On 9th September, the “Siena Summer School on Sustainable Development” is ready to start, the first specialized training school on sustainability.
The new Minister of Education, University and Research Lorenzo Fioramonti is holding a lectio magistralis on Monday 16th September.
For the second edition of the Summer School, forty participants were selected among PhD students, young researchers, managers, CEOs and policy makers.
The “Siena Summer School on Sustainable Development” is back, from 9th to 20th September. The specialized training school is organised by ASviS – Alleanza italiana per lo Sviluppo sostenibile, in collaboration with Enel Foundation, Leonardo, Rete delle Università per lo Sviluppo sostenibile (Rus), Sustainable Development Solutions Network Italia, Sustainable Development Solutions Network Mediterraneo and Santa Chiara Lab (University of Siena).
It is the first School in Italy to focus on sustainability issues, linked to the UN Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Summer School is coordinated by ASviS Spokesman, Professor Enrico Giovannini, and Professor Angelo Riccaboni, President of the Santa Chiara Lab. The 40 selected participants – including PhD students, young researchers, managers, CEOs and policy makers – will have the opportunity to discuss and interact with professors, scholars, experts from the business community and representatives of various agencies and institutions. The participants will be divided in three working groups focused on: policies, science and innovation and new business models for sustainable development. The learners will then draft some project works with the aim to identify new proposals and innovative solutions.
This second edition of the Siena Summer School has a more international spirit, with professors coming from European agencies and research centres, and a strong link between the School and the world of work, thanks to the presentation of concrete cases, good practices and solutions for sustainability. The program not only includes theoretical lectures but also non-formal educational paths in historical places of interest and the visit of a firm in order for the participatns to be directly in touch with solutions of particular interest.
The opening of the Summer School is taking place on Monday 9th September at 10h30 in the Sala del Concistoro at the Museo Civico of Siena, located in Palazzo Pubblico. The Mayor Luigi De Mossi, the Rector of the University of Siena Francesco Frati and the President of the Santa Chiara Lab Angelo Riccaboni will introduce the School. To follow, the opening lecture by ASviS Spokesman Enrico Giovannini (event in live streaming on the Facebook page of Santa Chiara Lab). The participants will then have the chance to visit the Museo Civico and the famous Buon Governo frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
Some public events will take place on Monday 16th September from 10h45 at Santa Chiara Lab: the round table “L’educazione salverà il pianeta?” and the lectio magistralis by Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti, the new Minister of Education, University and Research at 12h30 (event in live streaming on the Facebook page of Santa Chiara Lab). Lorenzo Fioramonti has important ties to the city of Siena, having got a PhD in Political Sciences at the University of Siena.
“The University”, states the Rector Francesco Frati, “has been working on sustainability issues for a long time with teaching and scientific initiatives as well as by taking part in international networks. Universities, and in general educational and training activities, are fundamental to let students and citizens find out about the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Universities have to be even more active in introducing good practices to reach the objectives of the UN Agenda 2030. The partnership with ASviS for the organisation of the Siena Summer School strengthens our commitment to these issues, which must be urgently faced.”
“The role of education on sustainability issues is more and more relevant for the business world and the public sector”, explains Professor Angelo Riccaboni, “a necessity recognised at the international level by different bodies, institutions and education agencies. This new edition of the School, which will host international professors and experts from the private sector, follows an educational path that aims at creating culture, training professionals able to propose and realise concrete paths and solutions to build more equitable societies and a more sustainable planet”.
“Education and training are the keys to strengthen the culture of sustainability and the sense of responsibility, to modify present behaviours and grant welfare to the future generations”, claims ASviS Spokesman Enrico Giovannini. “For this reason, ASviS is strongly committed to create opportunities of training on different levels and on crucial topics concerning everybody’s life. It is our duty to transfer the knowledge necessary to train professionals able to understand complexity, the interrelations between phenomena and find more fair and efficient solutions to change the current development model”.
For further information please visit the official website of the Siena Summer School 2019: http://santachiaralab.unisi.it/siena-summer-school-on-sustainable-development-2019/