Trieste, the City of Knowledge

With the aim of promoting Trieste, Italy, as science hub to an international audience, the city's government and civic leaders launched a new web platform, “Trieste, City of Knowledge” http://www.triesteconoscenza.it/, during a press conference held 15 January at the City Hall.

Trieste has a conspicuous scientific community of more than 30 research institutions, universities and S&T centers, with a peak working presence of some 8,000 scientists. This gives the city a ratio of over 35 scientists every 1,000 workers, against an European average of less than six.

In 2007, the Municipality of Trieste http://www.retecivica.trieste.it/ signed a Memorandum of Understanding with local authorities and scientific institutions. The aim of this agreement was to promote active and endless cooperation among all the actors, to highlight the great richness and value of the territory, and to consolidate mutual opportunities of interactions among the partners.

TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, officially endorsed the MoU in 2012, together with the local Teatro Verdi http://www.teatroverdi-trieste.com/verdi2009a/0.Home/indexHome.asp. However, the Academy’s participation in scientific events in town dates to 2011, when TWAS had the chance to take part in the second edition of The Researchers’ Night. In 2012, it renewed the experience, becoming one of the active partners at Trieste NEXT http://www.triestenext.it/, the first European Innovation and Science Research Forum.

The official inauguration of the portal Trieste City of Knowledge marks a new advance for the region's lively scientific community. The portal is the result of hard work carried out by the  Municipality of Trieste and Mib, School of Management http://www.mib.edu/.

Within a user-friendly frame, the web portal showcases the 20 partners and their activities, highlighting the existing synergies, and acknowledging their mutual cooperation as a priority. Each partner has a dedicated page, where the readers can learn about people, results, and events. TWAS has a page that will be updated from time to time with the Academy's news http://triesteconoscenza.it/en/partners/partners/dettaglio/twas---the-academy-of-sciences-for-the-developing-world.

Among the local leaders who spoke at the news conference were Trieste Municipality Council member Antonella Grim, Trieste County President Maria Teresa Bassa Poropat http://www.provincia.trieste.it/, Enrico Conte and Iztok Furlanic, from Trieste Municipality. Amanda De Felice (Trieste Municipality) and Carolina Meucci (Mib) illustrated the website's architecture, while members from the major institutions based in Trieste attended the conference. TWAS Executive Director Romain Murenzi also attended the event.

“The local scientific network has already established many international connections worldwide in the scientific arena”, said Antonella Grim from Trieste Council. “However, from a local point of view, we still need to bridge the existing gap between citizens/students and scientists, emphasizing the strong scientific vocation of this multicultural city, and proving that a strong science presence can attract brains and capital that drive research excellence. This is why today’s inauguration is just a first, important step for our future, where we are all called to take action”.

“TWAS has been working for almost 30 years to assist developing countries in building their own expertise and skills in scientific research," said Murenzi. “At the same time, we have many essential partnerships in our home city of Trieste and in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Those partnerships and the great scientific vitality in this region have been very important for our Academy. We're honored to be a part of 'Trieste, City of Knowledge,' and we anticipate that it will be a long-lasting success."