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Dr. Leonor Beleza, President of the Champalimaud Foundation,
Honourable Prime-Minister,
Honourable President of the Jury, Prof. Alfred Sommer,
Mrs. Luísa Champalimaud,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that, in this magnificent scenario of the Cloister of the Jerónimos Monastery, I associate myself to the award of the 2008 Champalimaud Vision Prize.

I wish, first of all, to congratulate the winners, scientists Jeremy Nathans and King-Wai Yau, who share the Prize, owing to the success of their research on the understanding of the processes of the physiology of vision.

I equally wish to salute all those that, in Johns Hopkins University, contributed towards this result and are an integral part of its success.

This Prize, which is the worlds biggest in the field of ophthalmology and in the fight against blindness, will surely constitute a determining impulse for the progress of the scientific research that the prize winners have been conducting.

I equally greet the President and each one of the members of the international jury, individualities of renowned merit, who were chosen to assess and select the most relevant scientific advance amongst all the candidacies received, deciding which the best amongst the better was.

I believe it is eminently fair to emphasize that the already consolidated prestige of the Champalimaud Vision Prize is not just the fact that it is the World’s largest pecuniary prize in the area of health.

This prestige is greatly owed to the President of the Foundation, Dr. Leonor Beleza, who has known, as was expected, to give expression to the ambition and the dream of the founder.

It would not be possible, anyway, to rejoice with this brilliant success and its worldwide repercussions without evoking the memory of António Champalimaud, founder of the Institution which awards this Prize.

When donating approximately 500 million euros to the cause of the fight against blindness, the founder gave an example of social responsibility which is a reference and an honour for Portugal.

This Prize intends to be a mark of distinction that celebrates the quality of its winners and the contribution of their respective research towards the improvement of world health in the field of vision.

In only two years, the Foundation has already placed a notable stamp on the scope of its intervention.

Last year, the first in which the Prize was awarded, the distinction went to the Aravind System, which has a social impact of international relevance.

The distinction this year went to research which brought a better knowledge of the mechanics of vision and on the origins of the sicknesses which affect it.

These are scientific discoveries which open horizons in the field of genetics and in the control of degenerative and hereditary sicknesses, contributing towards the removal or attenuation of relevant factors of inequality and dependence.

The fight against congenital sicknesses is more than just an aid towards individual well being. It also implies an ambitious social dimension of justice and of equal opportunities immediately upon birth.

The scientific advances in the area of biomedical sciences, not just for the purpose of treatment, but mainly for the prevention of sickness, have permitted a consistent improvement on the quality of living and on the growing longevity of the people.

Investment in science must be centred in the resolution of people’s real problems, as is properly recalled in the award of this Prize.

There is no Science without scientists. And there is no social well being without the contribution of Science. As such, one of the prime duties of the State is to give value to the role of scientists in opening up new paths of knowledge.

This valuation is, anyway, a means to promote scientific culture and to summon the new generations to the dream of discovery, invention and innovation.

Women and men of Science, who chose a life of much studying and of daily sacrifices to open up the frontiers of knowledge, are crucial to our collective future and are deserving of public recognition.

We have to unfold new and many vocations for research and development activities.

This Prize, which has the additional merit of originating from a private entity, is also an incentive for national scientific research.

All those who work in scientific research to alleviate or prevent suffering and sickness generate levels of inclusion and well being which, otherwise, would not be possible.

Institutions which, such as the Champalimaud Foundation and its Vision Prize, recognize and incite this effort are, for this same reason, deserving of our thanks and depositors of our hope in the building of a happier and friendlier world, where each person may fully enjoy the gift of life.