rafael Sánchez-Barriga Fernández
Luis Sánchez-Merlo y Ruiz
Gustavo Suárez Pertierra
Alicia Castro Masaveu (secretary of the Jury)

Members of the juries will hold an initial meeting with the media at 12 noon on Tuesday 12^th 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 13^th 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.