In two days, Princess Leonor will set foot in the General Military Academy of Zaragoza for the first time to accompany her father in the delivery of dispatches for the new officers. On August 17, she will return to enter as a cadet and begin her military training stage to which she referred this Wednesday in her speech at the Princess of Girona Foundation awards ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Camiral hotel, in Caldes de Malavella
The princess, after talking about the challenges that young people face: training; develop capacities; living sustainably and, above all, facing life projects, has referred to herself with these words: “I am almost eighteen. I have just finished high school and I am about to start a new stage with a period of military training. And, beyond my responsibility, I am happy because I know how much the Spanish value our Armed Forces. It is an important moment in my life and I feel very eager, and convinced, to continue learning and giving my best encouragement to strengthen values ??with those I have grown up with and who today embody our five award-winners: respect for others, effort, excellence, search for knowledge, temperance, discipline, perseverance, as well as the ability to perceive reality and live with the enthusiasm typical of my age. that after finishing his high school studies, close to turning 18, and about to enter the military academy”.
For the awards ceremony, Leonor has chosen an aqua green taffeta dress, fifties style with a sweetheart neckline, from the Sevillian firm Cherubina. The Infanta Sofía has opted for a short metallic fabric dress from the designer Moisés Nieto and the Queen has repeated a black dress with a V-neck and flared skirt from the lowcost brand H
The King and Princess Leonor closed their words at the Princess of Girona award ceremony, with speeches that also had in common the need to work so that young people develop their aspirations, achievements, objectives and contributions, both for themselves and for the good of current and future society.
“We must give our youth stability and a guarantee of the future,” said the King in the speech that closed a ceremony that, like the previous ones, had a casual air with interventions from winners of other years who offered a promise of hope, in accordance with the spirit of the Princess of Girona Foundation. Before starting to speak right after his daughter, the King missed “the stop” by proudly presenting himself before the audience that had applauded the words of his daughter.
The Princess, who preceded the King in speaking, spoke of the challenges faced by young people: training; develop capacities; live sustainably and, above all, face vital projects. Both the King and the princess have included phrases in Catalan in their speeches and both have highlighted that the award ceremony was held in Girona.
The awards recognize this year the violinist María Dueñas; the engineer and founder CEO of Open Cosmos, Rafael Jordá; to the Doctor in Biomedicine and professor at Yale, Marc Schneeberger Pané; the therapist and founder of the Palliative Art Foundation, Silvia Fernández Cadevall, and the CEO and co-founder of the Kidogo child care network, Sabrina Habib. Five young talents who, from different fields, work to solve some of the great current challenges such as climate change, emotional well-being, the prevention of obesity, the need to promote music as a universal language or the promotion of equality of opportunities.
In the words of the King and the Princess, there was no lack of praise for the five winners, whom Felipe Vi described as “brilliant young people, new benchmarks for youth who fill this path of challenges with hope, as they themselves demonstrate with his own life, with his decisions and with his values”. For her part, Princess Leonor has reviewed the trajectory of each of them in her respective languages: in Catalan for Mar, Rafael and Silvia; in Spanish when referring to María Dueñas and, in English, when she spoke about Sabrina. The Princess finished her words by thanking, in addition to the winners, “the young people who trust the Princess of Girona Foundation to continue growing; to the companies and entities that support us. Thank you for allowing me to learn from all of you. And thank you from Girona for inspiring so many young people of my generation who want to live in a society that is more committed to others”.
The president of the Congress, Meritxell Batet; the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, the deputy and general secretary of the PSC, Salvador Illa, and the Government delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto.
