On Friday morning, the University of the Balearic Islands’ Ibiza campus hosted a formal ceremony to mark the start of the new academic year and recognise students who had recently graduated.
Following the rector’s welcome address, Wessal Baitar, one of the students being recognised during the ceremony, delivered a speech on behalf of her fellow students. During her speech, she referred to her emotional university experience and said that it was now coming to ‘an end that is, in reality, a new beginning’, as a new chapter in the lives of these recent graduates is about to begin in the world of work.
Once the young woman had finished, students from the Business Administration, Law and Primary Education courses were recognised. Dressed in their finest attire, the students from the different courses were named one by one and listened as the room broke into applause to acknowledge their efforts.
Geographical difficulties
Once the recognition ceremony for those completing their university studies had concluded, the opening of the new academic year began.
Dr Joana Marí Seguí gave the first speech, beginning by calling for a solution to ‘the genocide currently being committed in Palestine’, a remark that was also warmly applauded by the audience. She then presented a study detailing the geographical difficulties faced by Ibiza.
Various institutional representatives then took the floor, including Catiana Fuster, Ibiza City Council’s Education Councillor, who emphasised the importance of education for Ibiza City’s future; Antoni Vera, the Balearic Government’s Minister of Education, who defended his political body’s work in supporting a university ‘that has frankly been underfunded for years’; the President of the Formentera Island Council, who spoke ‘from his experience as a teacher’ about developments and difficulties in education; and the President of the Ibiza Island Council, who emphasised his commitment to the university ‘growing and moving forward together’.