Background: Twenty Years of the Prism Awards

The House of Sciences Prism Awards (Premios Prismas Casa de las Ciencias), initially a scientific video contest, date back to 1988. Through the years they have developed into prizes that promote public awareness and understanding of science. Presently, the Prism Awards include five categories: multimedia, unpublished texts, newspaper articles, published books and a Special Prism Award of the Jury (Prisma Especial del Jurado). In the 20 years since their birth, the Awards have acquired national recognition. The professionals that have made up the Jury during this time have been from different fields and institutions, such as universities, the media, teaching centers, and scientific research facilities, and they too have been of renowned prestige. Personalities like Pere Alberch, Albert Baez, José Manuel Sánchez Ron, Miguel Ángel Quintanilla or José María Bermúdez de Castro have presided over the Jury in the different editions. The individuals and institutions that have been awarded in the past are highly regarded in their fields. The most popular scientific magazines, newspapers, publishing companies, production companies, and government institutions of Spain have been honored with the Prism Awards.
Since the Prism Awards first came to life, in the category of multimedia over 500 works, mostly documentaries, have been submitted. Although in recent years the General Terms of the contest had to be modified to include other formats, such as CD-ROM or web pages, videographic works continue to be numerous year after year. It is evident that the Prism Awards have achieved a position of great prestige and recognition.