The Vicente Ferrer Foundation receives the Gold Medal of the UB
On 23 May the Gold Medal of the University of Barcelona was awarded to the Vicente Ferrer Foundation during the award-giving ceremony for 2010 doctorates and the 15th University of Barcelona Doctorsʼ Senate Award. Dr. M. Teresa Anguera, vice-rector for Teaching and Scientific Policy, who chaired the event, highlighted that, with the task performed by the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, which has more than forty years of history, two and a half million people have been able to significantly improve their quality of life.
On 23 May the Gold Medal of the University of Barcelona was awarded to the Vicente Ferrer Foundation during the award-giving ceremony for 2010 doctorates and the 15th University of Barcelona Doctorsʼ Senate Award. Dr. M. Teresa Anguera, vice-rector for Teaching and Scientific Policy, who chaired the event, highlighted that, with the task performed by the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, which has more than forty years of history, two and a half million people have been able to significantly improve their quality of life.
During the event, Dr. Miquel Viñas, rectorsʼ delegate in charge of the Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus, focused on the “exemplary” task of this Foundation. Thus, he talked about the activities carried out in different areas: education, environment, women and health. The involvement of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation in the field of health is precisely what persuaded the Faculty of Dentistry of the UB to propose the Gold Medal of the University to this organisation, with the support of other centres located on the Bellvitge Campus, such as the Hospital of Bellvitge, the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute and the Catalan Institute of Oncology. As Dr. Jordi Garcia, general secretary of the UB, recalled the Gold Medal of the UB has been awarded to the Vicente Ferrer Foundation for its commitment to improve living conditions in the most deprived communities.
Jordi Folgado Ferrer, director general of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, was thankful for the award and highlighted the fact that he comes from an institution focused not only on training students in the field of sciences and humanities, but also on fostering social commitment. At the same time, he also stated that, although the first step is peopleʼs survival, “education is fundamental to any society” and now, in the Foundation, we are seeing that the right to education, which did not exist before, is claimed by young people in India. He concluded his address saying that eradicating absolute poverty “has a solution” and that the award encourages them to continue with their task.
After awarding the Gold Medal, the 15th University of Barcelona Doctorsʼ Senate Award was given to researcher Carles Mas, together with the doctorate awards for the academic year 2010. During the event, Dr. Anguera pointed out that, at a time of crisis like the present one, “university is part of the solution, not the problem”, and stressed the need to appropriately transfer research knowledge carried out at universities.
Dr. Joan Bosch, vice-president of the Doctorsʼ Senate, and Dr. Sílvia Sánchez, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, also sat at the presidential table.
In the 15th University of Barcelona Doctorsʼ Senate Award, a total of 97 candidates from different areas and specializations were submitted, whose work covered practically all of the science and humanities disciplines offered at this University. In addition to the award given to researcher Carles Mas, two second prizes were also awarded and special diplomas were given to the authors of the other theses that made the final shortlist.