The ceremony was presided by the Principal of the Universitat de València, M.ª Vicenta Mestre, with the Vice-Principal for Culture and Sports, Antonio Ariño; with the godmother of the current promotion Isabel Morant; and the student of the Pathway of Health Sciences and as representative of the current promotion, Pilar Mengod.

The Principal M.ª Vicenta Mestre has wanted to point out that the initiative of La Nau Gran ‘continues to expand, which shows the interest and enthusiasm to continue studying the entire life. The Universitat, since its foundation in 1499, was born with a social responsibility and for that reason, this kind of programmes are meaningful, because it allows you to continue contributing to society’, said Mestre.

‘You are taking advantage of this programme to continue training regardless of age, because you never stop learning in all areas of life’, said Vice-Principal Antonio Ariño, who also recalled that the event is held in the Paraninfo de la Nau, an emblematic place where the most important events of the Universitat are held.

The godmother Isabel Morant has stated that ‘the passion for knowledge should never be lost, because it gives the tools to be able to think about freedom’, recalling the principles of the Enlightment of freedom, equality and fraternity of the French Revolution. An emotional Pilar Mengod remembered her childhood putting in value the formation ‘especially when it has not been possible before and now it is returned’.

Also, the representative of the promotion has read the poem ‘Palabras para Julia’ of Agustín Goytisolo highlighting the paragraphs like ‘nunca te entregas ni te apartas junto al camino, nunca digas que no puedes más y aquí me quedo. La vida es bella'.

The 18th promotion of La Nau Gran has counted in this promotion with a total of 1455 students enrolled, of which 474 are newly incorporated. This year, 349 students have completed the three academic courses, of which 265 have got the enough credits have the Nau Gran Diploma.

La Nau Gran is the training programme for people of the Universitat de València who was born in 1999 and has kept growing with thousands of participant people. It includes eleven training pathways, of three compulsory courses and one transversal course called Nau Gran: General Study, as well as one Course of High Studies in Thinking and Culture of Classical Antiquity. The pathways are: Health Sciences; Psychology; Society and Territory; Law, Political Science and Criminology; Social and Economic Sciences; Science and Technology; Philosophy and Humanities; History; History of Art; Language, Literature and Communication; and Education.

This programme is organised by the University Extension Service that depends on the Office of the Vice-Principal for Culture and Sports, and is made with the collaboration of different centres, services and institutes of Universitat de València. The only requirement to enrol the programme is 55 years of age or older.