Event marks the beginning of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of UnB

The Extension Deanship of the University of Brasília (UnB) held today (15) a solemn session to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the federal law that allowed the creation of the first higher education institution in the federal capital.

The act also marked the beginning of the commemorations of the six decades of operation of the university, inaugurated on April 21, 1962 – the day Brasília completed two years of existence and just four months after the then President of the Republic João Goulart signed Law No. 3998 , authorizing an autonomous foundation to be instituted to create and maintain the university.

Only part of the academic facilities designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer had been completed when the campus was inaugurated, but this did not prevent the start of academic activities at the institution conceived by educators such as Anísio Teixeira and anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro to promote “studies of problems related to the economic, social and cultural development of the country”. In the early days, it was common to see students attending classes outdoors, in the midst of construction work.

The celebration of the six decades of operation of UnB will extend throughout the next year. In addition to a series of seminars, exhibitions, exhibitions, publications, competitions and artistic presentations proposed by a commission made up of 63 people, including members of the academic community, graduates, parliamentarians and guests from civil society, the university created an institutional campaign to enhance its trajectory and pioneering in different areas of knowledge.

With the motto “Acting as always, necessary as never”, the campaign aims to reinforce the “institutional characteristic of resistance while projecting the future of UnB”, according to dean Márcia Abrahão.

The campaign highlights that the university's 60th anniversary coincides with the bicentennial of Brazil's independence and the centenary of the birth of Darcy Ribeiro (who was the first rector of UnB) and the holding of the Week of Modern Art.

“The slogan chosen to celebrate the anniversary of one of the most important universities in the country and in Latin America, whose history is intertwined with important moments in the construction of democracy in the country”, highlights an excerpt from the institutional video of the campaign.

“I think that, when we open the events commemorating the 60 years of the University of Brasília on the date that President João Goulart sanctioned Law 3998, which instituted the Universidade de Brasília Foundation, we corroborate the understanding that the present cannot be thought of and projected. the future dissociated from our past and our history”, said dean Olgamir Amancia at the opening of this morning's solemn session.

“By rescuing this historical landmark, we understand the meaning of the statement that UnB was born to transform and innovate”, completed the dean, noting that, already on the occasion of the creation of UnB, President João Goulart pointed to academic autonomy and budget allocation as "indispensable conditions for a truly free university institution".

Text translated using artificial intelligence.