The Embassy of Italy in Santo Domingo, in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry of the Dominican Republic and the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology (INTEC), has organised a conference on “The experience of the Italian Republic in developing scientific and space diplomacy”. The event was organised in the context of Italian Research Day.
The aim is to provide an overview of the instruments available for Italy’s integrated country promotion system and provide useful suggestions to the authorities in the region for their country-branding activities. During the event, the model of Italy’s science and space attaché network and the characteristically wide use Italy makes of its diplomatic-consular network of scientists and researchers was highlighted.
Conference participants included Emilia Giorgetti, from the National Research Council and currently Science Attaché at the Embassy of Italy in Mexico City. The presentations provided an overview of bilateral cooperation activities by Italy and the Dominican Republic. These include inter-university cooperation by Università La Sapienza and Santo Domingo Institute of Technology in planning, developing and launching the first Dominican satellite. The satellite will have the task of monitoring the development and movements of sargassum, a form of seaweed whose presence is growing on the coasts of Caribbean countries and which is having a negative impact on the appeal of tourism in the Dominican Republic.
