Great success for the initiative in support of Città della Scienza organized at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels by MEPs Roberta Angelilli, Andrea Cozzolino, Erminia Mazzoni and Gianni Pittella held on April 9.
During the event, attended by about 200 people, all have expressed to the representatives of Città della Scienza present at the meeting, the chief executive officer Vincenzo Lipardi and the board member Antonino Magliulo, the need to carry on with the activities in order to rebuild the Science Centre as soon as possible.
The meeting was opened by MEP Andrea Cozzolino, who strongly supported the European initiative on the side of Fondazione Idis-Città della Scienza, confirming his commitment, along with the one of the other honorable speakers, Gianni Pittella and Erminia Mazzoni, so that the reconstruction occurs soon, well and in the same place where the Science Centre once stood.
The Vice President of the European Commission Antonio Tajani, speaking also on behalf of the Commissioners for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, and for Research, Maire Geoghegan Quinn, recalled the mission carried out in Città della Scienza last November and his vivid impression of the visit to the Science Centre and meeting that took place with the Neapolitan start-ups, evidence of an activity that definitely needs a strong support. The Vice-President, indeed, has announced that he will promote an EU support group to identify, in the European context, useful resources for the reconstruction.
The former Minister Luigi Berlinguer, in turn MEP and Chairman of the Committee for the development of scientific and technological culture, emphasized the importance and the role of Città della Scienza in the dissemination of scientific culture in Italy and internationally, as well as the need to resist and rebuild as soon as possible the Science Centre, where it has been destroyed. Mr Berlinguer also announced the personal commitment of the Committee he chairs to be in Naples to bring its own active witness in a cycle of events at the end of April.
Among the participants, there were also the Italian Ambassador in the European Union Nelli Feroci, the Italian Ambassador in Belgium Alfredo Bastianelli, the vice-president and the director of the Escite network Brigitte Coutant and Catrine Franche, the President of EUSCEA Leonardo Alfonsi, the ASI manager Simonetta di Pippo, the chief of the Regional Community of Campania Dario Gargiulo, the President of the 10th Municipality of Naples Ippolito Crescenzo, some students of the Pontano Institute accompanied by their headmaster and several officials of the European Commission, as well as many European science communicators.
