On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain attended the Premios Reina Letizia 2021 held at the Asamblea de Extremadura in Mérida, Spain.

The Premio Reina Letizia 2021 aims to support the rights of people with disabilities and to ensure social inclusion, equal opportunities, rehabilitation, and prevention of disabilities. During today’s ceremony six awards and three special mentions were presented in seven different categories. Per the Spanish royal court:

1. In the modality of Defense of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the award went to the Fundación CERMI Mujeres, for establishing itself as a benchmark for disability feminism from an intersectional approach, as well as for its work in the approval of Organic Law 2 /2020 for the eradication of forced sterilization and its pioneering work in supporting women with disabilities during the pandemic. The president of the CERMI Women Foundation, Ms. Marta Valencia, received the award.
2. In addition, in this category, the jury awarded a Special Mention to the candidacy of Mr. Óscar Moral, a lawyer with a disability, for his long and continuous work defending the rights of people with disabilities.
3. In the Inclusive Sport category , the award went to the First Inclusive Games of the Sanitas Foundation, for his long history of more than eleven years in the work of inclusive sport where people with disabilities participate and achieve success in accordance with article 30 of the Convention. The Premio Reina Letizia for inclusive culture has been awarded to the project Valorarte: The Creativity of Unexplored Talent of the Laborvalía Association, for bringing together in an inspiring way the artistic role of people with disabilities with more support needs; productive co-creation with renowned plastic artists from the Spanish and international scene; the multi-channel format and the connection with the territory. The General Director of the Sanitas Foundation, Ms. Yolanda Erburu, received the award.
4. Likewise, in this modality it was decided to grant a Special Mention to the project ‘If Talía were Blind’, of the National Organization of the Spanish Blind (ONCE) , a choral cultural construction with a great load of suggestions in which the visual and performing arts are fed. and mutually expand to offer the audience a total show in which people with disabilities are completely the owners of the artistic fact, which Mr. Andrés Ramos collected.
5. In the category of Accessible Technology , the ‘Dactyls’ project of the ONCE Foundation for the Care of People with Deafblindness (FOAPS) was awarded for its significant impact on the autonomy of this group, taking advantage of the potential of technology to promote communication, and that it also has a great didactic utility by standardizing and unifying the signs and allowing systematized access to know the existing information on deafblindness. The coordinator of the Technical Unit for Sodoblindness of ONCE and patron of FOAPS, Ms. Raquel Alba, collected the award.
6. In research  the ‘PiTDAHgoras’ project was awarded for being a solvent initiative, at no cost to the beneficiaries, that promotes the child development of girls and boys with ADD. A work that is developed in an interdisciplinary way, and that bases its application on games as therapy and learning. The project director, Mr. David Delgado, received the award.
7. In the category of ‘Accessibility and Universal Design of Municipalities’, the award went to Merida Inclusiva, for the decisive commitment of this municipality to universal accessibility, so that all citizens, without exception, participate in this heritage city. The acting mayor of Mérida, Carmen Yáñez, received the award.
8. In addition, in this modality, a Special Mention for Inclusive Culture was awarded to Inmaculada Vivas Tesón for her professional career in the work of people with disabilities, as well as for her academic and research career in the legal field, developing compliance with the precepts set forth in the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
9. In Labor Inclusion of People with Disabilities, the jury decided to declare this category Void, as the candidates submitted did not meet the quality and commitment required by the call.

For each category, a single prize has been awarded, which consisted of a commemorative diploma and a physical award, created by a disabled designer.

The awards ceremony ended with a flamenco performance from Extremadura by the disabled singer, Tomás Lara.”

Click here to view photos.

Photos courtesy of the Spanish royal court