Undersecretary Maria Tripodi spoke at the opening of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice, founded and chaired by physicist Antonino Zichichi, which is being held in the Sicilian town under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The event is attended by scientists from around the world and by the Directors of the Schools referring to the Majorana Foundation, who, together with Professor Zichichi, will sign an Addendum to the 1982 Erice Manifesto.
In her speech the Undersecretary stressed the importance of the work done over the past 60 years by the Foundation, “a bulwark for the promotion and dissemination of science and peace.” “I want to recall a phrase that I have heard repeated several times by President Silvio Berlusconi, when meeting both the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Abu Mazen: ‘If it could be useful, Italy would be glad to make Erice available'”, the Undersecretary said, thus highlighting how the Erice Centre and its Manifesto are still very relevant and topical.
As wisely recalled in the Addendum, the pandemic itself demonstrated that “when science and its discoveries are put at the service of humankind, true collaboration between scientists of different origins, makes it possible to face, and overcome, in a global way, the new challenges that endanger the existence of humankind.”
Undersecretary Tripodi concluded: “It is from here that we can resume our work. It is from here that we can start again, fostering dialogue and cooperation among scientists from all over the world, as a tool for peace, progress and resolution of planetary emergencies”.
