In the week in which the pandemic turns one year old, we symbolically have a very important moment for the future of Unicamp, the consultation with the community to choose the next rector. As everyone remembers, we made the difficult decision to suspend non-essential face-to-face activities on March 12, 2020, one day after the announcement of the global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, a lot has happened, but unfortunately we have nothing to celebrate in terms of public health. On the contrary: we have reached the terrible mark of almost three hundred thousand deaths, we have experienced a true collapse of the health system, we have seen an explosion of cases and we are faced with governments that continue to deny the seriousness of the situation, propagate lies and encourage contempt for science.
In the midst of this social chaos, Unicamp rethought its strategies, in an incredible effort to adapt and overcome, highlighting the incredible capacity for reinvention of its teachers, staff and students. The list of thanks is long. All members of our community were committed to facing the immediate obstacles to the functioning of the University, making it, in adversity, appear even stronger and more necessary. Frontline health professionals fought and have been fighting bravely against the disease which, unfortunately, has progressed uncontrollably, due to the lack of concrete actions by the country's rulers. But here we did our part, through not only serving the population, but also through information and awareness actions. We thus contribute, within our capacity, so that Brazilian society unequivocally recognizes the great value of the Unified Health System (SUS), as well as the decisive importance of university hospitals.
It is also worth highlighting the exemplary action of teachers and staff who participated in Unicamp's Covid-19 Task Force, who quickly directed their research to combat the pandemic, as well as the capacity that undergraduate and postgraduate scholarship students demonstrated to adapt to this new situation with a lot of creativity. Unicamp's indicators are impressive, as the number of dissertations and theses defended in 2020 fell by less than 15% compared to previous years, even in such an adverse situation.
Another triumph of the community in the face of the pandemic was the maintenance of teaching activities, through “emergency remote teaching”. In the first semester of 2020, 97,5% of subjects were maintained, even though they had to be rethought overnight. The University discussed and approved the relaxation of several rules, which provided an institutional environment appropriate to the situation for teachers and students, which allowed it to never deviate from its primary function, which is the training of students.
After the initial reaccommodation, the second half of 2020 took place more smoothly, which will allow the first half of 2021 to start with just 15 days of delay in relation to the normal situation, as at the beginning of next week we will have the resumption of activities classes, with the arrival of new freshmen at the University. It will be the first time that we will have a reception for freshmen virtually. It is certainly not what we would like to do, but what the situation and prudence require. In any case, we have prepared a special program so that everyone feels welcome, and I ask that the entire community gets involved in this first contact with university life, which is so important for the feeling of belonging to something greater.
We are also making every effort with the volunteer group of the Executive Directorate of Human Rights to obtain computer equipment, so that students who need support have the equipment and internet connection available, necessary for adequate monitoring of the subjects.
Many members of the community also engaged, at this critical moment, in defending science, the public university, the SUS, vaccines, and took a vehement stance against fake news, against treatments without scientific proof, against delays. The participation of each member was and continues to be fundamental for the defense of fundamental values, which also include the freedom of professorship and university autonomy. We should all contribute to this process, whether in messages on WhatsApp groups, on social media, or by creating new ways of publicizing how science works and how quality public universities contribute to the advancement of science and technology, which are fundamental to sovereignty and the future. of the country, as it is through new forms of communication that the greatest attacks on culture and academic institutions have been carried out. In this context and as part of the social awareness effort, this week we are organizing the Unicamp Scientific Dissemination Symposium, which already has more than two thousand registered!
In this brief message it is impossible to relate everything that was accomplished during this period, but one point must be highlighted: it was with the effort and dedication of each one of you that the University was able to continue fulfilling its mission and becoming stronger, despite the wave of obscurantism that sweeps the country.
In this context, the campaign for the succession of the rectory, with three candidates who seek to highlight, in their programs, the importance of having an increasingly strong and active University, is a powerful symbol: Unicamp continues to seek the best way to fulfill the mission that society entrusted to it, and it does so through what characterizes it as a scientific and democratic institution, through the debate of ideas, in a respectful, objective and calm manner. Unfortunately, without realizing that they are echoing the worst in national politics, there are still groups that try to bring fake news and disinformation campaigns into our process. But the community itself has rejected this type of attitude, proving our maturity and respect for the truth. Therefore, on this occasion, I would like to thank the candidates and their teams for their willingness to contribute to this very important cause, and wish, in advance, a fruitful management that continues the hard-won progress achieved over the 55 years of Unicamp's existence. .
Unicamp continues to grow stronger every day, ready to face the challenges that will come, which will certainly not be few or small. To achieve this, we have an engaged community ready to contribute to the development of a fairer society, which respects diversity, defends individual freedoms and values life.
