This Tuesday the CAF-Elhuyar Awards were held at the Kutxa Kultur Square in Tabakalera (Donostia-San Sebastián), with a limited capacity and streaming. “Knowledge is the vaccine” has been the motto of this year’s awards. A total of 64 papers have been received, in which the jury has highlighted that there has been a gender balance among the participants.

This year’s motto, according to the organizers, is a most topical issue, and has shown the number of papers presented for the competition. "It can be said that researchers and science enthusiasts have joined the motto and the objective of the call, that is, to promote, reward and recognize the dissemination, journalism and social insertion in Basque of themes and scientific and technological research".

Nahia Seijas Garzón has been awarded the general disclosure article In vain we try to enclose nature, Ainara Angroniz Agudo has been awarded the divulgative article award based on the doctoral thesis of the Author Development of sustainable polymers for food packaging and in the category of works of scientific journalism the work of Iñaki Sanatoz Azatokis has been awarded. Asier Alivte Arrangi has received the Neiker Special Prize, which aims to award works in the primary sector. For work.

With regard to special mention, in scientific journalism the Pentsatu radio programme, ez sinistu of Jon Urzelai Urbieta has decided that it deserves special mention, although in this category Iñaki Sanz Azkue has been proclaimed a winner. The second mention was received by Helene Sánchez Zelaia for her work on Climate Change and Viticulture.

All the winners have received a prize of EUR 2,000 and a sculpture by Imanol Andonegi Mendizabal, but in addition, grants worth EUR 5,000 have been distributed for projects that serve as a bridge between science and society. This year two grants have been distributed, one for Itxaso Navarro Celestino by Sonata 00001011-Spam, concert of sound image transductions, and another for Ander Gortazar Balerdi and Jacek Markusiewicz, a city of 15 minutes, a territory of 45 minutes. Basque contemporary cartographies for their work.

Finally, the patron saint of the Elhuyar Foundation has awarded the Elhuyar Award for Merit, with the objective of paying homage to people who have stood out in the normalization of the Basque Country and in the dissemination of science and technology. Dr. Jabier Agirre Lasarte has been awarded this year with this recognition for his work in the scientific dissemination and normalization of the Basque Country.