The capital of la Vall d'Albaida has welcomed on Wednesday the 3rd of April a mass event between Unisocietat students from Cullera, Benetússer, Alzira, L'Eliana, Massamagrell, Paterna, Quart de Poblet, Requena, Gandia and Ontinyent. The students have also visited the town of Ontinyent and have attended a lecture by the professor in Psychiatry Rafael Tabarés.
The Principal of the Universitat de València, Mª Vicenta Mestre, the president of the Diputación de Valencia, Toni Gaspar and the mayor of Ontinyent, Jorge Rodríguez, have welcomed Unisocietat students during the official cereomony celebrated at the Echeragay Theatre on Wednesday the 3rd of April. This annual meeting is organised by the Office of the Vice-Principal for Territorial Projection and Society, with the sponsorship of Caixa Ontinyent, Caixa Popular and the Fundació Universitària la Vall d’Albaida (FUVA).
The Principal has highlighted the importance of the Unisocietat programme, since ‘it brings the Universitat closer to people of all ages, which is one of the objectives of the public university.’ Mestre has also talked about the importance of events like these, because ‘they allow students of the Unisocietat programme to interact at the same time they’re discovering new places of the Valencian geography, something that contributes to the structuring of the Valencian territory.’
The president of the Diputación de Valencia has explained that the Diputación ‘still collaborates with the Universitat de València as a public facility due to its link to the Valencian territory and, particularly, participates in the UNISOCIETAT programme because it structures the Valencian region through knowledge.’
The mayor of Ontinyent has reminded the audience that Unisocietat was established at Ontinyent 7 years ago and has demonstrated ‘knowledge is essential in any life stage.’ The project is ‘related to continuous education throughout life, as students show in their willingness to continue learning, discovering and amazing themselves’, said the major.
After the official reception, the Vice-Principal for Territorial Projection and Society, Jorge Hermosilla, has presented the lecture El rostre de la bona vida, given by lecturer Rafael Tabarés, professor in Psychiatry from the Department of Medicine of the Universitat de València.
Students, divided into groups and accompanied by the institutional representatives and/or experts of the participating city councils, have taken a guided visit through the most emblematic places of the town like the medieval part of the Vila, the Church with its amazing bell tower, the Palau de la Vila and the museums of Valencian textiles and the Fester—dedicated to Moros i Cristians.
Currently, the Unisocietat programme has more than 1,700 students distributed between 12 headquarters: Bétera and Riba-roja de Túria (since 2018-2019), Alzira and Benetússer (since 2016-17), Paterna and Requena (since 2015-2016), l'Eliana (since 2014-15), Cullera, Massamagrell and Quart de Poblet (since 2013-14), Ontinyent (since 2011/12) and Gandia (since 2007/08, where the programme is called UniMajors—students over 50 years old). Unisocietat collaborates with the Diputación de Valencia and is sponsored by Caixa Popular (in 10 headquarters), as well as Caixa Ontinyent (in La Vall d’Albaida) and Banco Santander (in Gandia).
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