Eduard Martí, the Assistant Dean of the Faculty of
Communication Sciences, gave the opening remarks. He walked the students through
the history of these last four years of study. “A university is made by good
professors and a good staff; but it is also made – and this is very important –
by good students”, he said.

Cristina Puig, who has a degree in Communication from the Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona and is currently the presenter of the programme 59 Segons on Spanish Television in Catalonia (TVE Catalunya), was
grateful for the opportunity to be
the keynote speaker and based her speech about a career as a journalist on her
own professional experience. “You’re fortunate to have chosen one of the most
exciting professions in the world,” she said. “You are the ones who explain to
the world every day what is happening and why it is happening. If it weren’t
for you, people wouldn’t have access to this information”.

When discussing the current professional
climate, not only in journalism, but also in many other areas, Puig emphasized
the challenges presented by the Web 2.0 world. “Social networks offer vast
possibilities that I didn’t have when I started. The challenge is knowing how
to take advantage of them”, she said. With this in mind, she borrowed a phrase
from Pau Garcia
Milà, the
creator of eyeOS, an open-source web desktop. “If a door closes, look for a
window”, she said. “There is a new world that we must discover”.

Speeches were then given by Leonor Flores, the
student representative for the Degree Programme in Journalism, and Rosaura Vidal, the
student representative for the Degree Programme in Audiovisual Communication.
Finally, Iván Lacasa, the Dean
of the Faculty of Communication Sciences, spoke about the need to have convictions
in order to be a real journalist. “You won’t be able to explain deep stories if
you don’t have a deep personal story”, he said.