by Agostino Ciciriello

Memorandum of Understanding between Fondazione Italiani and University of Benghazi

Roma-Benghazi, november 4, 2021.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the University of Benghazi and the Fondazione Italiani Organismo di ricerca. The memorandum will be active for a collaboration in the fields of research, innovation, training and education. "We are very proud and enthusiastic about this new partnership with the oldest and most prestigious university in Libya. The aim of this agreement is to build a lasting and fruitful bridge of dialogue and peace between Libya and Italy. The operational projects that may arise from this memorandum of understanding constitute an important step towards creating an intense collaboration between the two shores of the Mediterranean, in the field of research, innovation and social and political-cultural relations. I am grateful to the Rector of Benghazi Ezzedine Al Darsi, and to the operational task force of the Libyan University that collaborated with Fondazione Italiani to take this first important step": this is the statement of the president of Fondazione Italiani, Gennaro Damato.
Topics such as sustainable development, digital economy, media management and social innovation are the essence of the agreement that will be developed through a series of meetings, training courses and workshops aimed at students of the University of Benghazi. The Rector of the University of Benghazi, Ezzeddine Al-Darsi, expressed his “happiness for the signing of the cooperation document”, adding that “the University of Benghazi is eager to conclude further agreements and mutual collaborations with Italian universities”.

The agreement with the Italiani Foundation testifies to the commitment of the University of Benghazi to enhance the role of young people in the progress of society in light of the future challenges of Libya. It is a project dedicated to the new Libyan generation, because it aims to enhance the skills of students in all fields of research and innovation for the development and empowerment of democracy. The entire program asset aims to support the Libyan university system in the implementation of a modern and innovative leadership program capable of providing students with the tools and knowledge needed to be more effective and present in the democratic transformation of the country, in view of the elections of next December 24th.

In the coming weeks, the protocol will be officially presented during an institutional event that will be held in Benghazi, Libya.

March 1, 2019 - by Agostino Ciciriello

Fondazione Italiani and ANGI together for innovation

The National Association of Young Innovators – ANGI and the Fondazione Italiani sign an agreement aimed at developing new projects in the field of innovation for young people.

Last Wednesday, February 20, at the headquarters of Fondazione Italiani in Rome, the Research Organization signed a collaboration agreement with the National Association of Young Innovators (ANGI).

The partnership between the two organizations was born from the desire to strengthen the common commitment in the implementation of initiatives aimed at spreading innovation, in the many areas in which it can be applied.

Specifically, the initiative provides for the adoption of a joint cooperation program, technical-scientific training and the development of initiatives that can support the development of young innovative companies in Italy and around the world.

The agreement was signed by the President of Fondazione Italiani – Research Organization, Dr. Gennaro Damato, and Dr. Gabriele Ferrieri, President of the National Association of Young Innovators.

“The relationship with ANGI began last December, when we were invited by President Ferrieri to the ANGI National Award ceremony.” This is the comment of President Damato. “From the moment we met, it was clear to both of us that the Fondazione Italiani and ANGI could develop an important synergy on a topic like innovation, which today more than ever represents an important challenge for our society.”

The President of ANGI, Gabriele Ferrieri, comments: "We are pleased with this important partnership reached with an important entity such as the Fondazione Italiani. ANGI as a point of reference for the world of innovation, strong in its numerous successes and goals achieved to date, is ready to reach new goals and launch multiple projects in favor of young people and the Italian and international innovation ecosystem. Thanks to the support of the Fondazione Italiani, ANGI adds a precious ally to its path of growth and development, already supported by some of the most important Italian and European institutions and by the prestigious entourage of members of the ruling class and of the Italian and international civil society that every day accompanies and supports us in our mission."

Jenuary 9, 2019 - by Agostino Ciciriello

Bulgaria takes the stage in Rome

On May 28, Bulgaria chose Italy, in the setting of Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, to bring to the square Discover Bulgaria, one of the most spectacular events planned to conclude the semester of the Presidency of the Council of Europe. In the presence of the Bulgarian Minister of Culture Boil Banov - dance, 3D videomapping and traditional music told the pillars that made Bulgaria great for European history. And while the Chinary, a contemporary dance group of folkloristic inspiration, was entrusted with the story of the most important stages of Bulgarian history in a performance that had already opened the inauguration of the Presidency in Sofia in January, the artists of the MP Studio in Sofia created an innovative 3D videomapping that, projected on the facade of the Palazzo Senatorio, focused on the birth of the Cyrillic alphabet, that script, that by transposing the ancient Bulgarian language into written form, allowed the spread of European Christian culture among the Slavic populations.

