In recent years we have been surrounded by a completely new and unknown situation that has affected everyone in a very personal way. Covid-19 has left us with a panorama of uncertainty and concern in the face of the great health crisis that the world has experienced, and is still experiencing, in a matter of two years. The Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), one of the public institutions that wanted to contribute, as far as possible, to the fight against the global pandemic, suffered, no more than two months ago, a computer attack that left the stopped teaching activity.

One of the great innate abilities of human beings is their ability to adapt to the situation. Positively, the unfortunate events have been an important point for society to demonstrate its capacity for regeneration in the face of a difficult situation.

AmicsUAB also wanted to join the change. The Casa Convalescència in Barcelona witnessed the commemorative event, on the afternoon of November 18, and the Sala Magna was filled, both with our members and with important personalities from the UAB. As usual, the AmicsUAB 2021 Festival has had the participation of professionals from different sectors whom it has awarded for its role in society. One of the small changes, compared to other years, has been to make a recognition to all those health professionals in the UAB sphere who have helped during the first two years of the pandemic.

Arcadi Oliveres, Maite Paramio, Berta Gutiérrez, the ALBA Synchrotron and Bonaventura Bassegoda were awarded, mainly, for their careers in relation to the University and Society.

"An emotional message"

"Welcome back to the AmicUAB Party, let's see each other again" This is how Pere Bosch, presenter of Els matins de TV3 and presenter of the party, opened the event. Afterwards, a small recognition was given to the figure of Antonio Franco, former president of AmicsUAB and a renowned journalist throughout the country. The emotional message given by Albero Franco, Antonio's brother, moved the audience. "I am proud to have been part of this association."

After the now traditional speech of the president of AmicsUAB Francesc Cayuela where he recalled our principles and mission as an entity. Finally, he wanted to end the speech by making a small reflection on the role of AmicsUAB in society: “In reflection on the letter that Alberto Franco has read, what has come to my mind is that we, although we do activities in the day to day, we must try to have a vision of future and realize our activities based on where we want to finish, thinking about the future. And all this would not be possible without you ”.

"The long-awaited awards ceremony"

The Amic dels Amics award, given by Núria Casaldàliga - director of the UAB Library Service - was given to Bonaventura Bassegoda, professor of art history at the UAB since November 1998, for making outstanding contributions. in university libraries. "Receiving this award for me has been a great surprise," added Bassegoda to begin his speech of thanks where he recalled his role as a university professor.

The great work of hospitals during these two years of pandemic has been very important to society. For this reason, from AmicUAB we wanted to pay tribute to the entire hospital sphere of the UAB to thank them for their participation and effort during the Covid-19 pandemic. Vicent Fonollosa, dean of the UAB Faculty of Medicine, was able to give a short speech in which he thanked all the students and professors of the faculty for the professionalism and dedication they have had to show during these difficult times.

As in every edition of the party, the winners are awarded a unique illustration. This year, they have been created by Alicia Jiménez, illustrator, graphic designer and former student of the UAB. His creations seek to convey feelings and emotions through design. She works with traditional drawing techniques so you get results that express personality, naturalness and, above all, a lot of affection.

The UAB Collective Award has been given to the ALBA Synchrotron, the most important third generation scientific infrastructure in the Mediterranean region. It is a complex of electron accelerators to produce light and allows to visualize the atomic and molecular structure of materials to study the properties. Caterina Biscari, director of the ALBA Synchrotron, collected the award on behalf of all infrastructure workers. He wanted to dedicate a few words of thanks to the ALBA workers, claiming the great daily work they do.

Berta Gutiérrez, former director of l’ICE, will receive the Amics dels Amics award for outstanding seva trajectòria in relation to the University and the Society. “In Barcelona I found an open, dynamic and supportive city. A driving city for diverse projects and rich in all the cultural aspect. There is a proverb that says: a town that only reaches one road, don't go, it is not a good town. Barcelona had many paths and I hope it continues to have them ”.

One of the most anticipated and emotional prizes of the night was awarded, in memoriam, to Arcadi Oliveres. He was a Catalan economist and activist, a reference in social movements. He participated in numerous struggles for peace, social justice, and the rights of peoples, and was a persevering promoter of ethical finance. A tribute video opened the award ceremony and Bernat Oliveres, Arcadi's son, attended the event on behalf of his father to collect the gift.

Maite Pramio, director of the Embryonic Biotechnology of Livestock Species research group, was awarded the Friend of Friends award. “It is the award that makes me most excited because I have really felt linked to the Autonomous University of Barcelona. For me, this university was not only my place of work, it was my life. "

Finally, at ten o’clock in the evening, the UAB Chamber Choir closed the event. From here, we want to thank you for your participation, as we do every year.