On the occasion of the 4th Italian Research Day in the world, the Italian Embassy in the United States hosted the event "Covid-19 Pandemic: Present and future challenges. Role of Science, Technology & Diplomacy in pandemic response and preparedness".

The workshop, organized in collaboration with the Science Diplomats Club of Washington, highlighted the role of science, technology and innovation - which have always been central to the collaboration between Italy and the United States - in defeating the Covid pandemic and facing the other global challenges of our time.

"Today we are celebrating Italian scientific research, but above all we are celebrating science and its centrality to face the global challenges of humanity, as the Covid-19 pandemic has recently demonstrated," Ambassador Zappia stressed at the opening of the event, recalling that "the pandemic is not over: no one is safe until everyone is safe, which is why a global approach focused on research for new vaccines and equitable global distribution of vaccines and treatments is necessary.

The message of the Ambassador was followed by the speech of Admiral Rachel L. Levine, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health (HHS), pediatrician, researcher, public health expert, on the role of science during the pandemic and on the issue of inequalities in access to care. Speakers included Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, Nobel Peace Prize candidate for having developed a patent-free anti-Covid vaccine, who addressed the issues related to the equitable distribution of vaccines and the removal of intellectual property barriers; Prof. Alessandro Sette, member of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, who addressed the issue of immune response to vaccines, new vaccine perspectives and possible variants.

The event offered the opportunity for the launch of the newly formed ISSNAF Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) Chapter. Alessandro Gonzales, Deputy Chief of Mission, spoke in the closing session, expressed appreciation for the initiative and reiterated the support of the Embassy to the activities of ISSNAF. Speakers included: Reece Smyth, Director of the Office for Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the Department of State; Cinzia Zuffada, President of ISNAFF; Giuseppe Cataldo, President of the DMV Chapter.

For the Day of Italian Research in the World, the Italian consular network in the USA has organized a series of targeted events throughout the country, also in collaboration with prestigious US institutions such as Harvard University in Boston, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Los Angeles, and the University of Chicago.