Posted on 07 October 2020
The Giorgio La Pira Scholarships, funded by the Fondazione CR Firenze, aim to support students who embrace the visionary former Florentine mayor's vocation for peace and mediation between peoples, and who seek to address transnational challenges.
The scholarships offer talented students the opportunity to pursue a Master in Transnational Governance at the School of Transnational Governance (STG) of the European University Institute (EUI). In the programme, the students will acquire the theoretical and practical tools to contribute to the development of innovative policies and governance responses to cross-border challenges.
The four grant holders for the academic year 2020-2021 are Hala Ahmad from Jordan, Lucia Bosoer from Argentina, Moaz Nasser Saber Abdelrahman from Egypt, and Jichen Qu from China. They started the programme on 1 September, attending welcome and introductory sessions on campus as well as online.
Giorgio La Pira scholarship recipients Jichen Qu, Moaz Nasser Saber Abdelrahman, Hala Ahmad, and Lucia Bosoer.
The grant holders have high expectations for their one-year programme. Hala Ahmad stated “Completing the STG master's programme will provide me with the knowledge that I would need to improve my understanding of governance issues and will enable me to raise awareness on contemporary issues within the youth, civil society, and women.” Her classmate Jichen Qu instead said “I am expecting to gain more comprehensive insights into the European Union and making comparative studies to possibly better bridge Sino-European relations.”
“We warmly welcome the four students. We are sure they will have an inspiring time and acquire valuable knowledge for their professional future,” said the President of Fondazione CR Firenze Luigi Salvadori. “Our two institutions believe in supporting talented young people and these scholarships are concrete proof of that”.
Merit and solidarity are the main awarding criteria for the Giorgio La Pira scholarships. The beneficiaries have distinguished themselves in their studies and extracurricular activities in the context of initiatives promoting dialogue between peoples. In addition, financial need is also taken into account during the selection process.
The Giorgio La Pira scholarships build on the longstanding cooperation between the Fondazione CR Firenze and the EUI.
“We thank Fondazione CR Firenze for their support in the education of a new generation of policy-makers and experts who look for solutions beyond borders,” stated EUI President Renaud Dehousse. “The new Master in Transnational Governance is in this respect fully in accordance with Giorgio La Pira's vision of promoting peace, sustainability and democracy as a means of dialogue between peoples.”
Throughout the years, the Fondazione CRF and the EUI have developed many joint initiatives to promote research, training and awareness-raising on challenges facing Europe and beyond. The two institutions share the commitment to enhance the role of the City of Florence in the international context, in particular with regard to the activities of the School of Transnational Governance.