Tribute to Gabriela Mistral“An intellectual preoccupied by the fate of Latin America as a whole, a representative of her country in numerous international forums, a poet giving a voice to those without a voice, an author of texts which explore and reveal the American soul, a fervent militant for peace and for education as a pillar of cooperation between people, Gabriela Mistral is the first Latin American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature and the first Chilean woman to represent her country before the United Nations Assembly. Her ideals of peace, justice, harmony between human beings and her faith in education and the value of dialogue between cultures reflect the ideals on which UNESCO’s actions are founded.”It is with these words that the Director-General of UNESCO, Koďchiro Matsuura, paid tribute to the Chilean poet, Gabriela Mistral, at a ceremony organised by the Chilean Permanent Delegation to UNESCO to mark the sixtieth anniversary of her Nobel Prize for Literature.
“Her heart always remained close to the children of the most disadvantaged regions of her country. Her commitment to education for youth and her struggle in favour of equal opportunity through education never ceased and neither did her devotion to the children of Chile and of the rest of the world. The love of children, motherhood, suffering alongside the most humble – all this can be found in the poetry of Gabriela Mistral which is a form of love for humanity, a kind of philanthropy,” he pointed out in his speech before unveiling a commemorative plaque engraved for the occasion. He also accepted from the Ambassador of Chile to UNESCO, Mr Hernán Sandoval, a medal bearing the effigy of Gabriela Mistral and of another Nobel Literature Prize winner, the Chilean writer Pablo Neruda.
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United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization