The President of the Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès i Garcia, announced this afternoon that the Canigó grants for internships in international organisations will now be named the Francesc Vendrell Canigó grants to “confer on them the prestige associated with the most important Catalan diplomat in our history”.

The President made this announcement during a tribute to Vendrell, who was a lawyer and senior United Nations official, in which the Government of Catalonia, the Parliament and Ramon Llull University paid homage to the Catalan diplomat. As the head of the Catalan Government explained, “our aim is to preserve his legacy and his expertise and also to promote a diplomatic calling among the younger generations”.

The President of the Government of Catalonia concluded the tribute and underlined the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for multilateralism and how “Catalonia can contribute to the international community as a whole, drawing inspiration from the expertise of Francesc Vendrell”.“We don’t think about what the international community can contribute to Catalonia’s problems, but what Catalonia can contribute to the problems and challenges that we share with the international community as a whole”, he added.

The Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, Meritxell Serret i Aleu, also spoke at the event, praising the figure of Vendrell as a respected diplomat in Catalonia and around the world. ”A unique voice abroad that advocated for dialogue, understanding and active listening in the resolution of conflicts”, said Minister Serret.

The Minister for Foreign Action also stressed the Government of Catalonia’s commitment to the professionalisation of international relations: “We have increased the Canigó grants by 50% and allocated half a million euros. This is the highest allocation in the last 10 years”.

These grants have been awarded since 2005, enabling more than 200 young Catalans to obtain unique professional experience in nearly 50 world-renowned organisations, such as the FAO, OECD, UNHCR, and UNICEF. The main objective is to promote study and work placements in public international intergovernmental and multilateral organisations, including the institutions of the European Union, with a permanent and independent organisational structure.