To coincide with the 38th edition of the event, the Foundation has unveiled this year’s creative campaign, based on the concept of the ‘Anti Rei Jaume I Prizes’.

The initiative aims to highlight the difficulties and obstacles still faced by scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs in Spain, focusing on issues such as a lack of funding, job insecurity and the brain drain.

“We have been recognising talent and calling for greater support for science and entrepreneurship for almost 40 years. This year, we wanted to turn the approach on its head and highlight precisely what is holding that talent back,” explained Javier Quesada.

The campaign uses the figure of Rei Jaime I as its symbol, coinciding with the 750th anniversary of his death, although reinterpreted from a critical perspective. “Whilst we usually depict Rei Jaume I on horseback, this year we wanted to show exactly the opposite: the burden and difficulties faced by our scientists and Entrepreneurs as they strive to bring their projects to fruition,” said Quesada.

From rewarding excellence to highlighting what holds it back: the ‘Anti-Rei Jaume I Prizes’

The Rei Jaume I Prizes announce their Jury Meetings and once again highlight the challenges facing science and entrepreneurship

For nearly 40 years, PRJI has been recognising excellence in science and entrepreneurship in our country, and throughout that time we have sought to highlight the lack of support in these sectors.

But we’ve been wondering: what if, to make it work, instead of recognising talent, we did the exact opposite? What if, instead, we recognised what holds it back?

And we wanted to be like the most prestigious awards, such as the Oscars or even the Nobel Prizes, so we’ve created our own version with the Rei Jaume I Prizes.

We are going to present these awards not to an individual, as we usually do, but to everything that acts as a hindrance to scientists and entrepreneurs: bureaucracy, the lack of support, instability, the brain drain…

The symbol of our Rei Jaume I Prizes is Rei Jaume I, and as this year marks the 750th anniversary of his death, we wanted to use his image, but in a very different way. Whilst in the PRJI Prizes the King is depicted on horseback, for the ‘anti-prizes’ we have done exactly the opposite. It is an image that represents the burden our scientists and Entrepreneurs have to bear every day in order to push their projects forward. This is the ‘anti-award’ trophy: a Rei Jaume I who is being made to struggle to fulfil his purpose.

Let’s hope these ‘anti-awards’ aren’t held again, because that would mean that, once and for all, we’ve secured the support and visibility we’ve been calling for for so long.