Siena, September 16th 2019
Education is a crucial part of the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as new generations hold the key to many of the transformations that the world needs to face. The role of education for sustainability is therefore increasingly central to the public sector and the business world.
Enel Foundation is continuously committed to initiatives and projects that focus on promoting a culture of sustainability and resilience, while exploring scenarios and designing action plans at the cross road of climate change and transition to a clean energy world.
After helping set up and launch the first edition in 2018, also this year, Enel Foundation is supporting the Siena Summer School on Sustainable Development also by offering seven full scholarships to PhD students.
A total of 40 participants including PhD students, young researchers, administrators, managers, public managers and policy makers, join two weeks (September 9th – 20th 2019) of training and learning experiences dedicated to reflection about role of education in achieving the sustainable development goals, in the spaces of the Santa Chiara Lab of the University of Siena.
The School is organized by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), in collaboration with the Enel Foundation, Leonardo, Italian University Network for Sustainable Development (RUS), Sustainable Development Solution Network Italia (SDSN Italia), Sustainable Development Solutions Network Mediterranean (SDSN Mediterranean) and the Santa Chiara LAB of the University of Siena.
On September 16th a special event took place in Siena with a round table ("Will education save the planet?") featuring a lectio magistralis by Lorenzo Fioramonti, the newly appointed Minister of Education, University and Research.
On the sidelines of the event, Enrico Giovannini spokesperson for ASviS and member of the scientific committee of Enel Foundation, commented, “Education and training are essential to grow sustainable development culture and sense of responsibility in order to change current behaviors and guarantee the well-being of future generations. ASviS has always been committed to creating training opportunities at all levels, in order to transfer knowledge and create professionals able to understand the complexity, the interrelationships between phenomena and to seek more effective and fairer solutions to change the current development model”.
Attending the event, Carlo Papa, Director of Enel Foundation, added, “We are pleased to have contributed to the creation of the Siena Summer School on Sustainable Development expanding the commitment that took us to collaborate with some of the best Italian academic realities, with ASviS and Treccani Institute on the creation of the first interactive Italian ebook on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), dedicated to the university community of our country”.
Prof. Angelo Riccaboni, Chair of the S. Chiara Lab UNISI and Coordinator of the Siena Summer School, also commented, "Education plays a crucial role in fostering sustainable production and consumption. It is not only necessary to identify the goals to be achieved, but it is equally important to share and valorize concrete solutions and positive transformations, engaging companies and young people into whose hands is the future of our planet".
Among the novelties of the second edition, a more international dimension, with teachers coming from European institutions and research centers, and the strong connection between the school and the business world, with presentation of cases, good practices and sustainability solutions. As always, a strong representation of Enel colleagues featuring Giulia Genuardi, Head of Sustainability Planning & Performance Management; Nicola Tagliafierro, Head of Sustainable Product Development as well as Christian Zulberti, Head of Relations with Universities and Research Centers for Enel Foundation.