P
rince
of
A
sturias
A
wards
1981-2014. S
peeches
11
as they crossed the border that had been built to be insurmountable, the two halves of Europe also
saw the ideological walls that impeded the view of a future of cooperation and integration in peace
begin to collapse.
Today, Berlin celebrates that unstoppable force, built of hope and valour, of pardon and concord,
which managed to bring down the Wall. It has vertiginously recovered its former splendour and
the brilliance of its culture and creativity, which it had never really fully lost. It has been reborn
once more as a city full of life, a lover of progress and of peace.
The year the Wall fell ushered in a new age, one that is perhaps uncertain and unpredictable,
but an age which is more humane and freer. Today, Berlin is a great European capital, above all a
symbol of hope: it is loved by the young, it is a world reference for those who are committed to all
that culture, creativity and coexistence supposes.
We dedicate our sincere admiration and our affection to the people of Berlin in the persons of
their Mayors, Klaus Wowereit, Walter Momper and Eberhard Diepgen, and also to all Germans, as
they are celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the creation of the German Federal Republic.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let us evoke now, at this time of such vertiginous and profound changes that humanity is
experiencing and on this evening in the Campoamor Theatre illuminated by the light of freedom
and culture, the hope with which we open up to a new world.
A world in constant transformation, in which the industrial
society we have known gives way to the communication and
knowledge society in which scientific and technological advances
occur continuously, situating us in a new age; a world in which
education is now not only a basic human right, but also an
essential requisite to find work and the basis for the collective
success of nations.
We continue to witness the inexorable development of
globalization, which affects and conditions substantial aspects of
our lives, health, security, natural environment and coexistence
within the diversity of languages, cultures and religions. In short,
a world in transformation in which a stable and prosperous international economic order is no
longer possible without values that inspire it and upon which it is founded or without determined
cooperation between states.
Unemployment, the most painful consequence of the economic crisis we are experiencing,
offends our dignity as human beings and is our main concern. It calls for states to facilitate the
necessary social protection to those who find themselves in this situation, at the same time as
they implement all the necessary means for young people to be able to find work and for the
unemployed to be able to return to the workplace as soon as possible. In Spain, this crisis has
also shown us that we need new bases upon which to grow and generate employment which
makes it possible for citizens and their families to be able to live their lives with dignity, security
and trust in the future.
This new scenario that we face situates Spain and the other nations with whom we share beliefs
and values at a crossroads. We know, and we have learned so from the endless lessons that our
history offers us, that the greatest hopes as well as the greatest achievements are born from the
greatest difficulties. Spain has more than shown in recent decades how to overcome challenges in
an exemplary way and I have complete trust in the capacity that we Spaniards have to build a more
solid and equitable future, one of prosperity and well-being, which we all long for.
To do so, we must apply the best of ourselves to this task. Let us reflect collectively, sincerely
and deeply about our challenges and priorities, our strengths and our weakness. Let us embark
upon this path without waiting for others to be the ones to solve what we ourselves must face, and
let us bring to this great individual and collective effort all our capacity for enterprise, imagination
and innovation.
“Fortunately, everyday more and more of
us are aware of the need to preserve the
environment, to stop the deterioration and
reduce the dangers that threaten our planet.”
