The official opening ceremony of the academic year 2011/12 was held at the Aula Magna of the University of Lisbon. This year, it was part of the closing session of the celebrations of the centenary of the UL, which were carried out over the last year “through a programme that always sought to connect the University to the City (UniverCity) and foster debate on the future of Portugal” (Professor António Sampaio da Nóvoa, Rector of the University of Lisbon).

The session’s programme featured speeches from the Director of Social Services of the UL – Dr. Luís Fernandes, and from the President of the Academic Association of the University of Lisbon– Tiago Gonçalves, representing non-teaching staff and students of the UL, respectively.
The President of the European Commission, Dr. José Manuel Durão Barroso, and the UN High Commissioner for the Alliance of Civilizations, Dr. Jorge Sampaio, were also invited to participate in this special day for the University.

The presence of several rectors of universities in North Africa and Southern Europe, who came to the UL as part of the EMUNI (Euro-Mediterranean University) meeting, must also be highlighted. This was also an opportunity to award the Honoris Causa Doctoral Degree to Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Vice-President of the European Parliament. The University of Lisbon also awarded the Honoris Causa Doctoral Degree to Emílio Rui Vilar, President of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Throughout the session, the hard times we are experiencing and the challenges they imply were mentioned by various speakers, namely by the rector of UL, Professor António Sampaio da Nóvoa, who in his closing speech said: “We are living in difficult, strange and uncertain times. (…). In years like this, more than ever we need to value people and protect them, and value and protect democracy. People and the city, the polis, are the hallmark of our Centenary. The University has turned into an agora, an open space for debate, for participation, for a presence in society. Always looking to the country, over the past year the University has reflected on what it can do for Portugal, and the answers have been noted in this Ceremony: Europe, Dialogue, and Future”.

More information here
Susana Henriques
susanahenriques@fm.ul.pt