Education is not only a right, it is the foundation for social justice, peace, and sustainable development. These values were brought into focus on 16 May 2025, when the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella opened the 2024-2025 Academic Year of the Masters’ Programmes of the Turin School of Development (TSD), organized in partnership with Università degli Studi di Torino and the Politecnico di Torino, and supported by the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo.

This year’s ceremony held particular significance, as it took place during ITCILO’s 60th anniversary celebrations, a milestone that reasserts the Centre’s mission to deliver transformative learning that empowers people, strengthens institutions, and promotes decent work. In his address, President Mattarella described the Turin School of Development as a concrete expression of international cooperation, where universities, institutions, and UN agencies come together to advance shared values.

In his speech, President Mattarella focused on the challenge of making rights effective and universal, particularly the right to work, enshrined in Italy’s Constitution and central to the ILO’s founding vision. He stressed that this right cannot be realised through legislation alone, but must be supported by access to training, continuous learning, and the development of skills:

“Training, continuous learning, and skills development are essential to making the right to work a reality. This Centre plays a key role in building the human capital needed to achieve sustainable development and promote social justice.”

He underlined that fair, meaningful, and secure work depends on lifelong investment in people and their skills. No economic or social development strategy, he noted, can succeed without this foundation. In this context, he described ITCILO as a “laboratory of excellence,” a place that equips individuals and institutions to face global transitions with responsibility and ethical discernment.

President Mattarella was welcomed on campus by Christophe Perrin, Director of the ITCILO and the Turin School of Development; Miguel Panadero, Acting Director of the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC); and Alessandra Liquori, Liaison Officer of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). Together, their presence captured the essence of the UN Campus in Turin, where three institutions bring their strengths to a shared mission of advancing global learning for sustainable development

In his remarks, Christophe Perrin placed the visit within a broader historical perspective, recalling the founding of the Campus during Italia ’61 that celebrated Italy’s progress through international engagement and future-oriented investment: “This Campus was established as part of Italia '61, marking a pivotal moment when Italy chose not only to honour its past, but to invest in the future,” he said.

“President Mattarella’s presence,” he continued, “reaffirms the value of education and international dialogue as essential tools for building bridges across borders and addressing complex global challenges.”

Miguel Panadero spoke to the enduring support of local and national institutions: “The city of Turin, the region of Piedmont, and national institutions have been attentive and long-sighted interlocutors, sharing a common vision.”

Alessandra Liquori reflected on the values that guide their work in fragile and conflict-affected contexts: “Today more than ever, we support the countries most exposed to conflict in pursuit of peace, development, and dignity for all.”

To mark the occasion, President Mattarella also visited a photo exhibition with ITCILO Deputy Director Paola Babos illustrating key moments in the Centre’s 60-year journey, from its founding to its present-day role as a hub for training, innovation, and multilateral cooperation across the United Nations system.

Held under the theme "Learning, Social Justice, and Peace," the ceremony opened with the Italian national anthem, performed by the children’s chorus “Laboratorio del suono” of Sermig Arsenale della Pace. Institutional and academic partners followed with messages of support, reflecting the strong connections between the Centre, its host city and region, and its academic partners.

Stefano Lo Russo, Mayor of Turin, described the ITCILO as “one of our city’s most valuable assets,” noting: “From Turin, it speaks to the world, promoting universal values such as decent work, social justice, and cooperation. Every year, thousands of people train here in a truly international environment.”

Alberto Cirio, President of the Piemonte Region, linked the Centre’s mission to the region’s legacy of responsible enterprise: “This land, Piemonte, has always been rooted in a tradition where enterprise and social responsibility go hand in hand. I think of Olivetti, Ferrero, Lavazza: companies that embraced social responsibility long before it was formally defined. The motto left to us by Michele Ferrero, ‘Work, create, and give back,’ has become a moral imperative.”

Stefano Geuna, Rector of the University of Turin, stressed that higher education must be grounded in ethics, interdisciplinarity, and scientific rigour: “This is what will allow us to develop fair and evidence-based responses to today’s crises and inequalities.”

Stefano Corgnati, Rector of the Politecnico di Torino, reflected on the strength of collaboration within the TSD: “Technology alone is not enough. Its full value emerges when combined with social, economic, and institutional dimensions. That is what we experience here: a collaborative model where disciplines intersect and institutions work together.”

Bringing the ceremony to a close, Jumana Risheq, student representative and participant of the Master in Social Innovation for Sustainable Development, offered a powerful reflection shaped by her experience as a third-generation Palestinian refugee. “The prominence of the voice of the Global South here in these walls creates a space for a powerful knowledge exchange, one that is not based on simply adopting frameworks from the Global North, but on working together to shape equitable systems for the future.”

She spoke of a learning environment that encourages students to question, adapt, and contribute, engaging critically with global models while grounding them in their own realities: “To think in a regenerative capacity is to consider answers as a means toward arriving at better questions,” she said. “May we walk away with more questions than we arrived with, and the courage to embrace the process, in pursuit of connection, innovation, and justice.”

Her final words echoed like a quiet promise: “When I think about the future, I see flowers, because I am planting them.”