Valencianos Para el Siglo XXI award recipientsPhoto by Jesús Signes
Berklee Valencia received the Premio Valencianos Para el Siglo XXI (Valencian Award for the 21st Century) from Spanish newspaper Las Provincias on September 22, 2022. María Martínez Iturriaga, Berklee’s senior vice president of international learning environments and executive director at Berklee Valencia, accepted the award on behalf of the institution at a ceremony that took place at the Museu de les Ciències, in Valencia, Spain.
The awards recognize Valencian institutions and society members for their commitment to promoting local talent and solidarity while contributing to the value of the Valencian Community. In a region with a strong musical tradition that is home to 50 percent of Spain’s musicians, Berklee Valencia was recognized for its international reach and its academic excellence in the 22nd edition of the awards.
Accepting the award, Martínez Iturriaga thanked Las Provincias for its recognition and support since the campus opened in Valencia 10 years ago. When asked about Berklee Valencia’s formula for success, she highlighted the power of its diversity and the warm welcome the campus has had in the region.
“With more than 4,000 students and alumni from more than 85 countries, Berklee Valencia is a laboratory for innovation and creativity, fueled by the diversity of our community and by our passion for music.” she said. “Another key ingredient of the success of Berklee Valencia is Valencia itself : a wonderful region that has not only welcomed us, but has demonstrated that it is a magnet to attract and retain talent.”
Other awardees included Genovés II, an icon of Valencian pilota; the Asociación de Empresarios y Profesionales de Valencia, which was recognized for its efforts to improve gender equality in the business world; Carlos San Juan, for his work on the successful campaign “Soy Mayor, no Idiota,” which advocates for the rights of the elderly in the digital era; and the Ukrainian refugees hosted in Valencia, who accepted their award to a standing ovation in recognition of their admirable demonstration of resistance, solidarity, and hope.
The ceremony included a concert by Berklee undergraduate students Zihany Fonseca, Mirza Redzepagic, and Daniel Quesada, who performed an original composition. During the event, Ximo Puig, president of the Valencian Government, congratulated all the awardees, highlighting Berklee Valencia’s contribution to the cultural fabric of the region: “Berklee has brought a plus to our most noble cultural heritage: the universal language of music, a language that has an extraordinary importance among us and to which the Valencia campus has contributed with a more global dimension. The alliance between Berklee and the Comunitat Valenciana works now and will keep working in the future.”
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