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July 23, 2025: Princess Leonor's speech at the Princess of Girona Awards ceremony

President, mayor, councilors, authorities, friends who have wanted to share this meeting today: thank you for your presence, for making it possible for us to be united today in this Gran Teatre del Liceu. I must admit that I feel compelled to be here, in this “sanctuary of the arts”, which is what we can read on one of the walls of the Saló dels Miralls. This theatre is a symbol and identity of Barcelona, a Mendoza city of prodigies that I am approaching with summer readings to welcome in Oviedo the illustrious Catalan that is Eduardo Mendoza.

A few weeks ago, Dvorák's opera Rusalka was performed here, and I was watching some images from the stage just as the curtain fell. Everyone who had just participated in the performance, now without the eyes of the audience on them, hugged each other, excited by the emotion and collective effort after delivering artistic excellence, in this case expressed in an opera. That's the enthusiasm I see in the lives and work of our award winners, the impressive energy of the six women and men we just heard.

Manuel, an architect who dares to think differently, excited because, although he accepts that we live in constant crisis and uncertainty, this is the best time to be young and combine architecture and sustainability.

Valentina, a Colombian entrepreneur who faced many no's but never lost her enthusiasm for ensuring that vulnerable women have access to preventive healthcare thanks to her device for the early detection of breast cancer.

Andreu, the engineer who thought—you heard him!—that he was stupid and transformed his frustration into enthusiastic energy to create a math learning system that helps thousands of students around the world.

Toni, another engineer whose eyes light up when he talks about the energy transition and whose enthusiasm for the challenge of large-scale renewable energy storage spreads to us.

Gabriela, a neuroscientist driven by a conviction: everyone deserves decent healthcare. And that's why she created a platform that helps millions of Guatemalans.

And Pablo, who refuses to allow premature babies in many parts of the world to lack the basic conditions to thrive. And who, as an engineer, decided that a life of service to others was what fulfilled him. His enthusiasm when explaining how his low-cost incubators work is impressive.

The six of you tackle the complexity of the world and transform it into clear, accessible and effective solutions. The six of you have anticipated the challenges and have worked long-term in a world where everything is urgent. The six of you have chosen the difficult path, that of commitment, purpose, awareness of what is right, of what needs to be done.

I thank the six of you for dazzling us with your determination and patience to move forward and persevere, and to put so much talent at the service of society. And I also thank the trustees for their support so that the Princess of Girona Foundation, with the work of its entire great team, is an accomplice and promoter of the way our awardees look at the world: a view that does not look for shortcuts and that is often built in silence and with conviction, with the ethic of a job well done and the search for the common good, with the enthusiasm to improve people's lives. Thank you.

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