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Closing
Carlos Almada López
Representative of the Government of Nuevo León
24 November 2007
18.00 hrs
University Theater
UANL
Respected and esteemed José Antonio González Treviño, members of this university community, the top seat of learning of Nuevo León and of the great universities of Mexico and Latin America.
Maestro Estrada Valero, outgoing President of the World Cultural Council, Prof. Edmond Fischer, incoming President, Dr. Romeo Flores Caballero, colleague and friend, President of the Council for Culture and Arts of Nuevo León.
To confer honour, dignifies and the stature of the World Cultural Council are clear to see from the exceptional quality of tonight’s laureates.
The history of mankind and that of each of human can be written as the continuous struggle between what raises us up, what exalts us, against what brings us down, what degrades us. Today we have risen with two powerful wings, namely science and art, both of which exalt the human spirit.
Today, on acknowledging Prof. Fraser Stoddart, one of the greatest Scots which that part of the United Kingdom has given the world, for his contributions to molecular nanotechnology, and on also recognizing Prof. Anne Moeglin-Delcroix for her contributions to the philosophy of art, to education and culture, we accurately and clearly show how science and art closely complement each other, forming part of the same impulse, and that is exactly what we are seeking to achieve and firmly build here in Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo León.
When people speak of an international city of knowledge, what they mean exactly is a city in which more research centers into different fields, into advanced branches of knowledge, are established, in a growing, multiplying manner, thereby enabling us to play a role in a new economy and to compete on a global scale. And events such as the Universal Forum of Cultures seek to bring more of Mexico into the world and more of the world into Mexico.
This award ceremony, which would doubtless have greatly pleased the Governor of the State had he been able to attend, sums up what Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo León, seeks for its future: to ally sciences, applied technologies and arts, to achieve a community where people live, human beings developing in all fields.
I would not like to end without mentioning to Prof. Fraser Stoddart and Prof. Anne Moeglin-Delcroix how moved I was by the displays of love, in different manifestations, which have shown us a human side to their outstanding lives.
Prof. Stoddart is a scientist of global stature, acclaimed worldwide for his work and contributions. Today he has shown us his human side by recalling his lifetime companion, who is present in his heart and that of his daughters.
And Prof. Anne Moeglin-Delcroix, who paid tribute to the mentor that showed her the path of what would be her specialization, also spoke to us of another kind of love, another kind of loyalty. All that, she said, is what helps to raise us up, to distance us from the baseness to which we, fallible humans, are prone.
Let us all congratulate ourselves for being her tonight, for the music we have shared, for the feelings which we also share and for that feeling of elevation which we will share on leaving here. Congratulations to Prof. Fraser Stoddart and congratulations to Prof. Anne Moeglin-Delcroix.
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