From health management to supporting street children: delegation from Sant'Anna School to Ethiopia for institutional meetings and practical activities. The visit is part of the strategic project "Africa Connect": stops and meetings

The Sant'Anna School delegation left on Oct. 29 and will be in Ethiopia until Nov. 10 to forge new collaborative relationships in the African country and to consolidate programs already underway as part of the "Africa Connect" strategic project. The delegation is composed of Rector Sabina Nuti, Vice Rector Arianna Menciassi and a large group of faculty members, accompanying about 20 students representing all disciplinary fields. Sponsored at the initiative of Rector Sabina Nuti, this visit stems from the Sant'Anna School's historic partnership with projects involving health system management, agricultural genetics, law and international relations.

The visit was made possible thanks to the contribution of the Il Talento all'Opera Onlus Foundation, the Luca Cavallini Foundation and the Picchi Family.

After a meeting with the Italian ambassador to Ethiopia, Agostino Palese, the institutional visits will continue at Addis Ababa University, the African Union and the United Nations, to delve into key challenges on the African continent. In the second part of the visit, the students will have the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities in collaboration with Addis Ababa University and nongovernmental organizations. The planned initiatives will cover the difficulties of the health care system, the development of artificial intelligence at the Ethiopian university's Institute of Technology, the "cash transfer" system (direct financial aid) in the Omo Valley, and combating child malnutrition in collaboration with an association supporting street children in Addis Ababa.

"Ethiopia is a central player in the development and stability policies of the African continent," explains Rector Sabina Nuti, "and, in many ways, it is an extremely complex country, which nevertheless has great potential for growth and paradigmatic elements of the entire continent, starting with its relationship with the globalized world and ending with ethnic conflicts, climate change, and the influence of foreign and economic powers. The visit to Ethiopia stems from the desire to take a closer look at the main challenges of the African continent through an interdisciplinary and practical approach. Hence the idea of involving for the first time faculty and students representing all the School's disciplinary areas. We will weave," Sabina Nuti concludes, "new collaborative relationships and make our experiences known based on the three fundamental pillars that distinguish us: training, research and third mission.