Michael Ignatieff, President and Rector of Central European University, officially inaugurated the 2019-2020 academic year at Esade with a talk on the role of universities in today’s increasingly globalised world and the ways in which universities can help manage the rise of nationalism and populism. “Universities are on the front lines of globalisation,” commented Ignatieff. “They must allow and encourage encounters between cultures and civilisations” in order to educate better leaders.

“The future we want is not one without nation-states, but rather one in which nation-states are capable of making globalisation benefit citizens and collaborating through international organisations to solve problems that they alone cannot solve,” explained Ignatieff. He added that national sovereignty within the framework of international norms “is a possible utopia that we must work towards together”. 

Ignatieff also reflected on the role of populism and nationalism in today’s society, within the context of a globalised world. He noted that both movements have positive aspects as well as dangers, including political polarisation. “In a democratic debate, there are no enemies,” he declared. “There are adversaries and allies, but not enemies. Labelling an adversary as an enemy is a serious mistake” that creates obstacles to dialogue.

Returning to the topic of the role of universities, Ignatieff encouraged schools like Esade to play a leading role in promoting dialogue. He described himself as “enormously optimistic” about the potential to engage in a constructive social debate. 

Strengthening diversity and values 

Koldo Echebarria, Director General of Esade, described Ignatieff as a defender of freedom and democratic values. He also echoed Ignatieff’s description of universities as key players in the defence of pluralism and diversity. Beyond respecting these values, “we must harness and strengthen diversity”, Echebarria argued. “Studying at a Jesuit university should involve acquiring a sense of global citizenship,” he added. 

Josep Maria Garrell, Rector of Ramon Llull University, also highlighted the role of universities in society. He described this role as a “great responsibility” due to the fact that most leaders have been trained in higher education centres. “Training in values should be the main objective of higher education,” argued Garrell. “Not only must we train professionals, we must train good professionals.” 

At the inaugural session of the 2019-2020 academic year, held at EsadeForum, Michael Ignatieff, Koldo Echebarria and Josep Maria Garrell were joined by Xavier Torra, President of the ESADE Foundation Board of Trustees, who kicked off the event by giving an overview of Michael Ignatieff’s distinguished career as a Canadian academic, writer and politician