On May 30 2024, the third edition of the EC2U Think Tank “Social Innovation for Peace Building” was held in the Council Hall of the Municipality of Pavia.

Each partner of the EC2U European Alliance organized a local Think Tank to provide a platform where stakeholders, academics, and industry professionals from different backgrounds could discuss and propose actions to promote collaboration at both the local and European levels on the topic of peacebuilding. The outputs from each local Think Tank will be discussed at the EC2U Forum, which will be held in Linz (Austria) in the autumn.

The Mayor of Pavia, Mario Fabrizio Fracassi, opened the event by welcoming the participants and emphasizing the importance of collaboration between local institutions and universities to promote peace and social justice.

The event featured Anna Prouse, an expert in counter-terrorism and international relations, who shared her experiences in war zones and the fundamental role of civil society in counter-terrorism. In her speech, she highlighted the importance of volunteering to rebuild conflict-affected countries and how crucial it is to listen to people, show empathy, and educate oneself before acting or judging.

Following this, Andriana Terekhovska from Lviv University (Ukraine) discussed her country’s peacebuilding efforts based on justice and non-violence, and how mobility within EC2U promotes new perspectives on dialogue and mutual learning.

The discussion among the panelists, moderated by Prof. Gianni Vaggi, coordinator of the UNESCO/UNITWIN Network at the Master’s in Cooperation and Development, focused on:

• The support of the University of Pavia to countries in difficulty through the involvement of University Colleges and through cooperation and capacity-building initiatives with an emphasis on sustainable development.
• The importance of integrating peacebuilding into educational paths and university curricula to raise awareness within the academic community.
• The involvement of students in the discussion on peace by creating spaces for dialogue and awareness.

Thanks were given to the following Think Tank panelists:

• Prof. Gabriella Bottini, Rector’s Delegate for Public Engagement.
• Prof. Marco Missaglia, Director of the Master’s in Cooperation and Development at UniPv.
• Prof. Marco Morandotti, UNIPV representative on the WP6 board of the EC2U Alliance.
• Prof. Francesca Picchio, head of DADALAB – The Drawing and Architecture Documentation Laboratory.
• Prof. Maria Sassi, Vice President of CICOPS, President of COOPI SUISSE, and representative of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes.
• Lisa Schivalocchi, EC2U student representative for UniPv.
• Miriam Signorino, representative of Emergency Pavia.
• Mara Torti, Councillor for Equal Opportunities of the Municipality of Pavia.

The day concluded with practical recommendations for implementation, reaffirming the importance of listening and education as fundamental elements for peacebuilding and addressing social vulnerabilities through coordinated collaboration.

More related information at the following link:
https://www.unipv.news/notizie/think-tank-ec2u-social-innovation-peace-building-la-pace-come-missione-istituzionale