The first edition of the Luiss Global Fellowship, an acknowledgment that the Luiss Guido Carli University assigns to "high-profile people who stand out for their career, showing innovation in their professional skills and leadership at an international level". And the two Italians who have distinguished themselves for having improved "the image of our country abroad" are Frances Bria, President of the National Innovation Fund and member of the high-level expert group for the New European Bauhaus created by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Mark During, President and founder of LaPresse.
The ceremony took place on September 17th at the Luiss Campus in Viale Pola, in the presence of the Luiss President Vincenzo Boccia, the Rector Andrea Prencipe, the General Manager Giovanni Lo Storto and the Undersecretary of the Prime Minister with responsibility for information and publishing, Giuseppe Moles.
The reasons for the recognition follow: Francesca Bria for having proposed, in the period spent at the Municipality of Barcelona as Councilor for technological innovation and Chief Technology and Digital Innovation Officer, to use data as a common good of citizens, facilitating accessibility to services public and promoting innovation in institutions. Furthermore, Francesca was also recently inducted in the Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech and among the 20 most influential people globally in digital governance by Apolitical.
While Marco Durante, President and founder of the Multimedia Press Agency LaPresse, today the most international of Italian multimedia content providers and the first Italian entrepreneurial-led multimedia news agency with 11 offices in Italy and 15 abroad, for having been able to imagine and create a new economy in the media sector with a strong drive beyond national borders.
“The Global Fellowship has a great ambition: to combine higher education with experiences, skills and professionalism of great international value, with the aim of sharing ideas, identifying solutions and offering opportunities for growth and development for the entire Luiss community. A perfect mix of leadership and strategic vision to face tomorrow's challenges together”, declared the Luiss President Vincenzo Boccia.
Il Rector Andrea Principe in his laudatio he added: “Pico della Mirandola asked himself: 'How to choose one's own wisdom, without having frequented the others?' This is the question we would like to answer with the Luiss Global Fellowship. I am particularly proud to assign this Fellowship to Francesca Bria and Marco Durante who, with passion and innovation, are examples of the values of "Educated in Italy".
Thus Francesca Bria and Marco Durante become the protagonists of a club of internationally renowned people who will act as ambassadors to promote the values of the Luiss educational model throughout the world through their professional networking.
“I am proud to receive such an ambitious and visionary recognition as the Luiss Global Fellowship – commented Francesca Bria -, I thank the President Boccia, the Rector Prencipe and the entire Luiss community for rewarding my work centered on the democratization of digital transition, putting technology, data and artificial intelligence at the service of people to address the great environmental and social challenges we face, such as climate change, global health and education".
“Receiving the Luiss Global Fellowship fills me with joy and pride. The award goes to me but above all to my company, a company that in the midst of the pandemic has opened 15 new offices around the world, hiring 74 people. With our partner The Associated Press and its 242 offices around the world, Italy, thanks to the daily work of LaPresse, is able to offer widespread worldwide coverage that allows us to bring the Made in Italy: in every corner of the globe, through 17.000 newspapers and 5.000 broadcasters. Thank you President Boccia, thank you Rector Prencipe, thank you General Manager Lo Storto and thank you to all of Luiss who share my same goal: that of an Italian who is proud to bring our country to compete with the great world powers,” said Marco Durante.
