REFLECTIONS ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: ACADEMICS FROM SANT’ANNA SCHOOL BIOROBOTICS INSTITUTE AND EXPERTS SHARE THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON THE RESTART PHASE

Ten theses in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Scholars and experts address the scientific, medical, technical, and economic challenges during this time of sorrow offering their reflections and perspectives on how to face social and economic inequality for a more equitable future.    Beyond discussing reforms governors can pursue to address complex challenges posed by Covid-19, the volume “Dopo l’emergenza. Dieci tesi sull’era post-pandemica”, edited by Giuseppe Zaccaria, law professor of the University of Padova and published by the Padova University Press, collects  views and reflections of ten distinguished scholars,  nationally and internationally recognised, on the existential threat of the pandemic which could reemerge with devastating implications for public health and the global economy.

Sant’Anna School Professor Maria Chiara Carrozza  of the Biorobotics Institute and the scientific director of the Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi is the author of  the Fourth Thesis  “Irrinunciabilità e pericoli della tecnologia” about the role of technology as a potential way to boost well-being in a time of lockdowns.  The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that technology is supporting people (e.g. for smart working or making telephone calls to relatives isolated at home, delivering medications, or driving patients to hospitals). Conversely, technology supremacy will reduce job security and exacerbate inequality especially in low-income countries.  If this is the time for collaborative leadership to restart from the emergency with a deep transformation and regeneration, education (and digital education) is a global opportunity to address poverty and support the growth of individuals. Carrozza, as a professor and a former ministry of education, offers her reflections on future strategies centred on the person. Online education and distance learning proved to be useful tools during these difficult times, but it is time to return to in-person learning.

You can buy the book “Dopo l’emergenza. Dieci tesi sull’era post-pandemica” for 8 euros (purchase price). It is available for free download  on the Padova University Press website.