Off the wire
• UN agency warns of cold winter faced by millions of displaced, refugees, migrants in Europe  • Zambian trainer names 20 players for Mozambique CHAN tie  • (Recast): All-star lineup for David Beckham football match in aid of UN agency  • 1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks surge on China rate cut, upbeat earnings  • UN agency appeals for funds as Algerian camps housing Sahrawi refugees hit by floods  • Shelter, food priorities for Nepal six months after powerful earthquake: UN  • UN chief calls on Cote d'Ivoire voters to vote in upcoming election  • Roundup: Fewer children than ever with polio, UN says  • Chicago corn rebounds on export news; wheat, soybeans decline more on rising U.S. dollar  • Zimbabwe vice president pledges to attract more FDI  
You are here: 　 Home

2015 Princess of Asturias awards ceremony held in Oviedo

Xinhua, October 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

The 2015 Princess of Asturias awards ceremony, a major cultural event in Spain, was held in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo on Friday.

The gala event held in the Campoamor Theater saw eight awards, each carrying a cash prize of 50,000 euros (around 55,000 U.S. dollars), a certificate and a statuette by artist Joan Miro, handed over to the winners in eight different categories: Arts, Social Sciences, Communication and Humanities, Scientific and Technical Investigation, Literature, International Cooperation, Sport and Concord.

King Felipe of Spain welcomed those present with a speech and he highlighted the need for the values which the Award winners represent.

"The vast majority of us want a world with a dignified life for all and where solidarity is the norm. We follow the example of those, such as our awards winners, who raise their voices with courage and responsibility to protect the weakest, the least favored and the most vulnerable," he said, before highlighting how each of the recognized disciplines could give an example in life.

"Life would be incomplete without art," said Felipe, while literature "allows us to understand feelings," and communication and humanities teach us what is "human nature and society."

Science, he commented, "allows us to understand our world," and sport shows the values of "effort and discipline," with concord and cooperation are "a synthesis of the best of disciplines, because they empower those who defend peace and liberty."

The award for International Cooperation, one of the most notable, went to Jimmy Wales and his Wikipedia team.

The arts award went to film director Francis Ford Coppola.

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, won the award for Scientific and Technical Investigation for their work on the human genome and the immune system.

Pau and Marc Gasol, who won the Sports Award, but were unable to attend because of commitments with the NBA.

Economist Esther Duffo won the Social Sciences Award and Cuban writer Leonardo Padura got the Literature prize.

Emilio Lledo Inigo won the Communication and Humanities Award, while the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, an international organization that provides health and social care to the needy, was granted the prize for Concord.

As usual the streets surrounding the theater were packed with people from Oviedo, anxious to catch a glimpse of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia and Queen Sofia, although the Infanta Leonor, in whose name the Awards were given for the first time this year did not attend as she was at school. Endit