Medalla d'Honor del Parlament de Catalunya

The Medalla d'Honor del Parlament de Catalunya is a civil honorary distinction awarded by the Parliament of Catalonia since 2000, recognising members of the Parliament and other people living in Catalonia for their careers and contributions to the region, as well as exceptional service.

Roser Capdevila's medal

History

Recipients of the honour receive a medal in recognition; unlike for example the Catalonia International Prize, which comes with financial award but no designated honour. The medal resembles the Four Bars (which may be recognised as the Senyera with top-to-bottom stripes) and was based on a design created by Antoni Cumella i Serret [ca] in 1984.^[a][2] In 2000, goldsmith Joaquim Capdevila i Gaya [ca] adapted the design so it could be produced as medals.^[2]

In the first year it was awarded, the honour was bestowed upon the Parliament of Catalonia's former presidents, as well as Desmond Tutu, an esteemed guest to the region.

There have been several posthumous recipients. In 2001, Ernest Lluch (d. 2000) was recognised for the honour posthumously, with his daughters receiving the award on his behalf. In 2007, the members of Els Setze Jutges were awarded, together with their promoter Lluís Serrahima; of the members of the group, Miquel Porter i Moix [ca] (d. 2004) and Delfí Abella (d. 2007) were honoured posthumously, while Guillermina Motta [ca] refused the distinction. One of the groups recognised in 2015 was the first elected officials of the restored Parliament of Catalonia following return to democracy, to recognise the 35th anniversary of such elections; of these first eight, Marta Mata had died in 2006.^[3]

List of recipients

Year	Recipient(s)	Note(s)
2000	Heribert Barrera i Costa	Ex-presidents of the Parliament of Catalonia
	Miquel Coll i Alentorn [ca]
	Joaquim Xicoy i Bassegoda [ca]
	Joan Reventós i Carner
	Desmond Tutu	Peace activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
2001	Miquel Batllori i Munné [ca]	Historian
	Ernest Lluch	Politician (posthumous award)
2002	Francesc Vendrell i Vendrell	United Nations representative in Afghanistan
2003	Jordi Savall	Musician
2004	Montserrat Trueta i Llacuna [ca]	President of the Catalan Down's Syndrome Foundation [ca]
2005	Adolfo Pérez Esquivel	Peace activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
2007	Els Setze Jutges	Performance group who promoted Nova Cançó
2010	Roser Capdevila	Illustrator[4]
2011	Josep Guardiola i Sala	Sportsperson[5]
2012	Càritas Catalunya [ca]	Social group[6]
	Òmnium Cultural	Cultural association[6]
2013	Núria Gispert i Feliu	Social activist
	Carme Ruscalleda	Chef
	Anna Veiga Lluch [ca]	Researcher
2014	Josep Carreras	Singer[7]
2015	Rosa Barenys i Martorell [ca]	The eight first deputies of the Parliament of Catalonia (Mata awarded posthumously)[8]
	Maria Dolors Calvet i Puig [ca]
	Teresa Eulàlia Calzada Isern [ca]
	Concepció Ferrer
	Helena Ferrer i Mallol [ca]
	Marta Mata
	Trinitat Neras Plaja [ca]
	Assumpció Sallés i González
	Guttmann Institute [ca]	Facility for spinal cord injury treatment[9]
2016	Manel Esteller	Researcher
2017	Mossos d'Esquadra	First responders during the 2017 Barcelona attacks
	Sistema d'Emergències Mèdiques [ca]
	Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona
	Cambrils police service
2018	Rosa Sensat Teachers' Association [ca]	For significantly improving educational standards[10]
2019	Carola Rackete	Human rights activists[11]
	Òscar Camps
2020	Health services of Catalonia	For the response to the COVID-19 pandemic[12]
2021	Catalan independence activists who have suffered repression, and the lawyers who defend them (including the trial of Catalonia independence leaders)	For their contributions to Catalonia[13]
2022	Núria Feliu	Catalan-language singer (posthumous award)[14]
	Pau Riba i Romeva	Singer and songwriter in various languages (posthumous award)[14]
	Joaquim Arenas i Sampera [ca]	Primary creators of the Catalan Education Service [ca] in 1978, the main body for Catalan-language immersion programmes in schools of the region[14]
	Margarida Muset i Adel [ca]
2023	FC Barcelona Femení	For their contribution to the success and positive perception of women's sports, and advocating for "social respect for women in sports" to create "a more fair and equal society in terms of rights and opportunities".[15][b]

See also

• Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia
• Creu de Sant Jordi
• Catalonia International Prize

Notes

1. The notices issued by the Parliament of Catalonia on the subject refer to Cumella i Serret by the name "Antoni Comella".^[1]
2. The award was announced in July 2023, before the Rubiales affair and subsequent women's sports equality movement advocated by many players related to this club.