Joaquín Navarro-Valls International Award for Leadership and Benevolence

5 July 2023, 18.00 | Palazzo della Cancelleria

The Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome and the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital Foundation are celebrating their first thirty years of activity with a programme of initiatives to celebrate the milestone and to promote a vision of the future. As part of the thirtieth anniversary programme, the Biomedical University Foundation presents the Joaquín Navarro-Valls International Award for Leadership and Benevolence, as a tribute to an extraordinary man, Joaquín Navarro-Valls, an unforgettable and irreplaceable presence during the long pontificate of John Paul II, as well as President of the Foundation's Committee of Guarantors.

Motivation

The life of Joaquín Navarro-Valls (Cartagena, 16 November 1936 - Rome, 5 July 2017) was built on natural leadership, with interests that spanned medicine, psychiatry, journalism and the philosophical study of Benevolence, where the profound motivations that drive a person to make an authentic gesture of donation for the good of another person and of society as a whole are grafted. These values inspire the Navarro-Valls International Award for Leadership and Benevolence.

The project and its aims

On the initiative of the Biomedical University Foundation, the Joaquín Navarro-Valls International Award will be presented on 5 July 2023 at the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome, a cultural event dedicated to Leadership and Benevolence, themes dear to Navarro-Valls and to the Foundation, cornerstones of a reflection on a possible future more inclusive society.

For the occasion, a 'Scholarship Fund for the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome' named after Navarro-Valls was set up with the aim of promoting the principles of a social uplifting and fostering deserving talents, guaranteeing the right to study, inclusion, development and recognition of talent.

The profile of the award-winner

The Joaquín Navarro-Valls International Award for Leadership and Benevolence will be assigned following the vote cast by the Jury, based on the candidatures presented by the Scientific Committee.

The candidates are figures of great prominence – social, economic and institutional – who reflect in their life paths Navarro-Valls’ profound and still relevant outlook on the themes of Leadership and Benevolence. Integrity and consolidated ethical foundations as a guide to action, the ability to communicate and to enhance human resources through training and delegation, a propensity for problem solving and an orientation towards change are some of the characteristic traits of the candidates examined. Finally, the candidate always has Benevolence as a principle of responsibility towards others as a constant reference. The motion of those who exercise Benevolence - not mere philanthropy - comes from 'compassion', 'sharing', 'co-participation' in the lives of others.

Abstract

"Despite the fact, then, that leadership is the art of producing consensus - and this becomes evident in economic and industrial enterprises where this skill is particularly necessary - it is clear that no full realization of a given leadership is possible without a consistent presence of strong contents in the strategy undertaken. Because it is precisely these strong contents that are capable of bringing about the authentic personal reliability of those who guide others towards certain goals". "(...) I could then mention the six values that seem to me essential in interacting with people: human consistency, integrity, the ability to communicate, to be able to delegate, to be able to exercise objective evaluation of others, and the disposition or capacity for change. It seems to me, then, obvious to emphasize a seventh value typical of the leader: the overview of reality. This is a quality that distinguishes the technician from the leader: the latter knows how to solve, even masterfully, a problem without being asked to understand the whole of reality of which that specific problem represents only a small part. These are characteristics more related to the leader than to the office he holds. It is not fideistic irrationality that sets in motion lasting consensus, but the established personal validity of the decision-maker. This specific quality of true leadership is called trust. And it could perhaps be described thus: the voluntary willingness to make oneself vulnerable to the action of another person considered a leader, justified by positive expectations regarding his intentions and his proposals”.

With regard to Benevolence, Joaquín Navarro-Valles states: “What benefit do I derive for myself when I give myself and others? A single benefit, but one that is worth a lot: the realization of myself as a person. This also explains the apparent paradox that every act of benevolence is a gift, but a gift to the giver. Benevolence can change the world!”.

Value of the Award

The Biomedical University Foundation aims to structure an Award with cultural and artistic value. For the first edition, the work was commissioned from the artist Oliviero Rainaldi.

Composition of the Jury

Paolo Arullani, President Biomedical University Foundation; Ferruccio De Bortoli, Journalist and essayist; Gianni Letta, Advisory Board Biomedical University Foundation; Mario Moretti Polegato, President Geox; Lucia Vedani, Founder and President CasAmica ODV.

Composition of the Scientific Committee

Matteo Colaninno, Executive Vice President Piaggio Group; Giuseppe Cornetto Bourlot, Vice President Advisory Board Biomedical University Foundation; Federico Eichberg, Vice President Biomedical University Foundation; Amalia Marchini, Psychiatrist; Raffaele Perrone Donnorso, President National Association of Hospital Headmasters.

ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE

Journalists and media workers who wish to attend must apply, no fewer than 24 hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti

For information, interviews and requests for images:
Serena Bianchini t. 3488841902 s.bianchini@unicampus.it