In the Faculty of Communication Sciences at UIC Barcelona bachelor’s degrees in Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations and Audiovisual Communication are taught. This year lecturer and news presenter Ramon Pellicer attended the graduation ceremony and he is also this year’s patron.
In his speech, Pellicer reflected on how when students finish their degrees at the university they have acquired “a metaphorical backpack of practical and theoretical knowledge” which “must also be filled with experience, in a practical sense” and underlined the fact that “experience needs to be used to protect your credibility, and this is the most valuable asset every communicator has”.
The presenter said “communication brings everything together, it is the need to raise awareness, to put people in contact with each other: those who know what is happening and those who want to know what is happening”. He confessed that he has not yet achieved his ultimate objective, because, he said “the trick is to move it further and further forward into the future, which forces me to never stop trying”. Therefore, he encouraged students to “progress, advance, be decisive, brave, able to take risks and to contribute". He also underlined the importance of working as part of a team. “You have to place your talent in the hands of a team”.
On the other hand, the dean of the Faculty, Alfonso Méndiz, also gave a speech to students, family members and the teaching staff in which he highlighted the issue of female empowerment. Méndiz told the stories of three pioneering women from the field of communication: Alice Guy, the first person to direct a film telling a story, the first to add special effects and to conceive of cinema as art; Mathilde C. Weil, the first woman to found and direct an advertising agency; and, finally, Emilia Pardo Bazán, one of the first female journalists - if not the first - in our country.
These women, believes Méndiz “knew how to dream and see what others didn’t see: they had a vision, broad horizons; they discovered a personal project that illuminated both their lives and that of others, and they put all of their energy into these projects”. He also said they “knew how to fight, and refused to conform” throughout their lives. These are women who, in short, “did not seek success, but excellence” and their work “made us better”, in the words of the dean.
After the speeches the graduation diplomas were handed out, followed by a few words from the class representatives in a ceremony which culminated in song, the university anthem Gaudeamus Igitur.
