Arts in the classroom and Catalan take center stage at the awarding of the Baldiri 2026
/Photographs: Mireia Díaz
On Sunday, June 7, we lived the delivery of the 48th edition of the Baldiri Awards. The Museu Terra de l’Espluga de Francolí has hosted, once again, the festival of arts in education, where 28 centers have been awarded for promoting language and culture in classrooms. At the end of the day, the Association La Bressola, from Perpignan, was awarded the Baldiri Transforming School Award.
In front of the edge 200 people -between children, young people, families, teachers and community representatives- the Baldiri have once again highlighted the vitality of our education sector. “Here there are schools that create, that care, that make the language live, that connect with the territory and that open paths for the future”, says Nicolau Brossa, president of the Carulla Foundation. At the event, 28 centers were awarded: 20 in the Experience category and 8 in the Arts and Language category. In total, €44,000 in prizes have been distributed.
One of the most anticipated moments of the day was the announcement of the winner of the Transformative School Baldiri Award, the only one that had not yet been made public. This year, the awarded organization was theLa Bressola Associationfrom Perpignan. The jury highlighted his more than 50 years of commitment to Catalan culture and language in Northern Catalonia in a particularly complex social and linguistic context. Francesc Bitlloch, general secretary of La Bressola, underlines the value of the recognition: “It is also a way of erasing this border that separates us. We felt all the strength of the people who accompanied us, and we felt all the solidarity of teachers, fathers, mothers and children”.
For Elisenda Puig, first vice-president of the Association of Friends of La Bressola, the award is a “recognition of all the work of La Bressola, not just in one sector, not just in one of the schools, but on a global level”. In this sense, Bitlloch affirms that “that small class that started fifty years ago and that has become 7 schools and 2 colleges, today receives a very important solidarity”. As part of the prize, the La Bressola Association will be a member of the jury for the next edition of the Baldiri.
The day, however, was much more than an award ceremony. Throughout the morning, attendees enjoyed several of the Terra Museum’s educational and artistic workshops. In this space for meeting, playing and shared learning, schools have been able to celebrate their projects and recognize themselves as part of the same community.
For nearly 50 years, the Baldiri Awards have recognized schools that use the arts as a tool for learning and generating new ways of looking at the world: “we work to bring culture and education closer to children and young people because we believe in its transformative power”, says Marta Esteve, director of the Carulla Foundation. With this 48th edition, the Baldiri reaffirm their commitment to an education in Catalan that not only transmits knowledge, but also awakens the sensitivity and critical thinking of students.
