The University of Jordan (UJ) on Monday inaugurated its Cultural Forum with a lecture by Romanian Astronaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu on human space exploration.
Chairman of UJ’s Cultural Forum Salah Jarrar said during the ceremony that the cultural forum, which aims to provide a space for cultural activities on campus, hopes to benefit from the “vast experience and knowledge of the university’s teaching staff” and boost the potential of its youth.
UJ President Abdulkarim Al Kudah noted that the university will equip a building for the Cultural Forum with all the necessary rooms and spaces to “enable students to get creative”.
He stressed that UJ “carries with it a strong cultural message”, while it hosted more than 700 cultural activities during 2019.
“This occasion has brought together people who have looked at our beloved university from space,” the president noted, adding that Prunariu’s story “inspires young and old”.
The Romanian astronaut then gave a lecture, touching on the relationship between people, earth and the universe.
Humans, he said, have reached a level of influence that allows them to either protect or destroy the planet.
“The next generation will for sure explore new places and new worlds,” said Prunariu, who graduated from Politehnica University of Bucharest with a degree in Aerospace Engineering.
After the ceremony, Prunariu told The Jordan Times: “I had the opportunity to be in space for eight days in 1981, during which scientific experiments were conducted.”
He added that, from space, he noticed “how fragile the planet is and how thin the atmosphere is”.
Jordan Times