20/06/2013 00:00
TW
0
STAFF REPORTER

PALMA
MAJORCA Daily Bulletin publisher, Pere A. Serra is to be awarded the Balearic Islands' coveted Gold Medal at a ceremony next Monday, regional government spokesperson, Joana Barcelo said yesterday.

In recognition of a career that spans more than half a century, the award gives special recognition, said Barcelo, to a man who has combined the qualities of a businessman, editor, journalist, patron of the arts and art expert. “It is also an acknowledgement, she added, “of the tireless work Pere A. Serra has undertaken in strengthening the cultural pillars of the Balearic Islands.” He has contributed to the sense of identity of the regional population, Barcelo claimed, through the promotion of their special historic and cultural heritage.

An official statement issued by the government yesterday also gave a nod to the lead position that Pere A. Serra has held in the Balearic press, establishing the use of the Catalan language in daily media publications. Publisher of the “Ultima Hora” and “Diari de Balears” daily newspapers, Serra has not neglected, continued the statement, to reinforce the welcome the Islands have given to an expatriate community through the foreign language publications of the Majorca Daily Bulletin and the Mallorca Magazin.

The Balearic Gold Medal, the highest accolade which can be awarded by the regional government, is given as a tribute to outstanding citizens of the Islands and to uphold publicly the values which their lifetime's work has striven to establish.

KING AND QUEEN
In February last year in a ceremony presided over by the King and Queen, Pere A. Serra was awarded the Fine Arts Gold Medal by Spain's Ministry of Culture, becoming the first Majorcan to hold the title.

Serra's achievements have not gone unrecognised by other regions of Spain and indeed other countries. Awards already accepted by him include the Gold Medal of the City of Palma, Catalonia's Saint George Cross, the Federal Republic of Germany's Order of Merit, Egyptian Culture Ministry's Gold Medal, and the French Republic's “Chevallier” of Fine Arts.