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Spain

A busy schedule for Spain’s young royals precedes awards ceremony

After kickstarting the awards season with a visit to sculptor Jaume Plensa’s atelier and a dinner with laureates from previous edition, Wednesday, 10th July was a day with a full agenda for the Spanish royals. 

The day began early for Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, who met with the young people taking part in several of the Foundation’s programmes, all of which are called “Generation” with another noun after it, symbolising the aim to inspire a new generation in a specific field. 

Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia meet young people who have worked with the Princess of Girona Foundation
(Casa de S.M. el Rey)

The meeting took place at the Santa Clotilde Gardens in Lloret de Mar, a city near Barcelona, where, upon their arrival, the sisters were welcomed by local authorities, as well as top officials from the Foundation. 

The event was hosted by Marc Schneeberger, who won the Princess of Girona Award for Research in 2023. He was in charge of introducing the various sections of the morning, which included the recalling of young people’s experiences with the Foundation’s various programmes, as well as the projection of the trailer for the documentary “Generation Teachers”, and a performance of “La vida es hoy” [“Life is today”], among other events. 

The next event of the day was a meeting with the board of young councillors of the Princess of Girona Foundation, which was attended by the King and Queen of Spain, as well as the Princess and the Infanta. 

This Council is a new creation within the Foundation, and aims to “discover and propose topics that worry the young generation”. It is made up of 20 young men and women who will operate under the guidance of the Foundation’s President in order to present new topics for the various categories for the awards. 

King Felipe and Queen Letizia with Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia ahead of the glittering awards ceremony
(Casa de S.M. el Rey)

The next stop for the day was for Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía to listen to the presentation of the Deloitte Foundation’s “Professional Impact of AI in young people” study.  The Deloitte Foundation was created more than 25 years ago with the aim of committing to “education, training and sustainable development” in order to better social conditions, generate opportunities and reduce inequalities. 

After a short lunch break, the princess and her sister then reunited with King Felipe and Queen Letizia to preside over the meeting of the board of patrons of the Princess of Girona Foundation. After a short speech from King Felipe, the readout of the previous session was approved, and the provisional budget and activities rapports were read and approved as well. 

The two days were closed by theaAwards ceremony proper, during which six prominent young men and women were recognised for their efforts in their respective fields, and become a source of inspiration for the many young people taking part in the Foudnation’s programmes.