NOVEMBER 2004
achieved it, be it in arts, science or sports. Mens sana in corpore
sano, if my high school Latin does not let me down! Therefore it can
be no coincidence that within two months after the Athens Summer
Olympics, where our greatest were honoured in the Holland
Heineken House, we gather again to celebrate five heroes, all
under the umbrella of the same host.
Especially in Olympic years, sportsmen and women receive their
fair share of acclaim. But what of the scientists and the artists, do
they receive enough appreciation and scope? Freddy thought not,
and therefore established the Heineken Awards, to ensure that
scientists and artists would be given the respect they deserve. It
is also no coincidence that the booklet published to
commemorate the awards ceremony bears the title "Out of
respect for knowledge". It explains exactly why Freddy Heineken
considered science and art so important. And at this point I should
like to quote from Mrs De Carvalho-Heineken's foreword, which
sums this up so aptly: "Alfred Heineken was much more than just
a respected entrepreneur. He was a man of unbridled curiosity,
for whom science and art were not so much an enrichment, as a
necessity of life. Deep down, my father was an inventor, a man
with an inquiring mind". His fascination with science and
admiration for its practitioners stemmed from his insatiable
appetite for knowledge.
Freddy Heineken therefore thought that scientists deserve more
respect, and so do I. After all, we owe a great debt to science.
And we are still making progress. In the course of 25 years, we
have accumulated more new knowledge than in all the preceding
centuries put together. If mankind were to expand the limits of
sporting performance at the same rate, then - before the end of
this century - the marathon would be run within fifteen minutes.
