ROME (ITALPRESS) – A memorandum of understanding under the banner of social cohesion to carry out social integration, cohesion and inclusion activities and improve the conditions in which university students live in municipalities. It is the one signed between Anci and the Conference of Rectors (Crui), ahead of the National University Day (scheduled for March 20) by Gaetano Manfredi, president of Anci, and Giovanna Iannantuoni, president of Crui.
“I believe that universities within our country represent in their diversity the richness that characterizes municipalities,” Iannantuoni explained. “An incredible wealth because it is a sign of hope and democracy. The numbers tell us that in 10 years we have gone from having 20 percent of college graduates to having almost 30 percent,” she added. The president specified how this agreement with Anci “represents an opportunity for not only cultural but also economic growth,” this then to “give a more cohesive but also more prosperous future where prosperity is a broader concept of wealth, in which we mean the well-being of citizens through the advancement of knowledge. This is the future we can design with mayors.”
The protocol aims, therefore, to increase all-round collaboration between municipalities and universities. In particular, Anci and Crui will also seek to identify forms of collaboration with the third sector, sports associations, and economic categories to improve the conditions in which university students live in municipalities. There will also be the promotion of joint initiatives to improve the quality and quantity of accommodation places for out-of-state and foreign students. Iannantuoni then invited everyone for the national day, “Come and unveil the universities, see the laboratories, the wonders we do from the scientific point of view. Come and intercept the change that universities are making. Universities are the future of the country. They are there to help it innovate, grow and change. Our doors are open. Universities want to walk together with the country.”
“Universities are an important part of cities. The sense of this agreement,” Manfredi explained, “is very important, because in a rapidly changing world, in an increasingly knowledge economy, the value of universities to cities is one of social transformation. They are a fundamental driver of growth that today is increasingly toward digital,” added the Anci president, who outlined the role that universities play in different areas of the territories in which they reside.
“Universities can help a public administration that must have skills it often does not have. We realize that this partnership is a great strength for municipalities, universities and citizens.” It is therefore a protocol that enshrines “a physical, cultural and sentimental interconnection that at a time of great transformation deserves stronger coordination, seeking to make common policies.” According to a survey conducted between January 2022 and December 2024 in 29 Italian university cities, it emerges how the relationship between universities and cities is a crucial element for social cohesion: out of 200 forms of cooperation activated, 50 percent were scientific, 30.5 logistical and infrastructural, 11.5 percent cultural, and 8 percent educational.
– photo xl5/Italpress –
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