Europe city of the future”. The summary of the meeting

Rome, 12 May. Last appointment of Connessioni-Paths of political formation, edition 2018. Also on this day, many young people are interested in active listening and the exercise of concrete conduct. At the beginning the moment of spirituality led by Father Occhetta , who dealt with the examination of conscience: a fundamental way of praying for the Jesuits, already practiced in the philosophical schools of ancient Greece. An instrument to stimulate “the self-government and the government of God in me”. A valid exercise of prayer for all, to thank God for good things and to look inward, thinking back to their day: “What have I done? What did I miss? How did I live? “

The theme of the day, “Europe city of the future”, has been analyzed and developed thanks to the precious intervention of David Sassoli , journalist and Vice-President of the European Parliament with responsibility for Mediterranean Policy, Budget, Real Estate. Below, Alessandra Luna Navarro , an engineer and PhD student at the University of Cambridge, illustrated the potentials, innovative techniques and critical aspects of the cities of the future.

Mr Sassoli recalled that the idea of ​​Europe came about 70 years ago as a political, economic and religious experiment, thanks to people like De Gasperi and Spaak, who realized that, at the center of modernity, it served not only its own Country, but also something bigger and more important: Europe. To better understand this path, always evolving and not yet finished, we can use three key concepts.

Geography : Europe, after the two world wars, can be considered a promontory of the great continent of Asia, as claimed by the French philosopher Paul Valéry.  Demographics : at the beginning of the twentieth century Europe and the United States represented 21% of the world population, in stark contrast to Africa, which had only 8%; in 2050, according to statistics, Northern Europe will fall to 8% while Africa will reach 18%. Europe as a great chance for everyone: it is important to ask how others look at us.

“Often, because of the problems of our internal politics, we do not take into consideration the requests of some countries, both Mediterranean and non, that need a strong and peaceful Europe. Many today look at us as an opportunity, as a future, so we have a great responsibility and need careful consideration of conscience “ , the Honorable Member stressed.

Among the social challenges, there is the development of useful international exchange programs, such as Erasmus, not only for Italians and Europeans, but also for all young people in the world. By creating the subject Europe, Vice-President Sassoli asserted, we must also bear in mind that “Each country is different from the other, jealous and aware of its identity by language, art, landscape, history. In these 70 years we have tried to make the European Union look like a classic democracy composed of 28 countries. “

For some years the mechanisms of globalization have changed the geopolitical order: Europe is no longer the center of the geographical map, but if it wants to remain a point of reference on the world scene, it must reaffirm its values ​​and insert, in international rules, positive and responsible dynamics, to address itself and other countries. In this journey, citizens must also be invited to make their voices heard. As highlighted by the Honorable Member:

“Today the weight of governments and economic issues is still too great compared to the needs and requirements of individual cives. If a democracy does not decide on your real problems, why should you believe in that democracy? “

Among the critical issues exposed, there is the one concerning the choice of Europe to expand to the East (process took place between 2004 and 2007), leaving out many Mediterranean countries. While reaffirming this positive opening, which allowed many countries to snatch Russia’s influence, Sassoli stressed that a responsible view on the Mediterranean, the cradle of our civilization, today at the center of the world due to tensions, clashes and identity crises has been lacking. . In this context, raising new frontiers and new walls proves to be a useless choice because today’s history is a river that can not be stopped, where everything manages to pass beyond the barriers.