Tuesday, January 21, 2025 – h. 11.30

Sala Misiti – CNR-IRPPS, via Palestro 32, Rome

Teams live link (Passcode: Z8ie9bm2)

Pier Giorgio Ardeni is a professor of Political and Development Economics at the University of Bologna.

(Book and author profile) Social Classes in Italy Today (Editori Laterza) describes the social differences that remain strong and distinct in Italy, where they limit social mobility, access to education, possibilities, and opportunities. Of course, classes are no longer what they once were because professions and lifestyles have changed, but they still exist, even after we were convinced that they had dissolved in our ‘liquid’ society.
These pages, following step by step how the class structure in Italy has evolved and quantifying the weight of various strata and groups as their characteristics and composition change, aim to show how inequalities in income distribution correspond to differences in profession and educational qualifications, and how social structure still influences power relations. The relative weight of classes has varied, and with it their ‘political’ weight within the channels of representation. A book that aims to demonstrate how classes still exist, indeed, and it is from these that we must start again to rethink the crisis of democracy and representation.

Since the summer of 2023, IRPPS-CNR has been operating in the Frentana area with the project Active Citizenship in Europe.

We immersed ourselves in a context that, to an observer, appears as a best practice, with all its unique characteristics. As such, it seemed the territory most capable of embracing our objective: to imagine and implement actions to support the inclusive capacities of local systems regarding the Roma people.

Activism and political participation concretely summarize the concept of inclusion that we intend more specifically, and qualify our action to combat anti-Gypsyism. Indeed, the Abruzzo territory between Lanciano and Pescara was chosen for the high degree of integration of approximately 9 out of 10 families of Roma origin present in the area. Members of these families are not only well-integrated into the social fabric of their cities of residence, but they have all had stable incomes for some time, with individuals holding highly specialized and responsible roles within companies, such as Roberto Spinelli, head of personnel at the D’Orsogna factory, and Moreno di Rocco, a chemist responsible for quality control at the De Cecco pasta factory. From this perspective, the existence of a good practice was indeed found, in the sense that the Roma community in the area does not suffer from a deficit of primary needs and generally has an earned income; however, this condition is often paid for at the price of hiding one’s Roma identity, unless betrayed by one’s surname.

In practice, the well-being and potential development of this good practice were ensured by a hidden identity.

Various meetings were held between 2023 and 2024 to understand the material and immaterial needs of the local Roma community, and to understand the perspectives of political agents (opinion leaders and stakeholders) regarding the issues they encountered with the community. The goal was to eventually reach the construction of a common action plan, with practical actions aimed at improving the socio-cultural conditions of the Frentana Roma community. In these meetings, we sought to translate our objectives into concrete acts and measures capable of bringing a turning point to this relational status quo, in defense of an identity to which the EU, which finances the project, recognizes full citizenship.

We did the same with local stakeholders, attempting to mediate between mutual expectations through Focus Groups targeted at Roma activism, providing examples from across Europe.
The next step was to establish the basis for a shared action plan between the Frentana Roma community and local institutions through Mutual Learning and Mentoring meetings, where the Roma of the Frentana area also engaged with the six Roma and Sinti candidates from the recent European and local elections in June 2024.

The path undertaken, even if the political plan still needs to be implemented in various municipalities, is nonetheless a success.

Not having imposed attendance on any member of the community and having accompanied the meetings with examples of Roma activism on both European and Italian levels resulted in the number of participants at ACE meetings nearly doubling from the first to the last. As Santino Spinelli noted, a hidden identity—which translates into passivity in socio-political life within the local context—is a form of resistance rather than a weakness. To overcome it, the material and immaterial support of institutions is indispensable; in this sense, they must protect and safeguard those Roma men and women who already have an income and are well-integrated into the majority community and would be ready to reclaim their ethnicity.

However, without the contribution of political decision-makers, it is more likely that the current situation will stagnate and the inclusive path outlined by the project will not reach its conclusion. This is also because the institution, through its official communication channels, is the only entity capable of combating fake news or targeted information used for instrumental or emergency purposes that the Italian media generally still produce regarding the Roma people.

As a final step, in the concluding meeting on October 4, 2024, we asked Roma members and stakeholders to rank, in the order they deemed most appropriate, “the practical proposals that each of you considers most immediately achievable to stimulate our objectives and help local communities and institutions foster and renew inclusive and anti-discriminatory paths.”
Votes range from 1 to 7, where 1 means immediately achievable and 7 unachievable.
The proposals are: 1. Departments for Intercultural Affairs 2. Anti-discrimination councils in the province of Chieti 3. Hiring a Roma man/woman in the Municipality or public offices, or as the head of anti-discrimination desks or similar 4. Displaying the Roma flag from the Municipality on significant days of the Romani calendar (August 2, October 5, November 5, April 8, May 16) 5. Remembering the Roma contribution to the construction of the Italian State in speeches during national holidays (January 27, April 25, May 1, June 2) 6. Communication and promotion campaign of Roma history and culture on institutional channels with videos and short information pages 7. Formal honors following symbolic citizenships for Roma people who have distinguished themselves in civil society and work 8. “Open the doors: we are here”: a medium/long-term integration project including Roma-themed days and moments of discussion between the Frentana Roma community, civil society, and the institutions representing both (festivals and musical/gastronomic initiatives).

The proposals receiving the most “1” votes, meaning immediately achievable, were:
1. Remembering the Roma contribution to the construction of the Italian State in speeches during national holidays (10 votes) 2. Displaying the Roma flag from the Municipality on significant days of the Romani calendar (9 votes) 3. Formal honors following symbolic citizenships for Roma people who have distinguished themselves in civil society and work; “Open the doors”: a long-term project with inclusion days; Department for Intercultural Affairs (8 votes).

