Yesterday, the rector of the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP), Isabel Capeloa Gil, challenged students to be ‘protagonists in the great struggles and challenges facing societies and Portugal.’ Isabel Capeloa Gil was speaking in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP), during the traditional Solemn Session of Blessing and Awarding of Diplomas.

For Isabel Capeloa Gil, UCP students also have the mission and responsibility to ‘promote greater social cohesion at a time of such polarisation in the world’, by virtue of the education they have received throughout their academic career.

‘More than professionals, we train people of integrity who defend the values of human dignity and who place the person at the centre of their actions. Therefore, they have a greater responsibility, I would say, to lead in these processes that are so important for our societies and for our country,’ she told journalists.

Also during her speech, the rector drew inspiration from the words of Pope Francis to encourage students to be protagonists, ‘to take the reins of the future, not to be young people at the window, but to take the lead and have courage.’ 

‘I would say that it is important for all of us to see in this audience the protagonists of the future, young people who, in the spirit of Católica, will certainly contribute to creating a dignified world, where everyone has the ability to aspire, because we live in a world full of challenges and your protagonism is crucial for us to improve the human condition and the planet,’ she said.

Adding that ‘we live in a time when protagonism is often confused with celebrity, populism or even charismatic authoritarianism,’ the rector emphasised that, from an institutional point of view, it is often thought that universities are not part of the so-called ‘global protagonism clubs,’ but they are essential to societies.

‘The protagonists are also others, those people who are, in fact, excluded from society, who are marked by what Pope Francis, and before him Pope Benedict, called the “globalisation of indifference” and who insistently call for change,’ she said, stressing that "a Catholic university looks to all these types of protagonists to train those who it believes will truly make a difference."

The rector also warned young people that "in a time of explosion, of new and contradictory protagonists, the university that educated them understands that this protagonism means claiming the right to do things differently, claiming unconditional autonomy, finding a value proposition that does not stem from a reaction to short-term trends or needs, but one that anticipates transformation, takes risks and also knows how to fail, redo and start again."