The soundtrack of this artistic operation includes some tracks from the new album of the famous Mystery of Bulgarian Voices: music by Petar Dundakov with the extraordinary participation of Lisa Gerrard, the voice that made the soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer, of The Gladiator famous.

The event was organized by the Bulgarian Embassy in Rome and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute with the support of the Plovdiv 2019 Foundation (which together with Matera will be the European Capital of Culture in 2019). Finally, the event was made possible thanks to the precious contribution of Unicredit Bulbank.

Below is the video of the event that Fondazione Italiani created and donated, as a sign of friendship, to the organizers of Discover Bulgaria.

December 14, 2018 - by Agostino Ciciriello

At the Chamber of Deputies, ANGI rewards Italian innovation

The National Association of Young Innovators - ANGI, under the patronage of the European Parliament and in collaboration with the Chamber of Deputies, awarded the ANGI National Prize, a coveted recognition reserved for Italian innovators for their virtuous path in the development of our country.

In the setting of the Group Hall of the Chamber of Deputies, last December 14, numerous members of the community of young innovators of ANGI, the press and the institutions that are promoters and spokespeople of this now recognized initiative to celebrate Italian innovators met.
The ANGI National Award, in fact, was created to enhance the best initiatives of Italian innovators, in order to promote excellence of a social nature, scientific and technological research, training and culture, entrepreneurship and digital innovation.
The National Association of Young Innovators - ANGI, in fact, is the first national non-profit organization entirely dedicated to the world of innovation in all its forms, which aims to propose itself in Italy and in the world as the point of reference for innovation, spreading the theme of culture, training, new technologies and developing synergies in a transversal manner between private individuals, schools, universities, companies, trade associations and national and international institutions.
The initiative was above all an opportunity to connect institutions, the world of work, culture, education and entertainment around the themes of innovation. Also of great importance was the presentation of the research by the Director of the ANGI scientific committee and Member of the Cultural and Scientific Committee of the Fondazione Italiani OdR, Roberto Baldassari, relating to an unpublished survey on the economic and social progress of young people with a particular focus on the theme of innovation.
During the ceremony, presented by Daniel Della Seta and Camilla Nata and by the President of ANGI Gabriele Ferrieri, the top managers of large Italian and international corporations presented twenty-two awards to young companies operating in the field of innovation, two for each of the eleven categories identified.

The awards ceremony for the Innovation Leaders was attended by very important figures from the Italian scene, including, for the Fondazione Italiani OdR, the board member Attorney Giuseppe Stipo, Cavaliere di Gran Croce and former Attorney General of the State, as a former member of the Testing Commission for the first satellites launched by the CNR (before the Italian Space Agency was established), in which he collaborated on legal aspects.
Through the participation in the initiative of one of its representatives of such a high profile, therefore, the Fondazione Italiani OdR wanted to show ANGI all its interest in collaborating on the theme of innovation of Italian companies, of which the Fondazione Italiani is the spokesperson in carrying out its constant activity of cultural diplomacy in Italy and in the world.

October 31, 2018 - by Agostino Ciciriello

Cooperation agreement signed in Belgrade

New concept of human security

Human security is the main topic of debate within the European political agendas. The vision that national governments have on the subject is now capable of significantly influencing both the dynamics regarding international relations between states and the phenomena linked to the popular consensus of the political forces that move within them.

The various waves of terrorist attacks that have hit Europe in its nerve centers, the repercussions of the economic crisis and the exponential increase in migratory flows from war zones in sub-Saharan Africa and Syria have contributed substantially to causing a collapse in the perception that European citizens have of their own social and economic security.

Never before has talking about security been such a courageous act in this historical phase. The indications and decisions that are identified in this area are capable of influencing the opinion and life of European citizens more than ever. Not since the Cold War had they witnessed such profound socio-political changes.

The resurgence of ultranationalist movements and the growing consensus that they are achieving among voters in much of Europe not only highlights the need to identify new solutions to the problems that have arisen but, above all, requires civil society to rethink the paradigm of human security from the outset, in light of the epochal changes that Europe has undergone in recent years.

Held in an unusually warm Belgrade on 26, 27 and 28 October, the event still represents a point of reference in the global think tank scene thanks to the ability of Prof. Dr. Negoslav P. Ostojic, President of ECPD, to involve representatives of the most authoritative international institutions in the academic and diplomatic fields.

This year’s International Conference, now in its fourteenth edition, was chaired by Dr. Roberto Savio, member of the board of directors of Fondazione Italiani, and brought together in Belgrade City Hall over 40 speakers from all over the world who provided their contributions on the themes of the new definition of human security, the challenges of human security in the Western Balkans, the approach to economic security and cultural security and shared values.

