The vice president of the Foundation, Ramon Pont, received the award from Jordi Porta at a ceremony held at the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia


The FC Barcelona Foundation received this Monday the International Unescocat Prize 2010 as a "recognition for its commitment to the objectives of the UN Millennium Development Goals and its pioneering partnerships with international organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO and the UNHCR, aimed at fighting poverty and diseases that affect the most vulnerable, at promoting universal education and gender equality, combating racism and defending through sports the values of civility, freedom and democracy that the institution has always considered its own."

The event, in which also intervened Gemma Sendra, Director of the Historic Center of St. Paul Hospital, and Muriel Casals, President of Omnium Cultural, focused on the importance of passing on values in a world where references are often confusing. In his description of the winning organisation, Francesc Guardans, president of the National Council for Culture and Arts, noted that the strength of the club comes precisely from these values shared as a team and projected worldwide by the Foundation through its educational and cooperation projects. In his acknowledgments, the vice president of the Foundation stressed that this award strengthens its commitment to children and youth, and encourages the Foundation to continue to promote education and values, while projecting Catalonia in the world.

Unescocat International Prize is awarded annually to honor Catalan individuals or organizations that, as does the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia since 1984, strive to promote and disseminate, in Catalonia and abroad, UNESCO's values, principles and programs in support for the dialogue between cultures, sustainable development, culture of peace, cultural diversity and human rights.


The International Prize jury is made up of representatives of Unescocat Catalan institutions that are a reference in the fields of education, science, culture and communication: the Catalan Association of Public Universities, the School Council of Catalonia, the National Council for Culture and Arts, the Institute of Catalan Studies, the Network of Science and Technology of Catalonia, the Ramon Llull Institute, Omnium Cultural, the College of Journalists of Catalonia and the Catalan Television.

The first Unescocat prize was awarded to musician Jordi Savall and soprano Montserrat Figueras, who received the award during the ceremony of the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia held at the Catalan Parliament in December 2009. The award is a piece of art by Agusti Sousa based on the fit of hands symbolizing mutual understanding and cooperation.

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