Pompeu Fabra University has passed a motion to award an honoris causa to Vandana Shiva (Dehradun [India], 1952), a physicist and a doctor of Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario (Canada). Shiva is an activist of non-violence and has stood out for her feminist struggle and the fight against climate change. Thus, she will receive the institution’s highest distinction in recognition of her contribution to academia and for being a driving force behind campaigns in various fields such as intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics and genetic engineering.

The auditorium of the Ciutadella campus will host the investiture ceremony, which will take place on Monday, 3 June, at noon. Shiva will be travelling to Barcelona to receive the recognition, and Laia de Nadal, rector of UPF, will preside over the event. Her visit also coincides with her participation at the La Literal Fair.

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The laudatory speech for the professor and activist will be given by Núria Almiron, a full professor of Ethics and Political Economy of Communication with the UPF Department of Communication. Almiron is a co-director of the UPF Centre for Animal Ethics and, among other topics, she has worked on the political economy of communication groups, critical animal studies and the ethics of the media representation of members of other species. Once invested, Shiva will then deliver her speech in acceptance of her honorary doctorate. The event will include musical performances and audiovisual screenings and will conclude with the rendition of Gaudeamus Igitur by the UPF Choir.

The Board of Governors agreed to grant the title of doctor honoris causa by Pompeu Fabra University to Vandana Shiva on 14 December 2022. She will be the 21st person to be invested honoris causa by UPF, the highest academic distinction granted by the University, since the first was awarded to Desmond Tutu in the 1999-2000 academic year, and the seventh woman after Raewyn Connell was invested in the 2022-2023 academic year.

Environmental activism and ecofeminist thinking

Born in 1952 in Dehradun, the capital of the Uttarakhand region of northern India, in the Indian Himalayas. Shiva is a physicist, environmental activist and ecofeminist thinker. In 1973 she participated in the Chipko movement, which aimed to prevent deforestation in the Himalayas through non-violent resistance. In 1972, Shiva graduated in physics from Punjab University. She moved to Canada, where in 1976 she earned a master’s degree in Philosophy of Science from the University of Guelph.
In 1979 he received her PhD in Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario, specializing in the philosophy of physics, with a thesis entitled “Hidden variables and locality in quantum theory”. She has subsequently carried out interdisciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policies at the Indian Institute of Science and at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. She has written more than 20 books and 300 articles for the most prestigious publishers and journals in the world. She currently lives in New Delhi.
In 1982 she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology and in 1984 she created Navdanya, an Indian non-governmental organization that focuses on the protection of biological and cultural diversity. She has also worked as an advisor to various governments in India and other countries, as well as to non-governmental organizations, such as the International Forum on Globalization, the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, and the Third World Network.

A widely recognized career

Shiva’s academic career and her activism have been widely recognized over the years. In 1993, she received the Right Livelihood Award, known as the alternative Nobel Prize, and she has also received the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Award and the United Nations International Earth Day Award for her dedication to preserving the planet. She has also been awarded the Order of the Golden Ark (Netherlands, 1993), the Golden Plant Award (Denmark, 1997), the Alfonso Comín award (Barcelona, 1997), the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic (1998), the Horizon 3000 Award (Austria, 2001) and the Ignacio Ellacuría Award for development cooperation 2022, from the Basque Government. She is also an honorary doctor from the University of Toronto (2012) and the University of Florence (2018).

Professor Shiva’s academic profile –a degree in Physics, a master’s degree in Philosophy of Science and a PhD in Philosophy– has allowed her to make academic contributions and drive campaigns in various fields such as intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics and genetic engineering.