The event was also attended by the President of the Fondazione Italiani, Dr. Gennaro Damato, who, in the context of the International Conference, signed a cooperation agreement between the two organizations with the President of the ECPD.

The initiative, promoted by Dr. Roberto Savio, is aimed at the realization of common projects in the fields of culture, human sciences and social and economic development.

“The ECPD International Conference – declared the President of the Italiani Foundation, Dr. Gennaro Damato – is internationally recognized as one of the most important think tanks and we are honored to have been invited to this edition. I thank Prof. Dr. Negoslav P. Ostojic for hosting us here in Serbia and Dr. Roberto Savio for having strongly desired the realization of this partnership between the Italiani Foundation and the European Center for Peace and Development, two organizations that pursue the same objectives in different parts of Europe”.

“We welcomed with great interest the proposal of Dr. Roberto Savio to sign this agreement, because we appreciate the cultural diplomacy activity that the Fondazione Italiani carries out in Europe and, in particular, in the Balkans. We are committed to immediately following up on the common objectives that we have defined here”, was the reply of Prof. Dr. Negoslav P. Ostojic.

The figure of the bridge, especially in Serbia, has a symbolic value: during the Balkan War, in fact, bridges were destroyed to separate populations of different religions and languages. With this agreement, however, the Fondazione Italiani and ECPD build a metaphorical bridge between the two organizations, with the aim of promoting cooperation and cultural development between all the Balkan countries and between these and Western Europe.

September 26, 2018 - by Agostino Ciciriello

The activity of meetings with universities of the Italiani OdR Foundation continues

Cultural Diplomacy in Kosovo

Unlike the Albanians of Albania, however, the "Albanians of Kosovo", still today, have to deal with the consequences of the 1998 war. The wounds of the war are clearly visible, through the monuments to the fallen "guerrillas", which each neighborhood displays in its streets, contrast with the choral spirit that animates the reconstruction. Kosovo is a construction site in progress that offers development opportunities to national and foreign companies. Even more so if European, considering that the official currency is the Euro.

On the initiative of Prof. Kryeziu of Fama University of Pristina and the Albanian company Publical Sh.p.k., on September 20th the President of the Foundation, Gennaro Damato, met with representatives of some of the main universities in Kosovo.

At various tables, cooperation between Italian, Albanian and Kosovar institutions and companies in the field of university education, training and joint participation in European Union funding programmes was discussed.

From the discussions with the institutions involved in the meetings, the will of all the Kosovar interlocutors emerged, to follow up on the collaboration with Fondazione Italiani, through the stipulation of framework agreements aimed at immediately undertaking paths of cooperation and cultural integration at multiple levels.

Kosovo, in fact, wants to represent a new outpost for Community values ​​in Eastern Europe and, at the same time, it can become an opportunity for Italian companies and institutions that intend to create a new model of cooperation in the Balkan area.

 

May 31, 2018

Italy and Albania together for the promotion of culture

Italia e Albania for the culture

On Thursday, May 31, Dr. Gennaro Damato, President of FONDAZIONE ITALIANI – Research Organization signed two important agreements with the Rector of Universiteti Europian i Tiranes, Prof. Tonin Gjuraj and the Rector of the University College “Luarasi”, Prof. Ethem Ruka, in order to develop joint teaching, training and research activities, in a context of internationalization.

The two Universities and the Foundation intend to identify common actions in the definition of projects related to European Union funding programs, in the identification of international partners and in the organization of institutional events for the promotion of culture and innovation at a local level. The two agreements will allow the promotion of new models and strategies that will strengthen the bond between the two countries, also in social and cultural terms (already existing through the Arbresh communities, numerous throughout the Italian territory), through the experimentation of new forms of communication and dissemination of knowledge and experiences within the Albanian social fabric.

Following the signing of the agreements, therefore, joint projects will be implemented aimed at funding programs linked to the European Union, such as Erasmus +, as well as projects in collaboration with other international bodies and institutions in a climate of cultural networking and socio-cultural development at an international level. "These two three-year agreements are an integral part of the mission of the Foundation, committed to its activity of Cultural Diplomacy, promoting forms of development and innovative research and encouraging intercultural and international development of the territory. I would like to thank in particular Prof. Prenga, the true promoter of the agreements, and the company Publical that has allowed the Italiani Foundation to operate in Albania through its headquarters," declared the President of the ITALIANI FOUNDATION, Gennaro Damato.