Although the face-to-face event programmed for the 27th of March had to be cancelled due to Coronacrisis, the graduates of the fading Master’s Programme on Land Management and Land Tenure had the chance to celebrate their achievements and say goodbye to classmates and lecturers in an emotive virtual event. All students joined, some from places as far as Kenya and Taiwan, despite the time zone differences.
The event started with a speech from the programme coordinator Dr. Pamela Durán Díaz, where she mentioned some anecdotes and adventures the students experienced throughout their 18-month journey in Germany, inside and outside of the classroom. Prof. Walter de Vries then presented his wonderful speech about friends, families and life, with a relatable presentation based on music. He then highlighted the work done by each individuals for their thesis, and as their achievements were presented, each student said warm words of gratitude and goodbye. Miss Yang Liu was announced the winner of the President's Award as the best student of the batch, and she gave an inspiring speech on behalf of the whole batch regarding their experiences and learnings throughout the programme.
Both Prof. de Vries and Dr. Durán Díaz congratulated the students for their great work, and accentuated that it was not the end, but rather the beginning of a new journey. The graduates nourish the network of collaboration between Pakistan, Ghana, Colombia, Taiwan, China, Somalia, Iraq, Nigeria, Kenya and Nepal, among others, and in the tough times that are running, the skills recently acquired by the new Land Managers are what the world needs the most.