“This is a sign of hope. You are a symbol of hope. Everything you fight for is real and is the correct vision of reality,” declared Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon during the ceremony awarding a prize valued at one million euros for exceptional contributions to climate action.
In an address delivered in English before Angela Merkel, the former German chancellor and president of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity jury, the Portuguese head of state emphasized that ASOC is “a coalition of people from ten countries” and represents multilateralism, international cooperation, and science, rather than emotion, with a medium and long-term vision.
“You exemplify everything we want today, everything we need today. Against the trends of this period,” he summarized.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa noted that when the prize was established, “it was already known that important people around the world thought differently, did not believe in climate change, did not believe in sustainable development, were opposed.”
Alluding to then U.S. President Donald Trump, he added: “When the reelection happened, we discovered that foundations, universities, and international organizations were no longer funded or could not be funded because we were entering a new period in world life. And this kind of choice, a political choice, an ideological choice, a personal choice, signified a new period in our life.”
At the end of his speech, he turned again to the ASOC representatives, saying: “You inspired us this year, against all odds. Against those who are seemingly powerful in the world. You are successful.”
“And in a few years, in a few decades, you will have succeeded, and those who opposed will be just a paragraph, a small paragraph in the history of humanity. Nothing more than that,” he predicted.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa thanked the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for the initiative to establish this prize in 2020, “a new idea, and the courage to implement it, with Jorge Sampaio as the first jury president, followed by the always unforgettable Angela Merkel.”
The head of state argued that the Gulbenkian “deserves to be honored once again, by the end of this year, for the resilience demonstrated with this prize and for all its activity.”
