– PROGRAM PROPOSAL –
Background
On June 12-14 2015, Amerigo, the All-USG Alumni Association of Italy established in 2007, will host in Rome the 6th Conference and the 3rd General Assembly Meeting of the European Network of American Alumni Associations (ENAM).
The European Network of American Alumni Associations was founded in Rome in 2011, upon the initiative of Amerigo and other 26 European and Eurasian alumni associations. Today ENAM is the only second-level regional alumni organization officially recognized by the Department of State and numbers 51 full members from 42 countries, spanning Azerbaijan to Portugal and Norway to Cyprus.
Every year, two member associations are selected by the Board of Directors to host official ENAM Conferences. In addition, every second year, a General Assembly Meeting is called to discuss and approve the activity program of the organization. According to its bylaws, ENAM has two governing bodies: the Board of Directors and the Secretary General. Seven elected officials from as many member associations form the Board of Directors. The Secretary General, elected by the General Assembly, acts as the executive director of the organization.
Mr Massimo Cugusi is serving as the Secretary General of ENAM since its foundation.
Event objective
The event will serve to strengthen the European Alumni Network by reaffirming the principles laid out in ENAM’s first constitutive assembly, welcoming new members and mapping a way forward. The conference will also strengthen existing cross-border alumni bonds and forge new ones.
Event description
In April 2014 Amerigo, in collaboration with Mission Italy and other Italian institutional partners and businesses (including the Italian Municipalities Association ANCI, Enel, Vodafone, EMC2 and others) launched a two-year long initiative titled “Smart Cities Tour” (featuring conferences, seminars and workshops to be held in Milan, Florence, Naples and Rome) aimed at increasing awareness on the role of new technologies in driving sustainable urban economic growth and encouraging public-private partnerships.
In November Amerigo and the European Economic and Social Committee co-organized in Brussels a conference titled “Smart City: Towards a European Economic Revival through Civic Innovation”. Representatives of other ENAM member organizations, including Spain, Croatia and Ireland, attended the event.
Given the strong interest toward civic innovation expressed by several Alumni associations, ENAM is now considering the possibility to submit for funding a multi-country project titled “Smart City Tour Europe” to the European Commission.
The Conference, titled “Smart Cities for a Better Europe (tbc)” will give Alumni leaders from across Europe and Eurasia to share their respective countries experiences and interact with top-level political speakers and panellists on such issues as smart cities, innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth in Europe and the U.S. A delegation of the European Economic and Social Committee, headed by Ms. Daniela Rondinelli, will officially participate in the Conference.