To learn more about the sociological methodologies used in the meetings, to see photos, and to read reports of the various activities, please visit the website https://ace-project.eu/

Edited by Enrico Mascilli Migliorini

CNR-IRPPS researcher Angela Toffanin contributed to the entry on Gender Discrimination for the 11th Appendix of the Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters and Arts, published by Treccani.

Toffanin conducts her research at our Institute, collaborating primarily with the Population, Gender and Society research group (Poges).

World Science Day for Peace and Development, celebrated on November 10, invites us to focus our attention on the possible meanings and contents of the relationship between science, society, and peace.

While science opened up to society starting in the 17th century, largely freeing itself from the paradigm of secrecy, it was primarily in the last century that—following the development and use of the atomic bomb—new, serious questions emerged about the relationship between science and society and about science’s contribution to the establishment of peaceful societies.

Certainly, this is neither an easy nor a univocal discourse, yet it is primarily the scientific community that questions itself. Against a figure like Edward Teller, considered the father of the atomic bomb, we can contrast Jozef Rotblat, one of the ten physicists who signed the 1955 Russell-Einstein Manifesto against the proliferation of atomic weapons, who would help create the theoretical foundations for a series of other important treaties limiting and even prohibiting nuclear weapons—the latter, which entered into force in 2021, was not signed by states possessing atomic weapons or that are part of military alliances based on nuclear deterrence.

While representatives of science and philosophy have long worked toward the creation of a European cultural space, modern science also bears witness to the necessity of human collaboration: science is an extremely interconnected global activity that lends itself well to building ties and bridges, emphasizing what unites human beings beyond nationalisms.

Some examples: CERN, the world’s most important research laboratory in the field of particle physics, was founded in 1954 by twelve European countries, a full three years before the Treaty of Rome, the founding act of the great European family, as Giorgio Parisi proudly noted.

Subsequently, in 2017, the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) laboratory was inaugurated in Jordan—envisioned years earlier by Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam—where scientists from warring countries work not only together, but on a common project that benefits everyone.

Recently, the 2024 UN General Assembly resolution, Pact for the Future, while recognizing that advances in knowledge, science, technology, and innovation could lead to a breakthrough toward a better and more sustainable future for all, nevertheless warns: the choice is ours.

In this perspective, the Science and Dialogue for Peace Laboratory has been established within the CNR Department of Human and Social Sciences and Cultural Heritage, which interprets the scientific community’s desire to put its studies at the service of dialogue for peace and is based on the awareness that science as a whole is a driving force for knowledge and that dialogue is central to the processes of building peaceful societies.

Some of the foundations of scientific practice such as collaboration, the sharing of ideas, and critical reflection constitute valuable tools for managing conflicts and for preventing the outbreak of hatred, the transformation of the enemy into a criminal, and similar aberrations that Morin defines as war hysteria.

Peace, as John Galtung, founder of peace studies, reminded us, is not only the absence of war; the concept of peace includes everything that, oriented toward the prevention of war, is aimed at building peaceful societies, encompassing a variety of factors including the promotion of social justice and labor policies, freedom of expression, respect for gender identities, education, the fight against poverty, human and children’s rights, and sustainable development.

At the same time, for scientific innovation processes to be aligned with society’s values, needs, and expectations, it is necessary that society as a whole be able to understand and engage with the scope of scientific innovation in all its aspects, promoting cultural emancipation that enables the transition from users of innovative products to people capable of making informed choices related to their individual and social sphere. The relationship between science and society cannot be based solely on scientific information and dissemination, but rather on the conscious use of scientific knowledge to enable informed exercise of citizenship rights, as Pietro Greco indicated.

For this reason, an attitude of trust in science perceived not as magical, but as profane and tangible, is increasingly necessary; this is what is related to educational and knowledge levels, as we indicated in the CNR Report on the State of Research in Italy (Valente, Tudisca, Pennacchiotti https://www.dsu.cnr.it/relazione-sulla-ricerca-e-linnovazione-in-italia/). This represents a more mature vision of science, more closely linked to an active and proactive attitude on the part of civil society.

Adriana Valente

The competition “Beyond gender stereotypes and towards the professions of the future: women and research in physics” is now open. It is aimed at secondary school students and organized by CNR – IRPPS and INFN – National Institute for Nuclear Physics with the support of the Mind the Geps project. The initiative aims to raise awareness on gender issues and the opportunities offered by the study of Physics through both basic research and its countless applications in technological, medical, cultural, and financial fields, among others.

Participants, individually or in groups and under the coordination of a teacher, must produce a short video on one of the following topics: Women and science, between stereotypes and prejudices or Female scientists who change the world for the first two years of secondary school, and Gender bias in innovation or Gender, Science and Media for the final three years.

Registration by: January 31, 2025
Project submission by: March 10, 2025

The full call for applications, including participation guidelines, technical requirements for videos, and topic descriptions, is available at: https://genera.sites.lngs.infn.it/ .

In order to provide an opportunity for further study on the topics of the call, the GENERA NETWORK group is organizing a free online training course for teachers entitled STEM Disciplines: between professions of the future and the gender gap. Participation in both the course and the competition will allow for the certification of a training activity equal to at least 24 hours. Further details on the course, which will take place between December 2024 and January 2025, will soon be available at: https://genera.sites.lngs.infn.it/.

Thursday, November 14, 2:30 PM

G. Marconi Library – CNR, Piazzale Aldo Moro 7, Rome

The study analyzes data from two representative cross-sectional surveys conducted among Italian adolescents in 2019 and 2022, within the framework of the Youth Trends Observatory. The study examines changes in social media screen time, identifies the main socio-demographic predictors of hyperconnection, and explores its effects on young people’s relational and psychological well-being.