International conference IIAS-EUROMENA 2022 : a feedback from USI students

The international IIAS-EUROMENA 2022 Joint Conference on Next Generation Governance and Young Global Public Administration was held in Rome in June, in attendance. The event took place at the Roman universities of Roma Tor Vergata on 27-28 June and at LUISS Guido Carli on 29-30 June. A total of 322 participants from 29 countries attended the conference, including students from USI Master in Public Management and Policy (PMP) programme. The conference was co-organised by the International Institute of Administrative Science (IIAS) and Prof. Marco Meneguzzo, professor of Public and Non-Profit Management at USI Faculty of Economics and the University of Rome Tor Vergata, in collaboration with an international network of partners: ISCTE-Instituto Universitario de Lisboa, Scuola Nazionale dell'Amministrazione (SNA) and Università della Svizzera italiana (USI).  

"Together with some of my Master's colleagues, we attended the IIAS-EUROMENA 2022 Conference on Next Generation Governance and Young Global Public Administration. We attended talks by researchers on the various panels that gave us the opportunity to interact and engage with guests of international caliber," says Leonardo Colasante. "On 29 June, moderated by Prof. Anna Picco-Schwendener and Elena Marchiori (Lugano Living Lab - City of Lugano, Switzerland), we presented the project on the promotion of "MyLugano" to the Ticino student population for the panel "Local Governments' Actions to Foster Dialogue with University Student Population." The conference has been an opportunity to learn how to better structure a presentation and also how to better manage emotions in front of an international audience. I came to realise that the academic world is dynamic and ever-changing; there is an open network that welcomes researchers globally who passionately share their work.  I can say that I have gained more confidence as a result of successfully overcoming this challenge."

"Presenting and managing one's emotions in front of a large audience was very different than presenting in a university classroom." continued Matteo Ugazio "This experience allowed me to learn how to better manage my emotions during a presentation. I also got a closer look at different ways to network, already creating some small academic connections that I am sure will come in handy in the future. Having the opportunity to see high-level academics live was very interesting and provided me with valuable lessons through which I will be able to improve project presentations during courses in upcoming semesters. The experience was valuable at the curricular level and I hope it will attract the attention of some recruiters."

"I had a fantastic time in Rome at the EUROMENA Conference." Vincenz Tassilo Bischof concludes. "It was great to learn how academia works behind the scenes and to meet some of the people behind the papers. It was important to see the different fields and directions that academics are involved in, especially it helped me choose my major for my second year of master's and figure out what direction I want to take with my master's thesis. It was also great to get to know other USI researchers better in an environment other than the classroom."

In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the involvement of our university saw the active contribution from our academic community, which was the protagonist of numerous activities and sessions on issues concerning the MENA area - Manuela Barreca and Giulia Mugellini, USI Researchers, held a panel on "Effective Governance, Digital Education & Partnership in the MENA Regions." They also intervened as scientific coordinators of the PhD seminar in the sessions concerning "Digital Government" and "Ethics and Equity." As part of the general themes of the conference, Manuela Barreca and her research group were featured in the IIAS track on the topics of Social Innovation, Commons and Administration. Lastly, Federica Frediani presented a moment of reflection on "The role of people diplomacy and youth movements in the Middle East Mediterranean region," which was attended by Ambassador Pio Wennubst (Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations organisations in Rome).