Barcelona’s La Paloma venue hosted the Ràdio Associació Awards gala for the first time on Thursday, May 21. In this very special setting, the winners of the competition categories of the 26th edition were finally announced: “Aquella nit al Tiffany’s” by Ràdio Capital de l’Empordà won the Best Local Radio Program Award; the “International Mother Language Day Special” by Ràdio Santa Perpètua won the Inclusion Award; the Best Podcast Award was shared ex aequo by “Escolta Poblet” from Ràdio 4 and “Sense Filtres” from RAC1; and the Innovation Award went to “La cinta de Möbius” from Catalunya Música. The awards that had already been announced and were also presented during the gala included the Best Professional Award for Xavi Bundó, the Best Program Award for “La Renaixença” from Catalunya Ràdio, the 1924 Award for La 2Cat, and Honorary Mentions for the Signària project, Carlos Losada, Pilar Sampietro, and Jordi Basté. The gala was attended by Carles Escrivà, Secretary for Media and Communications of the Government of Catalonia.

Chronologically, the gala began with a brief podcast-style introduction by this year’s hosts, Joan M. Pou and Albert Om.

Neus Bonet, President of Ràdio Associació, was responsible for presenting the Honorary Mention awards:

• Signària, a project by Pompeu Fabra University and Sorensen that facilitates the participation of deaf people in radio environments through the generation of a synthetic voice, without requiring them to give up their own language, Catalan Sign Language.

• CARLOS LOSADA ORTEGA, journalist, director of the program “Converses” on Cope Catalunya i Andorra for 23 years, recognized for his radio career, which also includes work at Radio Minuto and Ràdio Girona-Cadena SER.

• PILAR SAMPIETRO COLOM, journalist, recognized for a 42-year career linked to RTVE, specializing in ecology and culture, offering soundscapes and biodiversity-related content, particularly through the programs “Mediterraneo” on Ràdio 3, “Vida Verda” and “Emergència Climàtica” on Ràdio 4, a station celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

• JORDI BASTÉ i DURAN, journalist, recognized for his extraordinary 50-year radio career, which began at age 10 on Ràdio Joventut, continued through Catalunya Ràdio, and led him to become the undisputed leader of Catalan-language radio with the program “El Món” on RAC1, while maintaining his approachable and down-to-earth style.

Joan M. Morros, Dean of the College of Journalists of Catalonia, presented the “1924 AWARD” to La 2Cat, an RTVE channel, a project launched last October from the Sant Cugat Production Center with the primary objective of promoting the Catalan language and strengthening the presence of Catalan in the audiovisual sector.

The evening’s major announcements then began. Esteve Giralt, a jury member, presented the award for BEST LOCAL RADIO PROGRAM, which went to Aquella nit al Tiffany’s by Ràdio Capital de l’Empordà, based in Pals, an excellent example of recovering local historical memory through a carefully crafted audio fiction series based on real events surrounding an attempted attack on a nightclub in Platja d’Aro during the Franco regime. The other two finalists were Especial informatiu apagada elèctrica by Ona Codinenca, from Sant Feliu de Codines, and Les sis de Ravensbrück, by EMUN, a consortium formed by the radio stations of Almenar, Alfarràs, Alguaire, Albesa, and Torrefarrera.

Víctor Endrino, Vice President of Ràdio Associació, presented the INCLUSION AWARD to International Mother Language Day Special, by Ràdio Santa Perpètua, from Santa Perpètua de la Mogoda, a special project promoting awareness of diversity through the reading of stories in the native languages of newly arrived young people. The other finalist was La roda gitana, by Catalunya Ràdio.

Rosa Badia, a jury member, presented this year’s new award category, the BEST PODCAST AWARD, which was awarded ex aequo to Escolta Poblet by Ràdio 4, a carefully produced sound experience that takes listeners to the heart of the Poblet Monastery while presenting the life of the Cistercian community and, through the inclusion of testimonies from personalities in other areas of daily life, successfully intertwines the contemporary world with history, and to Sense filtres, by RAC1, a podcast that places mental health at the center through courageous conversations with public figures that break down prejudices and help increase understanding and normalize various disorders in a natural way.

In the Innovation category, the award was presented by Blanca Deu, Vice President of the Governing Council of Ràdio Associació. The INNOVATION AWARD went to La cinta de Möbius, by Catalunya Música, a unique educational program that combines music and mathematics and explores the connections between the two disciplines through conversations with musical artists and mathematical craft challenges. The other finalists were La barrera del so, by Ràdio 4, and Rapsodia Bohèmia, by Catalunya Ràdio.

Sergi Mas, a jury member, presented the BEST RADIO PROGRAM AWARD to La Renaixença, by Catalunya Ràdio, for an outstanding multimedia production (Catalunya Ràdio, 3Cat and Canal 33) distinguished by its technical and audio quality, live music using local instruments, a well-balanced group of contributors, and an immersive audience experience through the use of headphones. This award had already been announced days earlier because it was the only finalist in the category.

At this point, the hosts invited the President of Ràdio Associació to deliver a brief speech. Neus Bonet recalled the success of this 26th edition of the awards, which achieved a new participation record with 136 entries, and took the opportunity to congratulate all the winners, especially Ràdio 4 on its 50th anniversary. She also emphasized that the cooperative’s mission is to defend and promote the Catalan language.

The final presentation of the evening was the BEST PROFESSIONAL AWARD to XAVI BUNDÓ i BUIL, a journalist who developed his career in local radio in Matadepera and Sabadell and belongs to a new generation of Catalan-language radio professionals, recognized for leading “Via Lliure,” one of RAC1’s longest-running programs, to the top of the weekend ratings through a successful combination of current affairs, analysis, and humor. The award was presented by Carles Escolà, Secretary for Media and Communications of the Government of Catalonia.

Carles Escolà closed the gala by acknowledging the work of Ràdio Associació.

As every year, a group photograph featuring all the winners brought the event to a close. It should be noted that this year’s edition of the Ràdio Associació Awards set a new participation record with 136 submissions. One of the most significant changes in this edition was the introduction of the new podcast category. The jury, which was completely renewed last year with professionals from the communications sector, consists of Esteve Giralt, Rosa Badia, Montse Bonet, Sergi Mas, Santi Carreras, and Neus Bonet, who serves as president.

You can watch the entire gala at this link: https://laxarxames.cat/movie-details/4920635