Bergamo Next Level is the main Third Mission initiative of the University of Bergamo which addresses ongoing research and studies on the future of the city and province with an interdisciplinary approach, involving local institutional, cultural and economic actors.
The rich program has included a major event dedicated to Africa and the Mattei Plan for April 19th: the day, entitled “Africa, protagonist among challenges and opportunities”, at the UniBg Aula Magna of Sant’Agostino, in the Upper Town, will propose as an opportunity to delve deeper into the evolution of the African continent, at the center of the international framework and of a relationship of intense interaction with Europe due to the demographic and economic prospects that characterize it and the object of attention of the Italian government’s development policies.
Among the events, the round table “The role of Italy in a new geopolitics of relations with Africa” saw the presence of Marco Riccardo Rusconi, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, alongside Luigi Scordamaglia, Managing Director of the Italian Supply Chain, and Laura Colnaghi Calissoni, President and CEO of the Carvico Group, Vice President of Confindustria Bergamo.
In his speech, Director Rusconi illustrated the action of AICS, underlining the characteristics of its work: “«For the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Africa is a priority, with half of its offices and more than half of own staff on the territory. Because to understand the African continent we need to be there. Reminding ourselves that we are not the ones who design the partners’ strategies, they have in mind what to do, that we are not the only ones who move there, and that based management is important. on results. As Italy, we must orient our cooperation on knowledge, on know-how, focusing on education and training, food safety based on innovation and modern technologies, accessible and universal healthcare, water and energy to do all this by synergistically involving all the subjects, public administrations, local authorities, universities, CSOs active in the area and the local entrepreneurial fabric, as in the case of Bergamo. The EEETT and OSC call aims to support and strengthen this partnership logic. Keeping in mind a specificity in Italian Development Cooperation: ours must be quality, sustainable and authentically transformative projects.”
