Charter 100 Canarias held its eleventh Premios y Becas awards ceremony on 7 November 2026 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and honoured 14 people and projects from the Canary Islands. The gala at the Hotel Santa Catalina was chaired by the president Nardy Barrios. According to the organisation and regional media, contributions in the fields of culture, science, entrepreneurship, social integration and journalism were recognised.
Those honoured include the writer Elsa López, the chemist and biomaterials researcher María Vallet, the journalist and advocate for women in leadership Mercedes Wullich and entrepreneur Myriam Álvarez, founder of Catering La Vaquita. Also honoured were the Círculo de Orellana network, FADEMUR Canarias, island politician Marciano Acuña Betancort, and the digital news outlet Atlántico Hoy. The organisation emphasised the contribution these award winners have made to the islands’ cultural, social, economic and media development.
For the first time, Charter 100 Canarias introduced the “Acciones que mejoran el mundo” category, highlighting projects in social inclusion, solidarity and cultural heritage. In this category, Barrios Orquestados was recognised for its work on integration through music. Recognition also went to the Belén de Arena de Las Canteras, the sand-sculpture nativity scene at the beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which has been running for two decades. Awards also went to initiatives such as Agricultura Heroica de La Geria and projects by the Cabildo de Lanzarote that combine nature conservation with employment promotion.
Alongside the awards ceremony, the association granted two international research fellowships intended to support placements abroad for Canary Islands researchers and promote international links. One of the recipients named was marine biotechnologist María Belén Baena Rojas, a doctoral researcher in oceanography and global change. The announcements reviewed contained no information on the fellowship amounts or duration.
This year’s Premios y Becas reflect Charter 100 Canarias’s focus on making women’s leadership, regional entrepreneurship and socio-environmental projects more visible. The awards thus document the organisation’s current priorities, but leave open whether they will lead to additional public funding or new institutional partnerships in the medium term. The date of the gala, the list of those honoured and the introduction of the new category were confirmed by statements from the organisation and reports in regional media on 7 and 8 November 2026.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).