Italian Cultural Institute in Paris: three lectures organised in collaboration with Sciences Po

The Italian Cultural Institute in Paris held a series of three lectures for the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, organised in collaboration with Sciences Po. The lectures were introduced by Director Fabio Gambaro, attended by Ambassador Giandomenico Magliano, and conducted by Alberto Toscano, the senior Italian journalist in Paris. The last lecture was delivered by Enrico Letta, former prime minister and current director of the School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in Paris, together with Hubert Verdine, former foreign minister, consultant and professor at the same university. The two scholars discussed the future of the European project, with a special focus on sovereignty at a time when there is a growing lack of confidence in the European Union. The previous lectures tackled two other key topics of a united Europe, namely the notion of ‘European culture’ and its genesis. These topics were addressed by historians Christophe Charle and Gilles Pecout (Ecole Normale Superieure), supported by writers Andrea Bajani and Giuliano da Empoli, the latter being the author of a critical analysis of the ‘1968 generation’ intellectuals. The political dream of the European Union was extensively addressed, on January 23, by Piero Craveri and Sylvain Kahn, major experts on these issues. They went back to the historical and political origins, focusing on its evolution in time and in diverse social contexts. The three lectures were attended by vast audiences, made up especially of young people. All of the lectures engaged in a lively discussion that is an encouraging sign of the viability of the European project being ‘of peoples and not of nations’.