The city council of Girona has announced the revival of the Athenea awards, which aim to recognise the significant contributions of individuals, organisations, and institutions to the city. The new regulations governing these awards will be presented for initial approval at the municipal plenary session on Monday, with the intention of holding the inaugural ceremony in the coming months.
The Athenea awards were created to highlight the achievements of those who have made notable contributions to Girona's cultural, social, and economic life. According to Girona's mayor, Lluc Salellas i Vilar, "Girona would not be what it is without the most active sectors of society, which energise the city with culture, community life, and solidarity actions. They make, ultimately, a city full of life. Girona is what it is thanks to the people who push, associate, and transform, and they deserve recognition."
Award categories and criteria
The new regulations introduce two categories of awards. The first, the Athenea Institutions of the City of Girona, will honour organisations and institutions that have significantly contributed to the development, promotion, or projection of the city. The second, the Athenea Citizenship of the City of Girona, will recognise individuals for their contributions in areas such as culture, science, art, sport, economy, professional life, social or community action, and civic engagement.
The awards will also aim to highlight contributions related to equality, diversity, cooperation, solidarity, good neighbourliness, sustainability, the defence of human rights, and democratic values. Furthermore, the regulations stipulate that there should be balanced representation of women and men among the awardees, taking into account contributions from different neighbourhoods within the city.
Design and nomination process
The award for institutions will feature a reproduction of a tile designed by Girona architect Rafael Masó, while the citizenship award will consist of a reproduction of the sculpture 'Eva' by local artist Fidel Aguilar. The updated regulations also simplify the nomination process, allowing municipal groups, registered entities and associations, citizen groups, and individuals to submit motivated proposals to the mayor without any time limit.
The awarding of the prizes will be decided by the municipal plenary, requiring a majority vote from its members. A maximum of three awards from each category will be granted annually. This update aims to ensure a more transparent and objective procedure, with clear criteria for assessing merits, a digital municipal registry of awards, and a regulated mechanism for potential revocation.
The Athenea awards were originally established to recognise the contributions of individuals and institutions to the life of the city. Although nearly twenty awards were granted in the early years, the last recognitions took place in February 2009, after which the system became inactive. The development of the new regulations followed a public consultation initiated in 2025, which sought to gather input from citizens and adapt the recognition system to the current reality of Girona. Among the issues raised during this process was the need to enhance visibility for the contributions of women from Girona, broaden the areas eligible for recognition, and better consider the contributions from various neighbourhoods.
The initial approval will be followed by a 30-day public consultation period for further comments and suggestions. If no objections are raised, the agreement will become final, allowing for the completion of the regulatory process and the preparation for the first Athenea awards ceremony in the upcoming months.
