The public award ceremony will take place at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC-Barcelona Tech) Campus Nort on 10 July, and will be led by President of the Xarxa Vives and Principal of the UPC Daniel Crespo Artiaga.

Rafael Castelló Cogollos (Carcaixent, 1964) is a Valencian sociologist, Professor of the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology of the Universitat de València since 1989. He holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration and a doctorate in Sociology in 1999. As a researcher, he has worked specifically on issues related to demography and political sociology applied to the Valencian Country. He has collaborated in research studies on sustainability and human development, volunteering and cultural consumption in Spain and foreign immigration in the Valencian territory. Between 2007 and 2012, he was Vice-Dean of Studies and Head of the Quality Committee of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Universitat de València Between 2012 and 2022, he was Director of the Language Policy Service of the UV. He is currently Co-Head of the Chair for Linguistic Rights for the analysis, research and dissemination of aspects and issues related to linguistic rights and multilingualism.

Josep Vallverdú i Aixalà (Lleida, 1923) is a Catalan writer, poet, playwright, linguist, translator and essayist, with a distinguished career in children’s and young adult literature and author of more than two hundred works. He holds a degree in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Barcelona (1945) and worked for many years as a high school teacher. During this period, he published his first novel El venedor de peixos (The fishmonger), and since 1960, he has devoted his life mainly to children’s fiction. After his retirement in 1988, he focused more on writing: diaries, newspaper articles, travel stories and essays on his own work. He has translated into Catalan works by great authors such as Jack London, Jean Piaget, Edgar Allan Poe, Gianni Rodari and Oscar Wilde. Additionally, he was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi (1988), the Honour Award of Letras Catalanas (2000) and the Trajectòria Award (2002). He also received the doctor honoris causa distinction by the University of Lleida (2004). The Catalan Government declared 2023 the Josep Vallverdú Year to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of his birth.

Gemma Rigau i Oliver (Banyoles, 1948) is a Catalan philologist and linguist, member of the Philological Section of the Institute for Catalan Studies since 2002. She earned her Doctorate in Romance Languages and Literature from the University of Barcelona. She was Full Professor of Catalan Studies at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where she became Assistant Head and Head of the Department of Catalan Studies. Throughout her long academic career, she greatly contributed to linguistic theory, ranging from discourse analysis to syntax and the lexical structure of Catalan and Romance languages. She received the Pompeu Fabra Award from the Institute for Catalan Studies in 1982 and the Manuel Sanchis Guarner Award for the Language Unit of the Jaume I Foundation. She was also awarded the Narcís Monturiol Medal in 2006 for her scientific and technologic achievements and the Creu de Sant Jordi from the Catalan Government in 2019 for devoting her life to Catalan studies.

The Medal of Honour of the Vives Network is the highest distinction granted jointly by the 22 universities of the Vives Network, in recognition of the professional career, the commitment to science, culture and society that the awarded individuals have developed in different areas and disciplines. Since 1995, when the medals were first introduced, 33 individuals from different fields of knowledge have received this distinction.