The ENGAGE.EU Annual Conference in Rome celebrated three years of work and kicked-off the new funding phase of the European Alliance

02.11.2023

November 2nd, 2023. Luiss University hosted the regular ENGAGE.EU annual conference to both celebrate third anniversary of the Alliance and kick-off the new funding period starting November 1st. The conference took place between October 25-27 in Rome at the piece-of-art facilities of LUISS university, one of the founding members of ENGAGE.EU.

The main goals of the work sessions were to define the key outputs since the beginning of the project, and to set the path for all new initiatives aimed at the various stakeholders, focusing on the three main pillars – learning, research and innovation, and societal outreach.

The first day was an introduction to the topics of the Conference in preparation for the main sessions on Thursday and Friday, which were dedicated to the achievements and milestones of the project. These sessions also facilitated the discussion of the prospective long-term cooperation among the nine partner universities.

The main day, Thursday, started with a warm welcome from the host and the activities began with the plenary session “Europe in Transformative Times: Mobilize and Accelerate on Higher Education for Sustainability”, moderated by Dr. Alessandra Galloni, Editor in Chief of Reuters, and with the participation of the following keynote speakers:

Marcela Villarreal, Food and Agriculture Organization, Director of Partnerships and UN Collaboration (PSU)
Pietro Bertazzi (Luiss alumnus), CDP, Global Director, Policy Engagement & External Affairs
Enrico Giovannini, ASVIS Scientific Director, professor of Economic Statistics and former Minister of Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility and Minister of Labour and Social Policies
Francesco La Camera (online) Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency
Hanyuan (Karen) Wang CEO of Climind, SDG Young Leader recognized by United Nations
Lars-Henrik Paarup Michelsen, CEO of the Norwegian Climate Foundation and Chair of the ENGAGE.EU Advisory Board

The afternoon was animated by parallel working sessions about the next phase of ENGAGE.EU.

Different work teams prepared the ground for ENGAGE.EU 2.0 and started building their work plan and defining schedules according to agreed milestones. Four working sessions were run in parallel to discuss on Work Packages topics and challenges to have different feedback and views from all stakeholders.

ENGAGE.EU 2.0 work plan is focused on fostering collaboration, innovation, and positive change across Europe and beyond. In this new chapter, the partners aim to further strengthen their commitment to enable ENGAGE.EU learners to act as socially engaged European citizens and to society at large.

The third day, Friday, started with a plenary session on the topic of “Bridges between the University and its local ecosystem”.

Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome (tbc), opened the session with the participation of the following keynote speakers:

Ingmar Björkman, Rector, Hanken University
Paola Belingheri, Task 6.3 coordinator, Luiss University
Chiara Scalia, Luiss Alumnus
Guido La Rose, Associated Partner, Municipality of Tilburg

The activities on the agenda were dedicated to the successful dissemination of the project. During the session, a dynamic was carried out to identify the main results expected from each Work Package and tasks, and to reflect how to disseminate them.

The Rector of Luiss University Andrea Prencipe said during the closing ceremony: “We have built a community around ENGAGE.EU, we feel a great sense of belonging. I think each of us has a role in this project that marks the sense of being a community working toward a common goal“.

During the official dinner on Thursday a special slideshow was played on the screens with some of the most memorable moments from the past three years: