The President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has led this afternoon the delivery of the XXXIII International Catalonia Prize to Judith Butler. During his speech, President Aragonès acknowledged Butler's "civic and social commitment", which he said was "an example of nonconformity and transformative will" and "a reference for the country we want to build".

"He has taught us that when we talk about equality, that when we talk about sexuality, we also talk about economics, sociology, psychology", recalled Aragonès.

The chief executive said Butler has helped to "break dichotomies in order to discover gender in all its dimensions, contributing to the visualizing new frontiers so far invisible but that limited us".

President Aragonès recalled that for society to move forward "it is essential to get out of the comfort of simplifications" and attend to reality from diversity and plurality because, despite being a complex challenge, it is richer and allows "to include all people". In this sense, he has reaffirmed the Government's commitment to fight against all forms of inequality and discrimination.

In her speech, Judith Butler thanked the award and acknowledged that it was an honor shared with her allies and interlocutors as well as with diverse fields such as philosophy, literature, feminist and trans studies or ethics, among others. Butler, who has also spoken about climate change or the pandemic, recalled the effects of the War in Ukraine. "What are the global obligations to provide accommodation, membership, food, health care and legal status to all people in the world? Have war, pandemic, climate destruction and forced displacement not made this the central ethical question of our times? " he asked.

The event, held at the Palau de la Generalitat, was attended by the president of the PIC jury, Mary Ann Newman; and the professor of French literature and gender studies at the University of Barcelona, Marta Segarra i Montaner.

The jury of the International Prize of Catalonia has recognized Judith Butler as a reference of contemporary feminism, highlighting that her work "has revolutionized and transformed feminist theory with her studies on gender, her activism for gay and lesbian rights and her support for the queer movement". It also emphasizes that its theorization "allows to avoid binary and fixed visions so that people can live freer".

Catalonia International Prize

In 1989, the Generalitat de Catalunya created the Catalonia International Prize, with three clear purposes: to recognize and stimulate creators, to offer Catalans examples of the highest quality and demand in all aspects, and to place Catalonia on the scene of the great international awards. The Prize is endowed with 80,000 euros and the sculpture "La clau i la lletra" by Antoni Tàpies.