On the occasion of World Space Week, sponsored by the United Nations, the Italian Embassy in Brussels hosted an event to promote collaboration in the space sector between Italy and Belgium, including the presentation of Telespazio Belgium, a company set up in July 2021 by Telespazio, which is a joint venture between Leonardo and Thales.
The initiative was held on 6 October, in the presence of a qualified and selected group of Belgian and European institutional and business representatives from the space, industrial and research sectors, as well as representatives of the Belgian federal government, including the Secretary of State, Thomas Dermine, responsible for economic recovery and space policies, and Minister David Clarinval, responsible for small and medium-sized enterprises and agriculture.
In his speech, the Italian Ambassador in Brussels, Francesco Genuardi, stressed the importance and particularity of the partnership between Italy and Belgium, also in the field of space, which is set to grow and strengthen further in the future, thanks to the active and dynamic role of one of the Italian excellences in the space sector. The Ambassador then emphasised the contribution to the sector by women. “The World Space Week,” he said, “is an important opportunity to highlight the importance of the contribution that space, science and technology bring to the improvement of the human condition, which also requires a greater involvement of women in this strategic sector. Internationally recognised Italian figures, such as Samantha Cristoforetti, Ersilia Vaudo and Manuela Aguzzi, can serve as role models for girls and young women in their future careers.”
Secretary of State Dermine highlighted the opportunities arising from the respective national plans to revitalise the space sector and expressed his strong desire to continue this important collaboration. He also thanked Telespazio for bringing its activities and expertise to Transinne in the Ardennes.
Telespazio’s CEO, Luigi Pasquali, stressed the strategic importance of the space sector in Belgium, which, thanks to the federal government’s policy, has been placed at the centre of an important and ambitious development plan to which Telespazio will be able to contribute its expertise, also within the framework of the European programmes in which it participates (Copernicus, EGNOS and Galileo), as well as innovative activities, such as cybersecurity for satellites and drones. With regard to the role of women in the space sector, Pasquali emphasised the growing attention of the Telespazio Belgium group: 35% of the staff is female, with the figures set to increase further to reduce the gender gap.
The Italian Embassy’s initiative has made it possible to present Italy as an excellence also in the high-tech sector, and to further strengthen the traditional friendship between Italy and Belgium, as well as the relationship with the federal and local communities, both in terms of creating qualifying job opportunities for young talents, and of participating in the construction of advanced infrastructures in the space sector.
