The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, claimed this Saturday "respect" for a Canary Islands that is not willing to become "a periphery of anyone" and that, although it will always maintain the will to dialogue, will not accept "pushes and impositions".
During his speech at the institutional event for Canary Islands Day, held at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the head of the autonomous executive called on the citizens of the archipelago to defend the islands "with pride and without complexes".
"The Canary Islands know what it is and does not need anyone to come and tell it. It is a solidarity land that does not allow lessons from outside, because it decided long ago to speak for itself. A land that asks for respect, that does not admit impositions and that knows that its present and its future must be decided here," he pointed out.
Clavijo stressed that the Autonomous Community "has advanced when it has been clear about its place, when it has defended its accent, when it has protected its symbols, when it has looked at the world without complexes and when it has understood that our identity is not a nostalgia, but a strength".
In this regard, he insisted on the importance of the Canary Islands maintaining their own voice in "a complex time" that the islands must face with "more unity, more responsibility and more self-confidence".
He warned that "we are navigating an ocean where clear signals are being sent to us that announce storms. And it would be irresponsible not to prepare ourselves to overcome them," while recalling that "every international crisis, every war, every tension in the markets, every decision made far from our islands has very concrete consequences in the daily lives of our people".
We cannot afford to be naive
The president warned that major community cohesion policies and support for productive sectors are threatened by possible cuts derived from other priorities, challenges that, he stated, "we cannot afford to be naive. Neither in Europe nor in Spain".
Regarding the link with the State, Clavijo admitted that "the political crisis situation in Spain does not exactly contribute to giving stability and certainty to our land".
He denounced that "short-termism, the search for narrative over results, constant bickering and a vacuum in management have become the norm, and it is impossible to move forward like this".
In his opinion, "the facts experienced recently certify that this is not going to change", which, as he said, "once again, forces us to defend ourselves alone and demand the respect that our people deserve".
He recalled that "our greatest heritage --he added-- is not only in the history that precedes us, but in our capacity to continue building a more just and stronger land together".
Clavijo also insisted that the Canary Islands have a lot at stake in the negotiation of the EU's new Multiannual Financial Framework. "We are risking Europe continuing to understand that the Canary Islands are not asking for privileges, but for justice; that being an outermost region is not an administrative label, but a daily reality that affects the cost of producing, transporting, living, and competing from islands located in the middle of the Atlantic," he stated, calling for unity to face this challenge.
Canary Identity and Youth
Another focus of his speech was the deep-rootedness of Canary identity among the archipelago's young people. Clavijo highlighted that it is "an identity that changes in form with each generation but continues to say the same thing: here there is a people that recognizes itself, that loves itself, and that wants to continue being the master of its destiny".
He recalled that "for a long time," the archipelago's identity "was transmitted in homes, in squares, in pilgrimages, in songs, and in the stories that were written."
However, he pointed out that "today our young people sing, write, and create with different codes; with another language, with other rhythms, and with another way of being in the world, but they feel the Canary Islands with an intensity that is not so different from that of previous generations."
The president emphasized that this "strength" of Canary identity is reflected in the new generations "when they defend their accent, when they speak and write about their island, their neighborhood, their street, when they recognize themselves in their symbols or when they get indignant because they feel that this land is not respected or is not being cared for as it should be."
In his opinion, the archipelago's young people "are proudly saying that the Canary Islands are loved, respected, and defended." "That living identity shows us that the Canary Islands continue to speak to themselves. That our young people have not broken the thread. And that is one of the greatest challenges we have as a society: to ensure that what we inherit does not become a heavy obligation for those who come after, but something that they can feel is their own," he maintained.
Canary Awards and Gold Medals
Clavijo dedicated a good part of the May 30th speech to highlighting the role of this year's three Canarias Awards recipients and the 12 individuals and entities distinguished with the Gold Medal, whom he defined as part of the archipelago's "strength."
According to him, their careers "speak to us of a real Canary Islands, a Canary Islands that cannot be contained in a single image or a single definition. A Canary Islands that creates, that cares, that competes, that innovates, that preserves and that accompanies*that defends freedoms and that protects its memory."
He stressed that those who receive these highest recognitions "remind us that the most important heritage of this land lies in those who make it better."
"Their example must be the beacon that guides us in uncertain times," he added, because they represent a people "built with their work, with their talent, with their commitment, with their daily effort, and also with that very particular way of ours of not giving up when things get difficult."
The Canarias Awards for this edition have been granted to the Canaria MAIN foundation in the Altruistic and Solidarity Actions category, to José Luis Padilla 'Padylla' in Communication, and to Fernando Martín Menis in International.
For their part, the 12 Gold Medals of the Canary Islands 2026 have been awarded to Braulio, Fernando Berge Royo, La Casa de Galicia, Juan Espino Dieppa, Ron Arehucas, Pedro Zerolo (posthumously), Ámate (Tenerife Breast Cancer Association), Official Colleges of Nursing of the Canary Islands, María del Carmen Almenara, Club Deportivo In Corpore Sano, Danza de las Cintas de Güímar, and Antonio López Bonilla.