Overcoming adversity and facing the future
“A proof of what we have been able to do”. Joan Guàrdia, rector of the University of Barcelona, defined with these words the event held on May 18 in the Paranimph to appreciate the task carried out by the university community during the pandemic. The memory of those people who passed away during the pandemic started a ceremony which was, at the same time, “an event with the future in mind”. The rector noted we “have to face the future in an overwhelming and decisive way”, and exemplified it with the legendary Ginko biloba, the only tree species to survive the Hiroshima bombing and of which the Historical Building of the UB has two specimens.
“A proof of what we have been able to do”. Joan Guàrdia, rector of the University of Barcelona, defined with these words the event held on May 18 in the Paranimph to appreciate the task carried out by the university community during the pandemic. The memory of those people who passed away during the pandemic started a ceremony which was, at the same time, “an event with the future in mind”. The rector noted we “have to face the future in an overwhelming and decisive way”, and exemplified it with the legendary Ginko biloba, the only tree species to survive the Hiroshima bombing and of which the Historical Building of the UB has two specimens.
“The Ginko biloba is a living proof that shows that we are capable of overcoming adversity, the loss of our colleagues, undertaking great efforts”, noted the rector. “At the UB, we are capable of building new scenarios, which make us stronger”, he said. “The UB is a strong and old Ginko biloba, but with a will for the future and transcendence”, he said, while showing a bunch of seeds from this tree, to be planted in the different UB faculties so that, when these grow, they become a witness of how such a pandemic crisis was lived.
Antoni Trilla, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and head of the Department of Epidemiology of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, remembered the basic facts of the pandemic since it first was heard about, when news talked about the first outbreaks in the Chinese area of Wuhan, in 2020. He remembered his own experience at Hospital Clínic: “One of my most vivid and intense memory is the constant ambulance sirens and the hell brought by the first wave in the hospital”. He finished his speech defending the importance of the biomedical research which led to the first vaccine doses: “It was a research with a progression we had never seen before”.
Joan Elias, rector of the UB when the pandemic emerged, remembered the emergency meetings they needed to tackle the situation at the University. The repatriation of Erasmus students, or the care of laboratory animal facilities, equipment and materials, such as samples of viruses and bacteria, are some of the tasks that were carried out during the lockdown, apart from the work behind the Virtual Campus. “I am proud of being part of this University for the dedication of all its members”, Elias concluded. Then, he shared a reflection on the future and the opportunities that appear after months of a health emergency: “We shouldnʼt miss the chance to experiment with online and blended learning”.
The central moment of the event was the public recognition to the students, the AdSS and TRS. Marta Ferrer, vice-rector for Students and Participation, awarded a commemorative plaque to the students, “the UB wouldnʼt have done it without them”, and emphasized that young people are one of the collectives who suffered the most during the pandemic. Laura Cots, secretary of the Student Council, and Genís Vives, his predecessor in this position, took the plaque.
Ernest Abadal, vice-rector assigned to the Rector and for Teaching and Research Staff, highlighted the TRSʼ immediate response to the pandemic situation and the adaptation to “an unknown and changing scenario”. Then, people heading the vice-deansʼ offices of the UB faculties and schools collected a plaque so that each centre can hang it on their walls. Glòria Matalí, general manager of the University, talked about the AdSS and mentioned the work and dedication of this collective despite undergoing “very hard family and personal situations”. The plaque was collected by Mercè Molina and José Zomeño, the oldest and youngest AdSS members, respectively, when the state of alarm was declared on March 14, 2020.
Before the rectorʼs closing speech, the ceremony featured the speeches by Montserrat Gea, director of the Directorate-General of Healthcare Professionals at the Catalan Government, who highlighted the human value and solidarity of the UB students; and by Joan Corominas, president of the Board of Trustees of the University, who stated: “Our University emerges from the pandemic with a greater social strength”.