The Xunta de Galicia just finished its 2019 Way of Saint James Awards, awards created by the Department of Culture and Tourism with the aim of recognising the work of associations, companies, schools and researchers surrounding the Way of Saint James.
In the category for the Associations of Friends of the Way of Saint James, both national and international, the jury decided to give the award to the Fundación Acogida Cristiana en los Caminos de Santiago for the quality of its outreach activities and for their research projects. In addition, a special mention was given to the Asociación de Amigos de los Caminos de Santiago a Madrid because of the special work they are doing in dynamising, training for and promoting the Jacobean Route. On the international scene, the winners were the Asociata Prientenilor Camino de Santiago and the Círculo Chileno de Amigos del Camino de Santiago de Compostela who share the prize.
Another of the recognised areas corresponds to the projects submitted by natural or legal persons and small and medium-sized enterprises. Six candidates were put forward for this category. The first prize was given to Leidiz, for its project aiming to travel the Mar de Arousa route and the Rio Ulla by kayak. The second prize was awarded to Tdinet App, which presented a project based on a mobile phone application that allows people to access selected information on the Camino de Santiago.
Finally, in the research category, two different types of award were given. In the first, aimed at universities, research centres and independent researchers, the jury decided to honour Albert Feliu Soler due to his innovative and multidisciplinary research on the psychological well-being that the Way of Saint James pilgrimage causes and promotes. The second award, for non-university education centres in Galicia, went to the CEIPP lurilingüe del Camiño Inglés in Oroso, thanks to its proposed pilgrimage with year 6 pupils from Finchale Abbey, considered to be the first stage of the English Way (Camino Inglés).