The first meeting of the Gender Advisors and Gender Focal Points of the Logistics Command entities took place at the 4th Telecommunications and Air Defence and Flight Assistance Systems Brigade in Borgo Piave (LT).
On the 26th and 27th of November, the first meeting of the Gender Advisors and Gender Focal Points of the Logistic Command entities, chaired by Air Force Corps General Antonio Conserva, aimed at experiential exchange and communicative and training promotion among industry professionals. The event took place at the 4th Brigade of Borgo Piave, a unit of the’Italian Air Force which ensures technical support and the operation of telecommunications, flight assistance, air defence and Command and Control systems, including outside national borders.
The day began with the flag-raising ceremony, followed by the welcome address by the Logistics Commander, organiser of the defined event “a unique opportunity to promote the gender equality culture within the Logistics Command and to facilitate the mutual acquaintance of the personnel appointed GENAD and GFP”. General Conserva also emphasised the valuable opportunity represented by these “learning, discussion and reflection sessions aimed at integrating and consolidating a gender culture that acts as a catalyst for identifying the different interests, needs and aspirations of men and women within the organisation and for supporting Commanding Officers in adopting an adaptive leadership style that ensures equal opportunities and equal treatment”.
To seal the importance of the initiative, the message from Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of Defence with responsibility for issues relating to the promotion of gender equality policies and equal opportunities, Senator Isabella Rauti, who wanted to greet those present with a letter, remarking that “in the necessary and infinite process of cultural and organisational change within the Armed Forces, your work will play a crucial role and you will be the protagonists of Defence actions in building an equality that is not merely regulatory and descriptive.
The event was characterised by the significant video message del Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Luca Goretti, who wanted to greet those present, emphasising “the constant and virtuous focus on egalitarian and merit-based issues, which makes the Italian Air Force a vanguard within the public administration, both nationally and internationally.
Things got into full swing with the speech by Gender Advisor to the Logistics Command, Captain Francesca Niola, who outlined the foundational concepts of the doctrine of gender equality and introduced the civilian and military guests, experts in the field, who followed one another with their contributions during the course of the morning.
The first one was given by Lieutenant Colonel Rosa Vinciguerra, Head of the “Gender Policies” Section of the 1st Department of the Defence General Staff and Vice-Chairman of the Chief of the Defence General Staff's Inter-force Council on Gender Perspective, who shared her decade of experience in the field, imparting her valuable acquired knowledge and outlining the “tools of the trade” useful for intervening in critical situations.
Following this, the Lieutenant Colonel Rosa Linda Lucchesi, President of the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives, illustrated the peculiarities of her role in the international arena, offering a broader vision of the issue.
Participants then listened to the video conference of the Professor Stefano Ciccone, lecturer in the Department of Literary, Philosophical and Art History Studies at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” on “gender stereotypes and prejudices and related coping strategies”.
Then took the floor the Lieutenant Colonel Francesco Tomassini, Gender Advisor of the Italian Air Force, who outlined the regulatory framework on which the roles of Gender Advisor and Gender Focal Point are based.
Finally, the opening address by the President of the Non-Commissioned Officers, Enlisted Ranks and Troops, 1st Lieutenant Roberto Carpentieri, who shared their field experience and illustrated the peculiarities of the work of the SGMT President in the Units, who, similarly to the Gender Advisor, performs a fundamental function for the personnel, assisting the Commanders in their actions.
