prize

Government of Catalonia awards Google vice president for contributing to make internet "an open network for everyone"

Bangladeshi entrepreneur meets with president Quim Torra at government headquarters

Proactiva Open Arms jointly with other search and rescue groups one of three finalists in contention for prestigious prize

Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk sought to show the perils of authoritarianism to Turkish people through the novel

Martti Ahtisaari states that Puigdemont should have the opportunity to run in December 21 elections

The authors denounce “violence and alienation” from Madrid and advocate a “peaceful resolution”

Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire and Rigoberta Menchú state that the “violent” Spanish government response “increases hostilities”

Ahmed Galai makes a declaration in favor of “democracy and the October 1” vote

Pritzker prizewinning architects based in the Catalan city Olot create LAB·A to promote debate through universities around the world, starting with annual summer workshop

The Greek-french director becomes the first filmmaker to receive the honor

The first movie by Catalan director Carla Simón amongst 10 European films shortlisted

The winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered the Nobel Prize of Architecture, will represent Catalonia at the Venice Biennale 2018. The Catalan Minister of Culture, Santi Vila, and the manager of the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), Manuel Forcano, explained that this is the proposal they will submit to the Biennale. “It is important that, when Catalonia's talent and excellence are recognized, that the institutions should be able to find the displays in which they can express their style, what they do and what they think,” said the minister. Vila also explained that this decision was taken through a consensus with the sector, so no tender needs to be announced. The studio RCR Arquitectes, which won the Pritzker Architecture Prize on March 1, has 30 years of experience in Olot, Catalonia. The announcement made by Vila and Forcano comes just ten days before the architecture studio receives the award in a ceremony in Tokyo.

Two Catalan researchers, Gemma Galdon and Isabel Trillas were amongst the finalists at EU Prize for Women Innovators 2017, an initiative promoted by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation together with the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. Galdon is a policy analyst working on the social, ethical and legal impacts of data-intensive technologies while Trillas is full Professor at the Faculty of Biology at Universitat de Barcelona and developed a pesticide based on a natural microorganism to control crop diseases. The ceremony, held on Women’s International Day at the European Parliament, awarded four European researchers for their outstanding contribution. They were Michela Magas, Petra Wadström, Claudia Gärtner and Kristina Tsvetanova.

'RCR' Arquitectes, a studio based in the small village of Olot, 100 kilometres north of Barcelona, has been awarded the 2017 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The three locally-based architects, Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta are the first to share the prize, which is known internationally as architecture’s highest honour. “This is a dream we would have never dared to dream of”, stated Pigem. During its 30-year history, 'RCR Arquitectes' has carried out more than 60 singular projects, mainly in Catalonia but also in France and Belgium. Tom Pritzker, Chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, considered the winners’ work to have “had an impact on the discipline far beyond their immediate area” with projects ranging from public and private spaces to cultural venues and educational institutions. “They’ve demonstrated that unity of material can lend such incredible strength and simplicity to a building,” said Glenn Murcutt, Jury Chair.

The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, posthumously handed over the Gold Medal of the Government to pro-independence Muriel Casals, who died on the 14th of February this year. The prize is the highest recognition of those individuals or institutions whose work in the political, social, economic, cultural or scientific field has been outstanding. Casals presided at the head of the civil association promoting Catalan language and culture Òmnium Cultural andwas one of the main figures responsible for the massive pro-independence rallies which have taken to the streets of Barcelona for the past six years. In 2015, she joined pro-independence cross-party list 'Junts Pel Sí' and ran for the 27-S Catalan Elections. “Muriel leaves a space which will be really difficult to fill” stated Puigdemont during the ceremony held this Thursday.