7
P
rince
of
A
sturias
A
wards
1981-2014. S
peeches
Speech XX
I return with a deep, contained feeling of elation to Asturias to attend this formal presentation
ceremony this year in which we celebrate the twentieth edition of our Awards. This annual reunion
with the people, valleys and woods of this dearly beloved land—bathed at present in autumn light—
is always a cause of great joy to me, and is even more so in the event of this happy commemoration.
I would first like to congratulate the Laureates with all my heart; their selfless work heartens us
and is a guiding light and stimulus for all our hours to be as unselfishly given over to others and
as productive as theirs have been. Together with those who have preceded them, they are the ones
who make us believe. Their contribution strengthens the desires and hopes for the future that we
place in the Foundation.
I warmly thank the personages and representations from Spain and other friendly countries
who have honoured us with their presence here today.
I would like to extend this gratitude with special affection to my parents, Their Majesties The
King and Queen. Throughout these twenty years, they have lent decisive backing to the work of our
Foundation, which pays tribute to those highest moral values towhich constitutional and democratic
Spain is firmly committed. Without such values, humanity would be spiritually impoverished, less
mutually supportive and even less just. For this reason, it is a cause of great pride for us to be able to
foster these values, modestly, but with the conviction and determination required.
Our Awards have ever-greater international repercussions. This success lies in unstinting work
and a profound commitment to the most hallowed of ethical principles. For without this nobler
vision, without trustworthiness, without reaching spiritual heights, nothing lasting, nothing we
can have faith in, can be created.
Throughout this time, Asturias has contributed significantly to the progress of these Awards,
which from here have become the patrimony of all the Spanish people. I thank the people
of Asturias for this memorable attitude, so in keeping with their generous dedication to Spain
throughout history. I would also express my appreciation to
the Foundation’s Trustees, the members of the Juries and all
those people who, discreetly and yet passionately, have made
them possible. On this anniversary, though, I expressly wish to
highlight the vision and efficacious work of Sabino Fernández
Campo, our presidents Pedro Masaveu, Plácido Arango and
José Ramón Álvarez Rendueles and the Foundation staff, so
generously and wisely led by Graciano García. Thank you.
On the threshold of a new century, comforted by all these
feelings of joy, it is a satisfaction for me to tell this international
audience that Spain continues along the road to freedom and progress; it is a journey our nation
is undertaking with hope and determination, free at last from the burden of pessimism that so
overshadowed recent centuries of its course through history.
It is true that there are problems to solve, such as the ones in the Basque Country, where we all
have “the heart of our soul”, just like Unamuno. We believe a future with dignity can only be forged
by commending what unites us and not by widening what falsely separates us, by integrating and
not excluding; we maintain a firm hope that the end to so much suffering cannot be far off. There
is always room for meeting and mutual understanding amongst those who place the supreme value
of life itself above fanaticism and crime.
This evening brings to mind the deepest gratitude and feelings towards those who risk their
lives there to defend our coexistence in freedom and democracy, which was won with so much
sacrifice. Their commitment and exemplary bravery mean that we are all more human and freer.
“Without this nobler vision, without
trustworthiness, without reaching spiritual
heights, nothing lasting, nothing we
can have faith in, can be created.”
