Meryl Streep highlights the importance of having empathy in a hostile world

USPA NEWS - The Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias, in northern Spain, hosted this Friday the Princess of Asturias awards ceremony, which this year celebrated its 43rd edition and was presided over by the King and Queen of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. With a protocol that has changed very little over time, the event began with the entry of the Royal Family into the theater, after greeting the public gathered in front of it and the authorities who were waiting for them in the lobby. The 'Ciudad de Oviedo' Bagpipe Band performed the national anthem and the winners took their places on the stage.

In this year's edition, the winners were the American actress Meryl Streep, Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts; Nuccio Ordine, Communication and Humanities; Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, in Social Sciences; Eliud Kipchoge, Princess of Asturias Sports Award; Haruki Murakami, Literature Prize; Medicines for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation; Jeffrey Gordon, E. Peter Greenberg and Bonnie L. Bassler, Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research; and Mary's Meals, Princess of Asturias de la Concordia.

The new president of the Foundation, the economist Ana Isabel Fernández Álvarez, made her debut in her position by giving a speech that was followed by the words of the athlete Eliud Kipchoge, Sports Prize winner; Luis Pizarro, executive director of the Medicines for Neglected Diseases Initiative, International Cooperation award; and Meryl Streep, Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts.

The American actress, awarded in the Arts category, praised empathy, the ability to understand others, to see things from the perspective of others, fundamental for actors, but not only for them. The actress asked for more empathy and more listening in this hostile world, perhaps thinking about the escalation of war in the Middle East.

Luis Pizarro, director of the Medicines for Neglected Diseases Initiative, awarded by International Cooperation, made a call for hope, because the organization he directs has shown that a non-profit research and development model is possible, being very tough on pharmaceutical industry and rulers.

The Olympic medalist and world record holder, the Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge, said that every time he wins a marathon he does not go to party but he comes home and plants a tree along the way. The message: we must take care of the planet, the environment and promote education; The foundation that bears his name is dedicated to both things. Kipchoge defended that running unites people of different conditions, cultures or social classes: “A world that runs in a happy world. A world that runs is a world united,” he stated.

Once the awards ceremony was over, the Princess of Asturias and King Felipe VI gave their speeches. With reference to Ukraine, but especially to the situation in the Middle East, Felipe VI regretted the return of war conflicts and the danger of their extension; geopolitical tensions constantly test, he assured, the international order and the consensus to maintain it. He called, in this sense, for serious and deep cooperation to address the great global challenges and prevent the shadow of conflict from spreading over democracies. “And, in ours, to preserve what we have built as a nation through unity,” he said.