President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was awarded the International Virdimura Award at the University of Catania.

 

Whilst thanking the ‘Società Italiana di Storia della Medicina’ for the recognition, the President dedicated the award to women and girls of the Mediterranean and the aspirations of the people of the region. The Virdimura Award is named after Dr Virdimura – the first woman to be awarded an official medical degree in 1376.

The President said that although Dr Virdimura lived centuries ago, the fact that she was also a woman of the Mediterranean, “reminds me of just how important it is for us to continue supporting girls and young women of our Mediterranean region”.