The University of Santo Tomas was awarded for “being a historical, academic and cultural reference, as well as playing a key role in education and training in the Philippines for more than 400 years,” announced public consortium Casa Asia on their website on December 21, 2020.
According to its website, Casa Asia aimed to “recognize and disseminate the work of individuals and entities, both public and private, that have stood out for their work in the economic, social, educational, cultural or development cooperation fields, favoring dignity and human rights, and have contributed to promoting knowledge, dialogue and relations between Spain and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Based on the resolucion, out of 52 nominations, UST was chosen in the Education and Science category for several reasons, among them including: Being the oldest university in Asia and remaining one of the most prestigious universities in the Philippines; playing a key role in Philippine education since its foundation in the 1600s and having renowned personalities in various fields as alumni; and for having a library of great historical and cultural interest, with volumes dating from before the seventeenth century to the present. The UST Library was also commended for its recent efforts in digitizing its library holdings to facilitate their consultation and guarantee its conservation.
In the official document announcing the winners, titled “Galardonados Premios Casa Asia 2021,” it was written that “La Universidad de Santo Tomás y en particular su biblioteca representa un referente histórico y cultural de primer orden y en consecuencia una sólida candidatura, a juicio de esta Embajada, a los premios Casa Asia 2021.” (The University of Santo Tomás and in particular, [the UST Miguel de Benavides Library] represent a historical and cultural benchmark of the first order and consequently a solid candidacy, in the opinion of this Embassy, for the Casa Asia 2021 awards.)
The award consists of a commemorative engraving and 1,500 euros per category, which will be awarded at the awards ceremony in 2021 on a date and place to be announced at a later date. Established in 2001, Casa Asia is a public consortium consisting of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, the Government of Catalonia, and the Barcelona and Madrid City Councils. It is based in Barcelona, and it also has a center in Madrid
