Today will take place the annual Conference of Science Attachés entitled “Science Diplomacy and integrated promotion”.
The Conference, held online, will take off with an inaugural session opened, at 10:00, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, followed by addresses by the Minister of Universities and Research, Gaetano Manfredi, the Minister for Technological Innovation and Digitisation, Paola Pisano, and the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elisabetta Belloni.
At 10:30, there will be the award ceremony of the 2020 Farnesina Awards:
- “Italian Bilateral Scientific Cooperation Award”
- “Italian-speaking innovation”
The Conference will continue, from 11:00 to 13:00, with a panel entitled “The role of research and innovation as a driver of the competitiveness of the Italian System: Science Diplomacy, the role of Science Attachés and the available tools”, introduced by the Director-General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lorenzo Angeloni, and moderated by author and TV host, Federico Taddia. The participants in the panel are the Scientific Advisor of the “Leonardo da Vinci” National Museum of Science and Technology, Barbara Gallavotti, the Director of the One Health Center of Excellence at the University of Florida, Ilaria Capua, astronaut Luca Parmitano, the President of AISUK, Association of Italian Scientists in the UK, Antonio Guarino, the Senior Vice President of Avio Spa, Angelo Fontana, and theoretical physicist and author Carlo Rovelli.
The aim of the Conference, organised with the contribution of APRE (Agency for Promoting European Research), is to promote the actions, instruments and successes of Science Diplomacy, and provide an update, with the Science Attaché network, on the results of the work carried out to date and the future prospects, with a view to the integrated promotion of the “Italian System”, also taking into account the “digital revolution” imposed by the Covid19 emergency. The central theme will be the growing role of the science and technology research sector in driving the competitiveness of the “Italian System”, enhancing the Government’s commitment to promoting innovation and its impact on the Italian entrepreneurial fabric. The importance of supporting investments and fostering international cooperation in the science and technology sector as a driver of the competitiveness of the “Italian System” and, more generally, of the impact on our quality of life, will also be discussed.
The event will be live streamed on the YouTube page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
