University of Siena to Open Academic Year with Focus on Gender-Based Violence
The University of Siena will inaugurate its academic year , with a lecture by Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Giorgio Parisi on Artificial Intelligence. However, a separate event, the inauguration of the academic year for the University for Foreigners of Siena, is scheduled for , and will center on the critical issue of violence against women and discriminatory language.
The University for Foreigners of Siena’s academic year opening, to be held in the Aula Magna Virginia Woolf, will feature a lecture titled “The language and discriminatory prejudices as a co-cause of the violation of human rights of women,” delivered by Paola Di Nicola Travaglini. Travaglini is a Councilor of the Court of Cassation and a nationally and internationally recognized expert on violence against women and judicial stereotypes.
According to available information, Travaglini also serves on the technical table against violence against women at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. As a legal consultant for the Senate’s investigative commission on femicide during the XVIII legislature, she coordinated the inquiry into femicides in Italy. She is reportedly the first woman to sign her name as a woman within the judicial institutions and is the author of articles and essays, including “The Judge. A Woman in the Judiciary.”
The University of Siena’s main academic year opening will also include speeches from Rector Roberto Di Pietra, Vice-President of Nantong University Mingming JI, Student Council representative Elisa Marretti, and technical-administrative staff representative Daniela Orsi. Professor Massimiliano Guderzo will deliver an inaugural lecture on “From Multilateralism to a United World: Ethics of Responsibility for a New Cosmopolitan Citizenship.”
Rector Di Pietra has stated that the University of Siena is entering the new academic year at a “challenging time” for the Italian university system, requiring “profound change to address future challenges.” He expressed delight in hosting Professor Parisi, noting his work on Artificial Intelligence and advocating for regulation that considers European values and strategic investments for Italy and Europe’s future.
Meanwhile, the University of Siena also offers a multidisciplinary course, ‘Discrimination and Gender-Based Violence,’ which will begin on . This transdisciplinary course, now in its seventh edition, aims to provide a foundational understanding of discrimination and gender-based violence from anthropological, historical, economic, legal, business studies, and gender medicine perspectives. The 40-hour course, led by Prof.ssa Alessandra Viviani, is structured around lectures from professors across various disciplines and is worth 6 ECTS credits.
The course is available to students in the Master’s Degree program in International Relations LM-52 and can be selected as a “student’s choice” exam by students from all University of Siena departments, subject to approval from their Teaching Committee. Lectures will be held in person at Polo Mattioli, Via Mattioli 10, on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
The University of Siena’s Diversity Action Committee also works to increase knowledge of diversity and effect positive change within the Siena community, addressing issues related to gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, sexual orientation, gender expression, and disability. The committee aims to improve relationships and raise awareness of prejudice and discrimination, supporting the University’s Human Rights policy.
