GENEVA, JUNE 11 – “Scientists from all over the world cooperate in the stimulating field of Geneva’s CERN to achieve results that do not constitute the heritage of a single individual, or of a single Country, or of a block of Countries or of a continent, but they are the heritage of the entire humanity. Everybody is well aware of the value and unifying meaning of the cooperation that takes place here, concretely, every day, in a period in which there is the worrying tendency to diverge at international level”, the President of the Republic of Italy said yesterday addressing the scientists (over 2000 are Italians) of the European Laboratory operating at the French-Suisse border.
“For more than half a century now, here at CERN, in the heart of Europe, intuitions have been tested and researches and experiments have taken form, all destined to deeply affect scientific and technological progress worldwide. Italy has traditionally played a leading role in this process, with dedication, intelligence and passion, which you all renew”, said President Mattarella thanking CERN’s Director Fabiola Gianotti “for the effective action carried out at CERN’s service, conferring great prestige also to Italian science and to our Country as a whole”
Mattarella added that “this spirit of openness, this passion, does not have only a scientific meaning, but also a social one and, I would like to add, even political. In fact, the laboratory’s motto, “Science for Peace,” clearly highlights the moral profile of the scientists’ role for humankind’s progress”. He stressed as well that “the enthusiastic participation of the Italian scientific community in research activities, as well as in the fundamental activities of training and dissemination, constitutes a positive indicator of its attention toward innovation and the transmission of knowledge to young people. These are very important contributions for the creation of a balanced, attentive, conscious and independent basic training, in an period in which reckless skepticisms, if not unacceptable oppositions, arise against the results offered by the scientific method”.
The Italian head of state toured the Lab before addressing the International Conference on the future of labour organized for the 100 anniversary of ILO. (@OnuItalia)
