The Full Council has approved the proposal to give the Gold Medal for Civic Merit to the journalist Anna Balletbò and to the Francesc Layret Federation of Organisations for People with Physical and Organic Disabilities (COCEMFE).

Anna Batllebò

Anna Batllebò will receive the medal posthumously, having she passed away in October. She broke glass ceilings and opened up the way for generations of professional women, becoming a “key figure for equality”. In 1976 she formed part of the Friends of the United Nations Commission, which organised the Catalan Women’s Days at the University of Barcelona, one of the first major events in the transition with 4,000 women taking part. Balletbò was also part of the first Spanish Parliament from 1980 and played a key part in consolidating democracy for more than two decades.

As the chair of the Fundació Olof Palme, Balletbò devoted a good part of her life to connecting people and countries through dialogue. She was also a member of the RTVE board from 2000 to 2007 and a professor with the Faculty of Information Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. In recent years, she was a very active member of the City Assembly.

The medal for Balletbò recognises “her exceptional trajectory and her deep imprint in the fields of journalism, culture, the promotion of peace and in particular in defending women’s rights and leadership”.

COCEMFE

Constituted in Barcelona in 1990 as a private non-profit organisation, COCEMFE has received the award for its work to defend and improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. Its mission has been to “defend full rights and promote the quality of life of people with physical and organic disabilities and their families”.

Since it was founded, COCEMFE has promoted the full inclusion and participation of this collective in society, offering a wide range of services and resources to ensure that the voices of people with disabilities are heard and that they play an important role in building a fairer and more inclusive society. With 25 organisations currently federated, it has managed to create a broad ecosystem and helped towards their cohesion. Their awareness campaigns have helped combat stigmas and prejudice, educating society about the needs and capacities of people with disabilities.