The initiative constitutes the first concrete result of the educational collaboration between the Air Force and the University of Ferrara for the 2012-2014 triennium.
At the event, co-chaired by the Rector of the University, Prof. Pasquale Nappi, and the Commander of the COA/CAOC5, Air Division General Mirco Zuliani, various institutional authorities of the university, military and civil authorities of the city of Ferrara were present, including the Deputy Prefect, Dr. Carlo Torlontano, the councilors Caterina Ferri and Rossella Zadro of the City of Ferrara, the provincial commanders of the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza.
During the opening greeting, Rector Nappi emphasized the importance of this initiative that testifies to and strengthens the relationship between the two institutions – which has been based for years on mutual and constructive collaboration – and whose validity is also confirmed by the considerable number of participants, which is constantly increasing.
The COA/CAOC5 commander, General Zuliani, highlighted the importance of the subject under study, which is all the more relevant given the recent international developments, and emphasized his support and interest in any study and research initiative that, through the mutual exchange of scientific and cultural experiences with the academic world, can contribute to the professional enrichment of the military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces. Particularly significant were the introductory speeches of the faculty’s dean, Prof. Gian Guido Balandi, the director of the Department of Legal Sciences, Prof. Giovanni de Cristofaro, Prof. Francesco Salerno, professor of international law, and Dr. Alessandra Annoni, lecturer of the course and Dr. Cristhine Weise of Amnesty International.
The course, lasting two weeks, is attended by over 60 military and civilian personnel from the Defense Department, from all over Italy, to whom are added students from the University and volunteers from Amnesty International. The initiative constitutes the first concrete result of the educational collaboration between the Air Force and the University of Ferrara, whose foundations were laid in June 2010 with the signing of the relevant agreement, renewed in April 2012 for the 2012-2014 three-year period, but which had actually begun in February 2005 with the organization of a seminar on “International law and national air defense,” which was then continued with the organization of three experimental courses on “Human rights and international humanitarian law in armed conflicts.”.
The course will see alternating external scholars of international standing and military experts among the speakers, and, as last year, it will take place not only at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ferrara but, in the second week, also at the COA in Poggio Renatico, where some simulation models and practical exercises will be developed.
This activity therefore consolidates an important and fruitful collaboration between the COA and the Ferrara university with the aim of expanding professional knowledge in the field of the military and civilian personnel of the Defense and, at the same time, promoting the development of further study and research initiatives, as well as mutual experiences in the various scientific fields of common interest, from which the individual participants in the courses will certainly benefit, but also – more generally – the Italian Air Force and the Armed Forces.
