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Lluís Bassat: "The profession can be learned, but human values must be in place beforehand"
Lluís Bassat Coen's investiture ceremony as doctor honoris causa by the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) took place this morning, and filled the Sala Ramon Montanyà hall of the L'Atlàntida theatre in Vic to capacity. Around 500 people, including doctors, lecturers and members of the university community, as well as relatives, friends and colleagues of the renowned publicist and founder of Ogilvy & Mather, attended the event in person. The ceremony was conducted by the rector of UVic-UCC, Josep Eladi Baños, and by the deputy mayor of Vic City Council and member of the Board of Trustees of the Balmes University Foundation (FUB), Josep Arimany.
In his speech of acknowledgement for the honour he was receiving, Bassat focused on the human values of communicators, saying "the profession can be learned, but human values must be in place beforehand." The publicist began by saying that "with effort, will and tenacity, you can get somewhere it is impossible to reach with intelligence alone," while also stressing the importance of proactivity. Considering his own experiences and his professional memories, Bassat also referred to the value of modesty and humility, which is intrinsic to the world of publicity: "A good professional never says: 'I've thought, I've had an idea'", but instead speaks in plural terms," he stressed, before adding that "loyalty is not at odds with ambition, which is a human value essential to progress."
The new doctor honoris causa also referred to the crucial role of education during his speech: "a good education is a great value that we normally owe our parents, but maintaining it and making it grow is our own achievement." Throughout his speech, Bassat recalled and thanked many of the people who have helped him in his professional life, with a special mention for his wife Carmen Orellana, during one of the most emotional moments in the ceremony. In his speech, Bassat said that "one of the most important human values is the vision of the future," in addition to creativity, a basic requirement in his field. "Creativity is the most coveted human value in the world of publicity. It is our profession's raison d'être. If there were no creatives, or creatives were unable to work freely, there would be no publicity," he said. The recipient of the doctorate provided a selection of anecdotes and colleagues from his early days in the profession, as well as the major publicity projects and campaigns which he led, including the ceremonies of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
A key figure in publicity
Lluís Bassat's investiture as the new doctor honoris causa was proposed by the University's Faculty of Business and Communication Studies (FEC) through the EHEA degree in Marketing and Business Communication. Josep Burgaya, the dean of the faculty and the sponsor of the doctoral candidate, said this decision was "in recognition of a career as a publicist and communicator, his connection with the country and its material, cultural and human progress, and because he is a bearer and depository of values that we also want to be ours." Those values include honesty, high standards, quality, creativity, thoroughness and "the love of a profession practised in a broad-based, intense and responsible way." At the same time, Burgaya emphasised, "Bassat is a great humanist and a benchmark in this country's field of culture in his facet as a protector and collector of art."
The coordinator of the EHEA degree in Marketing and Business Communication, Santiago Jordán, delivered the laudatory speech, during which he recalled that Bassat turned his first advertising agency, Bassat y Asociados (1975), into Spain's leading advertising group. Jordán highlighted the fact that from a professional point of view, "in the field of creativity, marketing and business, Lluís is a universal Catalan." From the point of view of social responsibility, he mentioned the creation of the Carmen & Lluís Bassat Foundation, which among other objectives, provides help for people with various difficulties. "We have before us a successful entrepreneur, a brilliant creative, a strategist, a brand builder, a cultural patron, but most importantly, a marvellous person, who is very demanding but also very human," said Jordán.
"He is and will be a model for students"
In his speech, the rector of UVic-UCC, Josep Eladi Baños, discussed Lluís Bassat's close relationship with universities and his international profile, which is "inherent in a professional of his level." The rector highlighted UVic-UCC's major commitment "to projecting itself towards the world while maintaining its roots in the territory which is close to it and which it serves." Baños also referred to Bassat's social and cultural sensitivity, which is why "he is and will be a good model for students of all the studies that this institution teaches in the fields of communication, marketing and design, as well as for those of the other academic disciplines." After his speech, the rector presented Lluís Bassat with the decorated initial capital letter that honours the new doctor honoris causa, created by the sculptor Emili Armengol.
Josep Arimany, deputy mayor and councillor for the University and City of Knowledge of Vic City Council and patron of the Balmes University Foundation, stressed that "the recognition of Dr Lluís Bassat's personality and prestige knows no borders, while they are increasingly sustained in a special way by his amply confirmed commercial intelligence, as well as his communication skills." Arimany then gave a historical review of the city and the origins of UVic-UCC, an institution that "is consolidated as a prestigious model within the Catalan university system due to its model of governance, the personalised treatment it offers its students, and the quality of the teaching given by its teaching staff."
The Secretary General of UVic-UCC, Anna Sabata, began the event by reading the agreements of the Board of Governors of UVic-UCC and the Board of Trustees of the FUBalmes to the conferring of the doctorate honoris causa on Lluís Bassat.
The event featured a performance of various pieces of music by the vocal group consisting of the soprano Judit Muñoz; the mezzo-soprano Mariona Lloberta; the tenor Oriol Guimerà; and the baritone Ferran Albrich, and concluded with the singing of the university anthem Gaudeamus igitur. The Emboirats castellers (human towers) group subsequently performed a pillar in honour of the new doctor.