Revista de Occidente wins the National Award for the Promotion of Reading just before its centenary

The National Award for the Promotion of Reading has been given to the almost-centenary Revista de Occidente as well as the Windcatcher Association. The award, which is awarded annually by the Ministry of Culture each year, is honorary in nature. It does not have a financial endowment.

The Revista de Occidente is praised by the jury for being "a reference in the culture edition of this country with an extensive almost 100-year trajectory that has been able adapt to the new times and extended to other territories, media, and territories." It is a magazine that has actively contributed to shaping critical and democratic thinking, and which, Ortega y Gasset, its founding editor, stated, "It is a magazine, which has been and continues to be attentive to the issues and its time."

Revista de Occidente, published today by Jose Ortega y Gasset Gregorio Maranon Foundation is a cultural space that collects and preserves the most current thought, science, and plastic creation and continues to follow the same goals that it had in 1923, when Jose Ortega y Gasset was its founder.

In 2023, it will be 100 years old. It will still be active and developing the cultural project it has managed to sustain for so many years. For European, Ibero-American, and Spanish culture, the Centenary of Revista commemoration is an extraordinary event.

The essay is an effective means of communication and expression. It targets a broad audience that is interested in current intellectual debate. The magazine features exclusive interviews with prominent representatives of scientific and artistic thought and creation around the world. It also includes illustrations from established artists.

The Windcatcher Association was awarded for "its efforts in promoting literacy among young people at high risk of social exclusion, and those with intellectual disabilities," and also for establishing a link between reading and writing. The jury highlighted the Windcatcher Association's dedication to rural reading and its "Books that Matter" project, which is based on citizen collaboration, encouraging sustainability in the book ecosystem.

With more than 13 years of experience in the field, she is committed to reading promotion. She has worked with groups in rural areas and at-risk groups to promote reading through scholarships for young people or collaborations with organizations like Fundacion Rey Ardid or Asapme.

It participates in humanization of hospitals by developing creative writing workshops for children and teens. They held these workshops in the cyber-classroom at the Zaragoza Maternal and Child Hospital. They participated in an artistic intervention project in the pediatrics facility in 2015. In 2021, they promoted The Whisperers Project.

They have also carried out the Books that Matter project (www.librosqueimportan.org). It has recorded more than 10,500 book swaps between readers from nearly a hundred Spanish towns, as well as from other countries. The Young Novelists Laboratory is a program for teens who want to learn how to write novels.

The National Award for the Promotion of Reading recognizes a professional career, or to highlight outstanding and sustained contributions.