Today we are used to considering space mainly as an arena of geopolitical competition between great powers and as a frontier, in terms of the enormous economic interests linked to the explotation of its mineral resources and of the new technologies based on satellite use.

However, the exploration of space and the comprehension of our Universe have always proved primarily an occasion to take a step outside the comfort zone of our experience, and to broaden our point of view and see things with new eyes.

We all show deeply-ingrained ways of thinking that derive from what we have experienced and learned and that define our relationship with “the impossible”. Against this backdrop, what does space exploration teach us? What role can science and technological innovation play in our lives and society today?

 

Ersilia Vaudo, astrophysicist of the European Space Agency, has interpreted this way of looking at space as an opportunity to look at ourselves and the world with new eyes.

Dr. Vaudo is currently the Chief Diversity Officer and Special Advisor on Strategic Evolution to the Director of European, Legal and International Matters. Over the course of her thirty-year career, between Paris and the United States, she have held various positions, especially in the field of strategy elaboration. For four years, at the ESA office in Washington, she was particularly concerned with the relations with NASA.

Among other roles, she is the President and co-founder of the Association “Il Cielo itinerante”, which promotes STEM literacy especially in areas affected by hardships and educational poverty.

In 2021, she was included among the "Inspiring Fifty 2021", i.e. the 50 most influential women in the field of science and technology in Italy.

She is also the curator of the XXIII International Exhibition of the Milan Triennale on the topic "Unknown Unknowns - An Introduction to Mysteries" (from 20 May to 20 November 2022).

 

In a rapidly changing world, the “Future Leaders” Program provides young talents aged under 40 and strongly interested in international issues with opportunities for in-depth analysis and debate about some long-term trends that will significantly influence international scenarios.

Participation is restricted to the members of the Program only.