The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancourt, gave the starting signal to the ceremonial presentation of the II Azul Zero Awards, which unite, in his words, “science, art, sustainability, innovation, beauty, art and nature”.
The island’s president noted that this edition pays tribute to Cesar Manrique, who taught that “progress has no meaning unless life is respected.”
He stressed that these awards “spread hope” and “honor the exceptional women and men who courageously change” the world, “move forward without leaving the earth behind” and make “development possible by caring for the lives around us.”
Under the slogan “The Magic of Life”, the event was hosted by journalist Angelis Blanco, from Mediaset España, along with the holographic artificial intelligence Zero, who welcomed the attendees and started the first moments of the night.
In addition to the President of the Lanzarote Cabildo, the CEO of the Centers of Art, Culture and Tourism of Lanzarote, Angel Vazquez, participated, highlighting the figure of Manrique, “the great artist, ahead of her time, from a small island.”
The awards honored the Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment at the World Health Organization, Maria Neira, in the area of Horizonte Salud; Patricia Urena, Miss Universe, model and artist, in the “Working Women” category; Carlos Mallo, winner of the Goldman Environment Prize in Environmental Sustainability; Or Javier Goenes, founder of the sustainable brand ECOALF, like technology for good, among others.
And also to Jose Diaz, founder and director of Educa Nepal, for his struggle for human rights; in the Humanities by Myrna Cunningham; In the vision and influence category, Canadian author Carl Honoré, pioneer of the “slow” movement; Or Antonia Varela, Director of the Starlight Foundation.
The starry sky as a resource
Varela, for example, lent his voice “in defense of a resource like the starry sky”: “For the environment, for culture, for biodiversity, for health and quality of life.” In addition, he stressed that thanks to astrotourism, opportunities are created for areas that were abandoned, and the sky also represents “an opportunity to develop careers for girls and boys.”
In the Sustainable Art section, the award went to Maryam Issoufou, a Nigerian architect specializing in sustainability, who said architecture can “generate impact to improve our offices and public spaces.” “Also to spark social change,” he explained in a recorded intervention because he was unable to attend in person.
Patricia Urena: “Beauty lies in knowing yourself completely”
For her part, Patricia Urena said that her revolution began when she decided to “live” her “freedom” and that this allowed her to have the gift of “inspiring others.” She said that what she wants most for the future is “for her daughter to know that true beauty is not in the crown or the cover, but in looking at yourself in the mirror without fear and getting to know yourself as a whole.”
Throughout the night, there was a live performance by Tanya Gil (La Voz) and Sonia Gomez, with her famous song “Jupiter”, as well as a performance by Sergio Alonso on piano, among others.
In addition, comedian Kiki Perez was in attendance; The digital creator Amalia Martinez Fajardo, promoter of the project “You are Lanzarote, the influencer in your home”, or the young entrepreneur Adelia Ramírez, a pastry chef originally from Lanzarote and committed to conscious gastronomy.
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