Arcadi Oliveres and Josefina Castellví win Catalonia’s Gold Medal distinction

Revered economist Arcadi Oliveres, who passed away in April at the age of 75, and octogenarian oceanographer Josefina Castellví have been announced as the latest winners of the Gold Medal distinction, the Catalan government’s highest award. Honored for their “eminent and extraordinary services in Catalonia,” the awards ceremony will take place on 9 September as part of the larger ‘La Diada’ national day celebrations.

“Mr. Oliveres will receive the medal posthumously for his civic, academic, and social trajectory,” government spokesperson Patrícia Plaja said on Tuesday. “And Ms. Castellví will be recognized for her outstanding career as an oceanographer, biologist, researcher, and a writer.”

Oliveres was a familiar face in social movements from his time as an anti-Franco student activist to more recently as an anti-austerity advocate following the 2008 financial crisis. He presided over Justícia i Pau, a Christian humanist organization, from 2001 to 2014 and was also a Catalan independence supporter.

Castellví spearheaded the Spanish Antarctic Program – indeed, Castellvi Peak on Antarctica’s Livingstone Island is named after her. Castellví has published over 70 scientific papers and participated in more than 30 oceanographic campaigns.