Agenda

Launch of the UNESCO Chair “Aid4GEA – Technologies and Materials for Green and Energy Applications”.

PROGRAM

- Prof. Maurizio Selva, Direttore del DSMN
- Prof. Tiziana Lippiello, Rettrice di Ca’ Foscari
- Prof. Claudio Pettinari, Vice-Presidente della SCI
- Prof. Elisa Moretti e Prof. Alberto Vomiero, titolari della Cattedra UNESCO Aid4GEA
- Prof. Gianfranco Pacchioni, membro dell’Accademia dei Lincei
- Prof. Zhong Lin Wang (BINN-Chinese Academy of Sciences), Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG) for High-entropy Energy and Systems
- Prof. Balla Diop Ngom, President of the African Materials Research Society
- Prof. Malik Maaza, The UNESCO UNISA ITL/NRF Africa Chair in Nanosciences & Nanotechnology
- Prof. Pietro Omodeo, The UNESCO Chair Water Heritage and Sustainable Development
- Roundtable with the speakers
- Closing remarks

Registration for the Conference and Lunch Break via online form

The UNESCO Chair Aid4GEA on Technologies and Materials for Green and Energy Applications has just been established at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy and at the Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. The chair holder is Prof. Elisa Moretti (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) and the co-chair holder is Prof. Alberto Vomiero (Luleå University of Technology). It aims to strengthen awareness of the key role of advanced materials and technologies to promote sustainable development, especially in developing countries. The program aims to achieve two strategic objectives of UNESCO’s medium-term strategy (2022-29): “Ensuring quality, equitable and inclusive education” and “Working towards sustainable societies and protecting the environment”, and the five strategic objectives of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy Report for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024).
Human activities are pervaded by materials in all aspects, from industrial production to daily life, and functional materials allow for unprecedented possibilities compared to the past. However, social development must consider a careful use of natural resources, including the strong reduction of anthropogenic effects on the climate and the environment. Materials and production technologies are central to sustainable development: they improve the quality of life and, at the same time, can offer solutions for environmental restoration and the efficient use of energy sources. Some examples: materials for hydrogen production, solar energy conversion and storage, water desalination and purification, treatment of contaminated soil. A circular life cycle is needed, in which the reuse and recycling of waste are central. Aid4GEA promotes this awareness through capacity building at the local level, creating a network of teaching/research institutions and the most authoritative global Societies in the sector. North-South-South and South-South cooperation includes the exchange of students and researchers, support for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers from developing countries, the definition of joint research and training projects, the sharing of knowledge through the organization of symposiums and multilateral workshops. Aid4GEA aims to increase awareness at a societal level through specific actions involving the public and policy makers. In the long term, Aid4GEA will impose a new vision of the use and reuse of materials in society through education and the development of skills towards sustainable development.

Contact: elisa.moretti@unive.it, alberto.vomiero@unive.it