Rome – 19 January 2023. The event “Roma Expo 2030: the candidacy and the role of the Italian academic world” – which took place today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani, the Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini, the Chair of the Promoting Committee Giampiero Massolo, and the Rectors and Vice Rectors of Italian universities – succeeded in securing the support of the academic world for Rome’s candidacy to host Expo 2030.
Hoping that this fruitful partnership will continue with renewed vigour, Minister Antonio Tajani emphasised that although “the competition to host the EXPO 2030 is very fierce, Italy has got what it takes to succeed”, thanks also to the excellence of its education system, that the Italian Government is determined to make the most of as an effective and efficient foreign policy tool.
Minister Bernini explained that “the Ministry of University and Research (the MUR) is involved in the front line in the Roma Expo 2030 project, as is the entire Italian university system, which has immediately made its network of international relations available to support Rome’s candidacy. The MUR wants to be a collector of opportunities and for this reason we want to offer the Roma Expo 2030 Committee our network of relations in order to make the initiative all the more popular”.
The meeting was also attended by SNA (National School of Administration) President and President of the Roma Expo 2030 Scientific Committee, Paola Severino, the Creative Advisor for the strategic vision of Expo Roma 2030, Carlo Ratti, and CRUI (Conference of Italian University Rectors) President and Rector of the University of Messina, Salvatore Cuzzocrea, who underlined the commitment that the Italian academic world has so far made in favour of the candidacy, also through its willingness to dedicate approximately 800 scholarships to the campaign.
As also pointed out by the Promoting Committee, cooperation with the academic world is one of the pillars of the Italian candidacy, which regards education as a fundamental factor for the global creation of a new generation of sustainability.
At the end of the event, a policy statement was signed by the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI) on behalf of the universities and the Promoting Committee, outlining how the academy is committed to supporting the candidacy and encouraging the academic world to make a further effort regarding sustainability issues, which are central to the candidacy dossier.
