Established in 1946 by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, the Program currently operates in over 150 countries and grants over 8,000 scholarships annually. The Jury for the 2014 Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation has prized the Fulbright Program for the will to improve the overall education of young people by providing access to institutions of academic excellence, and the ability to engage civil society in each of the nations in which it operates.

That collective effort over more than half a century has resulted, among other achievements, in the creation of an extensive network of alumni who have contributed to the betterment of society, increasing collaboration and the exchange of ideas in a multicultural context.

The Fulbright program in Spain was established in 1958 and has enabled a large number of students to access higher education in different universities and disciplines because of their academic and professional merit.

The Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation

This award is bestowed on those whose scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work “constitutes an outstanding contribution at the international level.”

Other nominees hailed from nations around the world, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Spain.

Each of the Prince of Asturias Awards, which date back to 1981, comprises a diploma, a Joan Miró sculpture representing and symbolizing the Awards, an insignia bearing the Foundation’s coat of arms, and a cash prize of 50,000 euros.