Three pillars for the new government: youth policies, cultural heritage and innovation

Interview with Councilor Sergio Ferdinandi, archaeologist and jurist, general manager of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, member of the Higher Council for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Vice-President of ISMEO.

A few weeks ago, one of the most important archaeological missions on the international scene that you directed (Aruch International Archaeological Mission and the fortification of the Silk Road (https://silkroad.missionearcheologica.it) ended. this first campaign?

The balance is excellent. The mission, organized in a few months, gave great surprises and satisfactions in terms of scientific results. This is a project resulting from an agreement between ISMEO and the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, recognized by the Farnesina and supported by partners such as Il Sole 24 ore, Poste Italiane, Canon , Isweb, Weblive, Nextbites, Iet, Noema and Italian Digital Revolution. The Mission investigates, through the study of the fortification of the Caucasian regions, the historical evolution of the so-called Silk Road within the long-distance connectivity systems of late-ancient and medieval Eurasia, both from a commercial and military point of view. The survey activities were accompanied by the stratigraphic investigation of the fortified and church complexes of the town of Aruch located along the road between the two most important historical capitals of medieval Armenia Dvin and Ani, as well as in the archaeological area of ​​Shamiram, a city founded by legendary queen Semiramis. The happy synergy that has been created with the Armenian academic world promises an intensification of activities over the next few years with the continuation of the campaigns already started, but also further research projects, with the involvement of numerous young scholars from Italian universities and foreigners. Furthermore, the Silk Road represents a world cultural heritage of inestimable value, the study of which lends itself to the involvement of Italian companies interested in investing in promoting the image of the country and of Made in Italy. 

In the years 2018-2019, as Head of Cabinet of the Minister of Public Administration, you were the architect of an important revolution which, well before the PNNR, laid concrete foundations for the relaunch of the Italian Public Administration. This process has also materialized, but not only, through the innovative launch of a massive hiring plan. Particular attention was paid to the Ministry of Culture; why such careful attention to this sector?

I state that this was possible thanks to a Minister of the depth of Giulia Bongiorno, who was not adequately recognized for the considerable and fundamental work of overcoming the anachronistic turnover mechanism, the cornerstone of the revival of the PA, from which they benefited, without, however, fully grasping its potential, the successive Governments, despite the unexpected injection of financial resources intervened with the PNRR. The project, as conceived and implemented, was to intervene on all the ganglia of the public machine, where after a quarter of a century of blocks and cuts and years of vulgar campaign of demonization and questionable management, they had shown dysfunctions in terms of organization and skills, subdivision of seats, as well as a serious depletion of human capital, with inevitable repercussions in the service rendered to citizens. In those months we intervened in all sectors of public employment, from health, to transport, from defense to school. I confess, however, that also in consideration of my archaeological background and my experience, I paid particular attention to the department of culture which was in a situation of dramatic difficulty. Our university system is often at the center of controversy, however, it manages to maintain a very high level of education. Only a small part of our graduates manage to find jobs related to the study paths undertaken (this opens the painful chapter of the expatriation of our best professional resources) and this is particularly dramatic for the humanities despite the wealth we have. The dysfunctions caused by a reckless quota of labor resources implemented by governments that have followed one another in recent decades have, as can be easily foreseen, led to a very high average age of personnel, placed at rest without being able to transfer the skills acquired in sectors such as the archival, book, restoration, archaeological, etc… knowledge that the whole world envies us. I am honored to have contributed to reversing the course with a view to relaunching and correct generational transition as well as digital. Unfortunately, such a well-started work was not pursued with the same vision and determination by the Governments that followed; it is a question of resuming the ranks of a project and much remains to be done starting from being able to re-appropriate our public personnel of the dignity of their institutional mission at the service of the nation.

What are the new frontiers of research and enhancement of our immense cultural heritage, also in the light of digital innovations?

The research project of the archaeological mission in Armenia already contains important indicators of the use of high-tech digital instruments through the use of drones, 3d printers, photo returns, etc ... the use of modern digital technologies must be extensively used in the various research sectors, helping to offer perspectives and interpretations of completely innovative situations and artefacts. Similarly, greater impetus must be given to the digitization of our book and archival heritage, not only in terms of preservation but to offer work tools to researchers and use it to the general public whose demand in this direction has exponentially increased in the emergency period. pandemic. The metaverse applied to the world of culture could play an important role in this direction. This is the lucky definition coined in 1995 by the writer Neal Stephenson to define the so-called spatial computing or a new dimension of computing and computer thinking where the functions of the computer itself are spatialized, that is, inserted into space, objects, buildings, or are deferred in a possibly three-dimensional virtual space like that of video games, habitable, walkable, shareable and interactive.

A new government will take office in a few weeks, what do you think are the priorities for intervention in the cultural field?

The long experience of service at Palazzo Chigi has developed in me the conviction that the mother of all priorities is the choice of profiles with organizational vision skills at the level of executive tout-court. All the souls of the Government should virtuously contribute to the implementation of interventions, each for their own competences, from a global vision, where it is quite evident that, given the peculiarity of our country which is estimated to hold about 70% of the world cultural heritage, a Ministry of Culture will have to fully assume a primary role. The answer is, therefore, particularly complex but if we want to summarize it seems evident that despite an unprecedented shower of financial resources, the structural reforms implemented in the last decade do not seem to respond effectively to the need to provide management, development and more effective enhancement. I obviously have many ideas, matured over the years and also in the work carried out in a privileged observatory such as the Higher Council of Cultural Heritage, however, before proceeding to further reforms that still require long times to become fully operational it would not be bad to imagine a sort of " general states of culture ". At the time, I expressed skepticism with respect to initiatives of this kind but I believe that for the cultural heritage it is necessary a wide interest of the subjects involved and of the users starting from the structures of the Administration and its staff who present extraordinary professionalism, the Parties social organizations, local authorities, universities and any person who can actively contribute to suggesting improvements in the management and enhancement of such an exceptional heritage. It is sickening to reiterate that the culture-tourism combination is the equivalent of black gold for our nation, but if properly organized it will be even more so in the near future, representing a driving force for our economy. It is in this framework that I would like to see our young people professionally developed as they try their hand at university level in the complex study and to whom very limited professional opportunities are reserved. I have always seen a close synergy between cultural heritage, economy and policies for young people; aspects that should be carefully monitored by a government that is decisively committed to the growth and revitalization of our country at an international level.

Three pillars for the new government: youth policies, cultural heritage and innovation