“It is my wish to create a private and independent, foundational, non-profit institution, named Alonso Quijano Foundation, that has to contribute to the integral development of the human being through the promotion of cultural and educational activities, especially those aimed at the promotion of reading.
I believe that reading, apart from facilitating access to all types of information and promoting human communication and the development of a critical spirit, if seen as a cultural habit, can awaken the sensitivity of the individual and enable him to experience aesthetic pleasure. I firmly believe that reading is an activity that can make human beings of any age and under any circumstances better, freer and happier. The habit of reading can transform the human being in a positive way, as it transformed into fiction a modest nobleman from La Mancha named Alonso Quijano – from whom the Foundation I want to create takes its name – into the courageous knight errant Sir Quixote of La Mancha, one of the most adorable, generous and naive characters in universal literature.
Even though people sometimes consider reading an underrated activity, and do not recognize it the importance it deserves, I believe that reading skills are a fundamental aspect for human development in society. The greater this capacity in our whole society, the better it will be possible to guarantee in practical terms some of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, such as the right to education or to receive information and opinions by any means of expression.
I am convinced that, as stated in article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”. I have the hope and desire that the Alonso Quijano Foundation, through the pursuit of the aims contained in its Statutes, will cooperate for the common good and world peace. I also wish it would promote universal respect for justice, for the rule of law, for the democratic principles of coexistence and for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all human beings, without any distinction as to race, sex, language, religion or social or economic status. Therefore, it is my wish that the activities of the Alonso Quijano Foundation were governed at all times by the general principles of equality, tolerance, solidarity and fraternity, and that, as far as possible, they would benefit, as a priority, those who have fewer resources or special needs.
Raul Cremades Garcia.
Málaga, 18 November 2000”