Your Majesties,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Laureates,

Allow me to open a window onto the past. Let us set the scene: it is 1981, during the first presentation of these Awards on this very stage. The Award for Communication and Humanities is announced and José Ortega Spottorno takes the floor with a note in his hand. The note is from María Zambrano, the first –and only– woman granted an Award in that year in which this Foundation began its journey. The philosopher and writer had been in exile for four decades and, upon accepting the Award, she told my father that in him “a light is kindled in which a presence flutters where the young and the unprecedented come together, the hope of a history that is opening up.”

My father is approaching 60 now, but that afternoon he was 13 years old. In her words, María Zambrano was referring not only to the Foundation, not only to Spain, to that Spain of 1981: she was speaking of the young and the unprecedented. She was speaking of hope.

I bring it up again so that we can think about what it offers in response to the questions many of us are asking ourselves nowadays. And I feel a mixture of vertigo and excitement, because that is how it is: We young people ask ourselves questions. How to maintain enthusiasm in these times of profound social disenchantment, disbelief and inequality, conflict, extremism, populism, technological and hybrid warfare, liquid realities, realpolitik, threats, uncertainty… all amplified by social media, macroeconomic figures and the cost of living. These are also times —let us not forget— of effort and silent work by many; times of pursuing authenticity over what is virtual, of debating the value of human imperfection versus the supposed perfection of the machine…

How does my generation cope with such complexity? How do we digest haste and disenchantment, what many consider a lack of expectations and the impossibility of having a life plan, a good job, a house… But in the face of such chaos, from here today in Oviedo, how can I show to you that I am sincere, neither naive nor apocalyptic, neither cynical nor dramatic? How can I convey the meaning and importance of carefully observing our Laureates, as they contribute to maintaining our capacity for wonder and curiosity, as well as our need to trust? Because yes, we need to trust. Are these times darker than previous ones? Does it make sense to come to Oviedo every year to thank these women and men who are sitting here today, on this stage, who have a life and a body of work that helps us to have faith?

It does.

It does because studying Timothy Garton Ash helps us understand what is happening in Europe. Garton Ash argues that, despite what certain hegemonic actors have shown, the European Union, along with the United Kingdom, now has —in a clearly post-Western world— the opportunity to reinforce the values on which it was built. And it must do so, he insists, with the clear need to reform current practices to strengthen security and defence. To “Europeanize” it, says Garton Ash, to implement the Draghi report, to create a single digital space, in short, to find a way to unite European policies with national policies to continue making progress. It seems appropriate, therefore, to read and study this Oxford historian who writes like an academic and observes like a reporter, and who has earned the title of “most European Briton”.

And consider whether it makes sense to evoke the work of Studio Ghibli here. In my case, my memory goes back to the following scene: my mother takes us to see Ponyo. It is Sofia’s first time in a cinema! She is not even two years old and she is sitting on my mother’s lap. I am mesmerized by the story. My sister can more or less handle it, she fidgets a bit, but she also lets herself be carried away by the incomparable, wise animation of the Studio which, since then, has come to form part of our education. Because films are educational, of course, even when they do not mean to be. And Ghibli films show warrior princesses and brave women, respect for nature. Silence and contemplation matter in the universal art that is animation and that Ghibli Studio endows with meticulous craftsmanship and humanism.

And I do not know if there is a more meaningful exercise than reading Julian Barnes. Do it if you want to laugh, cry, break down or become thrilled. All at once. He bids farewell with a memoir that is both a marvel and a tragedy, in which he addresses his blood cancer and his entire life with intelligence and skill! With imperfect memories, fragile loves, time that transforms everything and death, which is inevitable. Barnes says he is a melancholic optimist and a cheerful pessimist. And he can say whatever he wants, because where you are delving, Mr Barnes, is into the most essential, precious meaning of human existence, and no AI will be able to replicate the emotion that your work elicits.

And if the history of human imperfection has found occasions to become passionate in unison, it has been with sporting achievements. I do not know if there is another phenomenon capable of generating that universal feeling. One moment –the goal everyone is waiting for–which englobes everything. That is why it makes sense to look towards Messi today and his unique career. A former Sporting de Gijón player provided us with a great definition of the Argentinian footballer, “He turned what is extraordinary into routine, interpreting the game and deciding what was most effective in tenths of a second, and respecting the collective essence above ego.”

Preserving plant heritage and ensuring food security and crop diversity makes perfect sense. And such overwhelming evidence is hidden in a mountain beneath the Arctic soil and preserved at -18 degrees Celsius. It is called the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and is a project, Norwegian in origin, that is based on international cooperation and trust. There are stored duplicate seeds from the nearly 200 gene banks from around the world that may be threatened by wars, floods, fires, certain political decisions or lack of resources… a useful and universal scientific project.

Those who think they can prosper alone and without taking others into account should talk to Christina Koch. And let this physicist and engineer explain what she saw —and above all what she felt— 400 000 km from planet Earth. We share everything, we are connected, we are destined to understand each other. We are “Crew Earth”, as stated by someone who has also been the first in many feats. Because behind every NASA mission, there is a great deal of preparation, work, excellence... and effort. And that makes sense: it makes us understand that we are smaller than we think and less important than we believe, yet always responsible for every word and action. Responsible for the way we conduct ourselves in life each and every day.

Witnessing our smallness on Earth from a spaceship must be as fascinating as observing our tiny complexity by means of a DNA sequencer… After many years of research, two chemists, David Klenerman and Shankar Balasubramanian, and a biophysicist, Pascal Mayer, have managed to make what was once a lengthy, expensive process now rapid, cheap and effective. This next-generation sequencing of DNA makes sense because it allows progress in many areas of biomedicine, with applications —in the field of clinical practice— in infectious diseases, cancer and rare diseases. And because this Award reveals that this scientific feat that benefits us all has been founded, as so often before, on collaboration and teamwork.

I have read that Patti Smith is a poet who sings, music that drips with poems; that she is unstoppable due to her rebelliousness, boldness and courage; that she is free, strong and independent; that in her poems, songs and work, she wields a raw, defiant freedom that does not seek permission. I have read that she does not aspire to please, that what she wants is to exist and experience out of a sense of necessity, not for aesthetic reasons. Looking closely at the photos Mapplethorpe took of her at the Chelsea Hotel and listening to her songs, I believe I understand the meaning of recognizing the nonconformist gaze of a complete artist whose authenticity and life are reinforced with age.

Two years ago I referred to hope when quoting a poem by Serrat. I invoke it again today, precisely because I perceive a certain sense of discouragement, or scepticism, or indignation… Václav Havel, who also once took this stage, said that hope is not the conviction that things will turn out well, but the certainty that there are things that have meaning and that are worth defending no matter what. So I keep answering myself: Yes, it makes sense to honour these women and these men. And let us recall a verse by Paul Valéry that Miyazaki, one of the founders of Ghibli, rescued in one of his works: “The wind is rising… We must try to live!!”  Thank you very much.