It was a very special night. The professor and journalist Ramón Besa praised the winners, with a very meaningful speech, in which he acknowledged their communication management following the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, on August 17 of last year: "Most people felt accompanied, and assured they were connected with what was happening, and this is the great merit of Patrícia and Marc: spreading the message as it should be done. " Besa recalled the importance of journalism in times of emergency such as that, an exemplary test of reporting on what happens "without forgetting the vocation of service and the purpose of reaching everyone, both citizens and tourists, and also journalists translating all the messages into Catalan , Spanish, English and French ".

One of ours!

But beyond the facts, Professor Besa could not contain the joy of awarding a prize, for the first time, to a former student:

"The Blanquerna Conferences, and the Blanquerna Awards, have ended up creating community - this word that is so fashionable - and teachers, students, workers, visitors, we all share the same feeling of gratitude: that the award winner is one of ours, and we feel that the award-winning Marc Homedes, for his way of being and his work, is deserving of a prize to which we should give as much or more importance, I believe, as those figures who once received it such as John Carlin, Jordi Évole, Ana Pastor and David Simon".

We invite you to relive his full speech.

Patrícia Plaja reiterated that the award "belongs to all the professionals who worked in the management of the attacks anonymously." And she took the opportunity to make a comment about the profession: "Journalism from sources is as important as media journalism, there are only two types of journalists: good journalists and all the rest." In this line of thinking, she insisted on what seems obvious: "Journalists should NOT do politics, journalists should report what happens, analyze it, interpret it but they should not surrender to the interests of any side".

Finally, she dedicated the prize to Major Trapero, for the confidence transmitted and for being the person who more than once "has recognized the work and thanked me for working at his side". On the Mossos, Plaja was emphatic: "This institution, as journalists should do, does not do politics (...) Mossos and journalists are in the same boat (...) We both seek the truth but above all we seek to unmask the lie and avoid fear being instilled".

As for Marc Homedes, he wanted to acknowledge the great performance of an extensive team that day "empowering citizens, informing them, so that between us all we can defeat terrorists in the media and symbolic field in which they are experts." And he reminded the victims: "I want to think that if our work served to calm people down, to transmit tranquility, to generate trust, in a certain way; in this sense at least, we have won over the terrorists. " He also pointed out the work of Joaquim Forn," the counselor who contributed to the political management of the emergency common sense, leadership, professionalism and empathy. "

Since 1995, Blanquerna FCRI has organized these days with the aim of bringing students to the professional world through conferences, round tables and debates in which experts from each sector participate.