Dr Santiago Castellà
Santiago Castellà, president of the Port of Tarragona and of Barcelona-Catalunya Centre Logístic, director of the Tarragona Smart Mediterranean City Chair and the Zigurat-University of Barcelona Master’s Degree in Smart City Management, secretary-general of the Pro Royal European Academy of Doctors Foundation, and full member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (RAED), received on 6 July, at a solemn ceremony presided over by the President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, the President Macià Plaque for Merit in Labour awarded to the Tarragona Port Authority. The distinction recognises the Port of Tarragona’s track record and contribution to the territory’s economic, social and employment development, together with the institution’s commitment to quality, innovation and the creation of opportunities. “It is a strategic infrastructure that plays a key role in the economy and logistics. The Port of Tarragona combines economic activity with social, environmental and cultural commitment, promoting projects involving sustainability, energy transition and innovation. Its activity generates employment and added value, contributes to territorial development and strengthens the competitiveness of the productive system,” the jury states in its decision.
The President Macià Plaque and Medal for Merit in Labour were created in 1938 by the then head of the Department of Labour, Joan Comorera, and bear the name of the first president and restorer of the modern Generalitat. In 1982, the Catalan Government revived these distinctions to honour individuals and organisations whose effort and example help consolidate economic activity. They are therefore among Catalonia’s oldest institutional honours and are open to any person or organisation. In his address, Illa highlighted the culture of effort and excellence as drivers of collective progress. “Excellence requires talent and suitable conditions, but above all effort, method, rigour and the determination to contribute to society the best that each person can offer,” he said.
Port of Tarragona
For the Port Authority, the award reinforces the Port of Tarragona’s commitment to a future model grounded in sustainability, energy transition, digitalisation and integration with its surroundings. The initiatives promoted in recent years demonstrate its commitment to responsible management capable of addressing the major economic, environmental and social challenges of the coming decades. In his acceptance speech, Castellà acknowledged the efforts made in this area by the managers and employees of an infrastructure that is both a benchmark and a project for the future. “Their dedication, commitment and professionalism have been essential in building today’s Port of Tarragona and in enabling us to continue moving forward with a shared vision of the future in the service of the territory,” the president concluded.
A Doctor of Public International Law from the University of Barcelona, Castellà spent 25 years teaching in the Department of Public Law at Rovira i Virgili University, where he also served as dean of the Faculty of Legal Sciences, vice-rector for External and International Relations, and director of the Master’s Degree in Environmental Law, the Master’s Degree in Global Migration Management, the Master’s Degree in International Development Cooperation and the Master’s Degree in International Criminal Justice. He currently combines his role as director of the Tarragona Smart Mediterranean City Chair with the directorship of the Zigurat-University of Barcelona Master’s Degree in Smart City Management. Castellà is also scientific director of the Observatory on the Enforced Disappearance of Minors and academic director of the seminar “International Humanitarian Law in Today’s World”, organised by Rovira i Virgili University, the International Catalan Institute for Peace and the Tarragona Red Cross Assembly. He is a regular collaborator with the Centre for Legal Studies and Specialised Training of the Government of Catalonia and the International Criminal Bar, and politically he is first secretary of the PSC in the city of Tarragona.
