Message from the Director

Greetings from ICTP.

The  COVID-19 pandemic has brought about an unprecedented global upheaval. ICTP has responded to the emergency with the aim to preserve and reorient its mission as much as possible under these trying circumstances. The entire institute is teleworking, and although all international activities on campus have been cancelled until the end of July, we are finding new ways to remain connected even if apart. We are resuming classes, colloquia and seminars and most meetings of faculty and staff by Zoom. We are co-organizing  journal clubs with our partner institutes EAIFR in Rwanda and SAIFR in Brazil. It is heartening to see the positive intent and commitment with which our community has responded to these efforts.

Over the past few weeks we have received a steady stream of support messages from well-wishers from every corner of the globe expressing their gratitude for ICTP and offering in turn their help in various forms. In the latest such correspondence, a group of  87 Vietnamese researchers wrote: "We cannot help thinking about the ICTP and SISSA, the city of Trieste, and the country Italy, where each of us preserves some of our brightest memories…We are certain that ICTP and SISSA will overcome the current difficulties and will reopen their doors once again to welcome researchers from all over the world. Please be assured that our thoughts are with you."

The Centre is extremely grateful for this gesture of solidarity from the international community. It's heart-warming to see what ICTP has meant to scientists around the globe. It vividly highlighted for me the deep impress of the mission of ICTP and the role it can continue to play in bringing the world together through science.

Science is essential not only for finding solutions to this pandemic but also for informing the citizenry, for making wise policy decisions, and for rebuilding communities after such an unprecedented crisis. During the five decades of its existence, ICTP has brought together over 100,000 scientists from 188 countries to help build scientific capacity around the world. The mission of a global hub like ICTP has an even greater relevance and urgency in these challenging  times which could accentuate intellectual isolation. Perhaps this adversity is an opportunity to think of novel ways to engage with our mission with a renewed conviction.

I hope you and your families are all safe and healthy.

Buona salute e benessere!

Atish Dabholkar, ICTP Director

Related link: Web portal, ICTP's COVID-19 Response