Today, I had the honor and the pleasure to make the concluding remarks in the bilateral meeting between Italy and South Africa on “Financial and Economic Matters”, with high-profile speakers, like Mr Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy, Mr Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Mr Giovanni Sabatini, Director-General of the Italian Banking Association, Mr Vieri Ceriani, Counsellor for Fiscal Policy for the Italian Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr Sfiso Buthelezi, Deputy Minister of Finance of South Africa, and many others. The two countries share significant cooperation on trade and financial services, the same challenges on growth , innovation and education .
Categoria: Development and social change
Global Sustainability Forum, May 2-3-4 2017 – Rome
The GSForum took place in the city of Rome where a multidimensional approach to Sustainability has been discussed, drowning upon the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the OECD criteria which place people at the centre of action and efforts.
The inaugural session, held in the prestigious Sala della Lupa of Palazzo Montecitorio, saw the participation of the Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Maria Elena Boschi, who expressed the Government's commitment to the issues regarding Sustainability and its recent change in the criteria used to measure well-being. Topics were then developed by Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize in Economics, whose Lectio Magistralis offered throughout insights on the inevitability of inequalities in our economic and social system, exacerbated by the disparity of opportunities that are available to individuals.
Welcomed the Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, Marina Sereni, and the President of Telecom Italia Giuseppe Recchiwhose keynote address focused on the relevance of Digital Economy, Co-Chairmen Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Khalid Malikreiterated the primary purpose of the Global Sustainability Forum: to be a place of interaction between leaders to promote innovative ideas and take working decisions to face global challenges. Valerio De Luca, GSForum Executive Director, concluded the Inaugural Session stressing the importance of an effort required to the international community that could lead to smart investments in sustainable development.
On May 3, the activities lasted all day long and took place in the Sala delle Colonne at LUISS Guido Carli University, GSForum academic partner. The morning session, started by Prof. Andrea Prencipe, Deputy Rector of LUISS Guido Carli University, put under the spotlight a number of new initiatives for Sustainability so the Good Practices of many Start-ups whose reality was presented in critical and scientific terms by Prof. Matteo Giuliano Caroli. Among the others, the testimonial of Pierpaolo Abet, CEO of Universal Trust, which conceived and organized the Global Sustainability Forum, the one on Sustainable Finance and Real Estate of Paolo Crisafi, Director-General of Assoimmobiliare, and of others that work from a sustainable perspective such as Donapp, Inreslab, Kad3, Mediacom, Rete Fattorie Sociali, Rumundu and Scuter.
The case of responsible business as an essential and inclusive new practice was at the centre of the Sustainability and Innovation Session, introduced in the afternoon by Paola Severino, Rector of LUISS Guido Carli University and Marcello Messori, Director of the LUISS School of European Political Economy. An important parterre of Italian companies that are already active in sustainable development started a debate attended by Giampiero Massolo, ISPI President, Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, followed by Gabriele Galateri di Genola, President of the IIT and Generali, Maria Patrizia Grieco, President of Enel, and Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, President of Intesa Sanpaolo.
At the end of the day, the Minister of the Environment Gian Luca Galletti emphasised the importance of Circular Economy, in its practices of reuse and recycling, assessing the Environment with a role that is and will be central to the future of the National Economic System.
On 4 May, the last working session held at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, the major criticisms that international civil society and multinationals face in tackling climate change were discussed, as well as the implications within the energy and food sectors. Enrico Giovannini, spokesman for ASviS, coordinated the floor formed by René Castro-Salazar, FAO Assistant Director-General, Bill Becker, Executive Director of the Presidential climate action project (USA), Paolo Lembo, Director of the World Green Economy Organization, Alessandro Grandinetti, PwC Senior Partner and EMEA Oil&Gas Leader, Sabina Ratti, Executive Director at FEEM Eni Foundation, Massimo Predieri, Director of Fondazione Italiani and Rob Vos, Director of Agricultural Development Economics (ESA) at FAO.
The Declaration of Rome, resulting from the three days of activities, was handed to Claudio De Vincenti, Minister for Territorial Cohesion and the South, during the Concluding Session at Palazzo Chigi that saw the participation of Paolo Aquilanti, Secretary General to the Chamber of Deputies. This shows, once again, the close collaboration and the sensitivity of the Government over the questions raised by the Global Sustainability Forum: new imperatives of economic, social and environmental governance.
Launch of the Global Sustainability Forum – LUISS Guido Carli
October 28th, 2016 - Launch of the GSForum initiative at LUISS Guido Carli University at the presence of Paola Severino, LUISS Guido Carli Rector, Jean-Paul Fitoussi, Chairman of the GSForum Strategic Council, Khalid Malik, Chairman of the GSForum, Enrico Giovannini, Chairman of the GSForum Scientific Committee and Zhao Baige, Vice-Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee, National People's Congress of China.
Pope Francis received the 2015 AISES Young Award “Standing on the shoulders of giants”. The painting “Pope for Hope” was prepared by young African children.
April 27th, 2016 – At the Pope’s public audience in St. Peter’s Square, during which the parable of the Good Samaritan was read, Valerio De Luca, President of International Academy AISES, and Gregoire Piller, President of Diomira Foundation and AISES Director for African Affairs, delivered the 2015 AISES Young gift to His Holiness, in the presence of both AISES Young Delegation, guided by its President Erminio Sergio, and AISES Delegation.
The gift is an example of “poor art”, a painting prepared by the poor young inhabitants of the Mukuru Slums of Nairobi that the Diomira Foundation daily assists with regards to healthcare, education and sports. The title of the work is “Pope for Hope”, and it recalls the motivation chosen by AISES Young members for the 2015 Award:
To His Holiness for His attention towards the new generations and the problem of intergenerational equity; for His commitment to the topic of climate change and respect of the environment; for defining interreligious dialogue as “a necessary mean for peace on Earth”; for underlining the need for a “new universal spirit of solidarity and reciprocal help” in the Encyclical Laudato Sì; for His guidance towards a sustainable future in the same Encyclical.
“Global challenges: 2030 agenda for sustainable development”, Swedish Embassy, Rome, March 7th
During the seminar, the speakers talked about the most pressing challenges and biggest opportunities the world is facing today: for example the conversion to a green economy to contrast climate changes, the impact of digitalization on the labour market and the influence of demographic changes on the welfare system.
March 7th 2016
Swedish Embassy, hosted by Ambassador Robert Rydberg
Guest Speaker: Kristina Persson, Swedish Minister of strategy and future issues.
Partnership between AISES and University of Fort Hare – President De Luca visits South Africa
5/10/2015 - Last week AISES President, Prof. Valerio De Luca, visited South Africa with the South African Ambassador in Rome, Nomatemba Tambo.
The university of Fort Hare represents a centre of excellence in which a Nobel Prize Winner, Nelson Mandela, and several Head of States and members of institutions were educated to a visionary and effective leadership.
Today we are pleased to announce an agreement for education, research and international exchange programme between the International Academy AISES and the University of Fort Hare. More details of the agreement will be provided in subsequent communications.
As the University's motto states, we are "Together in Excellence" to win the challenge of building an intercontinental community of transformative leaders, who inspire and empower young generations and foster social change, economic growth and job creation through institutional reforms, investments in human capital and innovative enterprises
Humanitarian aid of Diomira Foundation in the slums of Nairobi (Kenya)
These photos represent some of the activities to fight poverty in the African continent carried out by Diomira Foundation. I am the President of the Advisory Board. Gregoire Piller, Founder of the Foundation, coordinates the activities as can be seen from the photos.