Marjane Satrapi attends the inauguration of the University of Bologna’s 2022/2023 academic year

Iranian artist and intellectual Marjane Satrapi will be the guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the University of Bologna’s 2022/2023 academic year, the 935th since the university was founded. The event will be held on Monday, 20 February, at 5 PM, in the Santa Lucia Great Hall (Via Castiglione, 36 - Bologna).

With this invitation, the Alma Mater wishes to take a firm stance in support of the Iranian citizens’ fight for their inalienable rights. A fight that has closely affected the University, with the death of Mehdi Zare Ashkzari, a former student of the University of Bologna who died after being imprisoned and tortured in Iran.

The Alma Mater’s Iranian student community is one of the largest in Italy, with around 1,000 students enrolled in degree programmes, two-year masters, and PhDs. This brings the University even closer to and makes us even more involved in the cause fought by so many young Iranians.

The ceremony will be opened by Rector Giovanni Molari, whose speech will be followed by those of a representative of the University's professional staff and a student representative. Marjane Satrapi will then take the floor in a lectio magistralis entitled “The freedom of mind”. At the end, Rector Giovanni Molari will present her with the University of Bologna's highest honour, the Sigillum Magnum.

After the ceremony, at 8 p.m., Marjane Satrapi will be at the Cinema Lumière to present the screening of her film “Persepolis”, alongside Gian Luca Farinelli, Director of the Bologna Film Library.

The presence of Marjane Satrapi at the opening ceremony of the Alma Mater’s academic year inaugurates a series of city-wide initiatives dedicated to the situation in Iran, with the involvement of the University, the Town Council, the Film Library and the Curia.

The ceremony is open to the Alma Mater community and the general public. Teachers, researchers, and professional staff may participate in the event subject to online booking. For students and the general public, admission is free while places last. The event will also be streamed live on the University's YouTube channel.

Marjane Satrapi was born in Iran, spent her teenage years in Vienna and has been living in France since 1994. She wrote the graphic novels “Persepolis”, “Embroideries” and “Chicken with Plums”, as well as many children's books. Since 2005, she has also directed many films, including the Oscar-nominated animated film “Persepolis” and “The Voices”. Her latest film is entitled “Radioactive”. Marjane is also a painter.