The Princess of Girona Foundation's Talent Tour ends in Madrid in the presence of the King and Queen of Spain
- Music, an educational tool
- Princess of Girona International Award 2024
- Projects of the "Generation Purpose"
An educational concert at the Teatro Real, EmociónArte, presided over by Queen Letizia, opened on Monday 6 May the various activities organised by the Princess of Girona Foundation, which are being held in Madrid, the last city to be covered by the Talent Tour. Around 1,200 students between the ages of 12 and 18, from 21 schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Cordoba, Seville, Salamanca and Zaragoza, were able to enjoy this event, which featured Alfred García as the guest artist.
The protagonists of this musical event, focused on enhancing emotional well-being, were twenty young pop and opera singers belonging to the "AmplificARTE" and "Generación Arte" programmes, promoted by the Princess of Girona Foundation and, the former, Art House Academy, a label created by the composer and producer Julio Reyes Copello, and "Crecesdo, Creamos Ópera", of the Friends of the Teatro Real Foundation.
Music, an educational tool
The power of music and words as tools for communication, the need for music education in schools "because it saves lives", composition as a way of expressing oneself and feeling better emotionally, and music as an engine for transforming the world were some of the messages heard in this emotional meeting, conducted by the conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Extremadura and winner of the 2016 Princess of Girona Art Award, Andrés Salado.
Artists Joaquina, Teo Bok, Maura, Fabian and Jules, from the Art House label, took to the stage with songs that many young people identify with: "Escapar de mí", "Esperanza", "A la mitad", "Porcelana" and "Encontrarme", and Sara Abad with "A better wordld for us". Pop music gave way to the young lyric singers to perform "El brindis de la Traviata" by Giuseppe Verdi. However, one of the most exciting moments for the schoolchildren was undoubtedly the performance of the hymn "La vida de hoy" by "Generación Arte", a song composed by the young people and produced by Alejandro Abad, whose lyrics invite them to live today and to support the people who love them as they are.
The concert was attended by the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez; the President of the Council of State, Carmen Calvo; the President and Director of the Princess of Girona Foundation, Francisco Belil and Salvador Tasqué; and the Director General of the Teatro Real, Ignacio García-Belenguer; as well as the artists Blas Cantó, María Carrasco, Luis Cepeda and Cris B.
Princess of Girona International Award 2024
Another of the highlights of this Tour in the Spanish capital was the announcement of the winners of the Princess of Girona International Award 2024, which this year focused on Latin American talent. The winners were announced at the "Connecting Ibero-American Talent" event, presided over by King Felipe VI and held at the La Nave Innovation Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
The Guatemalan Susana Arrechea, a chemical engineer and doctor in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, won the award in the CreaEmpresa category for "her contribution to electrification, connectivity and digital literacy for indigenous women in rural communities in Guatemala and for her work in the education of girls and young women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics", according to the jury; while in the Research category, the prize went to the Argentinian chemist Yarivith Carolina González, who was unable to travel to Spain, for her research work "in the recycling of metals in lithium-ion batteries, her work in environmental education and for bringing science to schools in Latin America".
The winners received 20,000 euros and a reproduction of a work by the artist Juan Zamora, winner of the 2017 Princess of Girona Art Award.
Two other Argentinians, Federica Morici and Sofía Viviana Piguillem Palacios, were runners-up. The former, aged 22, created the social enterprise Estudiantes Digitales, which contributes to the online education of 25,000 people in 14 countries, and aims to democratise education through technology; Piguillem has stood out for her research into the synthesis and characterisation of nanomaterials to be incorporated as platforms for the development of biosensors applied to the disease Invasive Aspergillosis.
One of the aims of this award, which also seeks twinning with Latin American countries, is to promote young talent in these countries. The Princess of Girona Foundation has enjoyed the collaboration of Casa América and the International Youth Organisation for Ibero-America (OIJ).
Among other authorities in attendance were Diana Morant, Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities; José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid; Francisco Belil, President of the Princess of Girona Foundation; Salvador Tasqué, Director General of the Princess of Girona Foundation and Pablo Fernández, CEO of TRIVU, as well as the ambassadors of the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Ecuador.
Projects of the "Generation Purpose"
Prior to the celebration of this event, King Felipe visited the Ayúdame 3D Production Workshop, a project by Guillermo Martínez Gauna-Vivas, which makes printed arms for people in need and which won the Princess of Girona Award in 2020; he held a meeting with young people and award winners from other editions; and he learned first-hand about the five social projects of the "Generation Purpose" programme aimed at young people between 20 and 30 years of age: EMPLEA-T, StartKidsUp, Cultjuve, Inclufy. Change for inclusion and SerPueblo.
During these days, the capital has hosted different debates, such as those held at Casa América on entrepreneurship in Spain and Latin America or at the Ateneo de Madrid on the influence of fundamental rights on our future; talks by Federico J. González, CEO of Radisson Hotel Group, Nohelis Ruiz, expert in positioning women and diversity and Luda Civolani, founder of Nonstoptalent; a "talent session" on the automotive sector and the mobility of the future at IES Luis Vives; a meeting with winners of the Princess of Girona Foundation at the Google for Startups Campus or educational concerts to promote emotional well-being with Fabián Zignago and Maura Nava, artists of the AmplificArte Programme, in different schools in Madrid.