There's a single word in Sardinian that speaks volumes: ondras, or recognition. And it's around this age-old gesture—recognizing the value of others, preserving their voice—that Cagliari is preparing to unite on December 5th, when the Manifattura Tabacchi will host the fourth edition of the Ondras Prize, which has become a European benchmark for the defense and revitalization of minority languages.
Born in 2022 on the initiative of Crei Acli, with the support of the Fondazione di Sardegna and the Sardinia Region, the award is not just an annual celebration: it is a cultural laboratory, a political project in the broadest sense of the term, which aims to bring the linguistic question back to the center of the public agenda and transform the sensibilities of Sardinian society with ideas, networks and new tools.
Lucia Cossu and Piersandro Pillonca will host the ceremony, with an introduction by Mauro Carta, regional president of Crei Acli.
The names of the 2025 winners, selected by a commission composed of Giuseppe Corongiu, Maria Antonietta Piga, and Nicolò Migheli, will remain top secret until the evening: an element of surprise that has always characterized Ondras and helps maintain its lively and popular attention.
Alongside speeches by cultural and political figures, the evening will also feature a musical performance by Tabarchino musician Matteo Leone, chosen to represent the dialogue between roots and the world that the award has pursued since its inception.
While "Ondras" is an award, it is above all a project of connection. Connection with European communities that share similar challenges to Sardinia's; connection with Sardinian society itself, called upon to renew its relationship with the language. The goal is twofold: on the one hand, to build bridges with the outside world, and on the other, to prepare the region for change through sociological research, targeted communication, and new participation tools.
