Crosetto enlists teachers and experts to communicate “the culture of defense”

A committee of experts and teachers in support of the defense ministries, or rather of the minister Guido Crosetto, to communicate in a nutshell the importance of investments in the defense sector. University professors, journalists, economists and expert communicators chosen by the minister in a sort of defense think tank in the center-right government led by Giorgia Meloni. “We are living in times of rapid change and Defense must always be one step ahead, also from a cultural and thought-processing point of view. Innovative approaches are needed to continue to be effective in guaranteeing the security of the nation and I am convinced that a structural dialogue between the military world, the university system, the sector industry and the information environment is an essential tool for achieving objective”, says Minister Crosetto in a note announcing the establishment of the “Committee for the development and enhancement of defense culture”.

The Committee, chaired by the Minister of Defence, is “made up of the following professionals”, reads the note: Twin Alvi (economist), Julius Anselmi (President of the press agency “ANSA”), Pietrangelo Buttafuoco (writer), Anna Coliva (art historian), Pier Domenico Garrone (Counselor to the Minister for issues related to institutional communication and strategies to enhance the culture of defense and Founder of “Il Comunicatore Italiano”), Michele Roberta Lavagna (Full Professor of the Politecnico di Milano, Department of Aerospace Science and Technology), Gian Carlo Leone (President of the Audiovisual Producers Association), Angelo Panebianco (columnist), Vittorio Emanuele Parsi (Full Professor of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and Director of the High School of Economics and International Relations of the same University), Angelo Maria Petroni (General Secretary Aspen Institute), Gianni Riotta (columnist), Fabio Tamburini (Director of “Il Sole 24 ore”), Antonio Zoccoli (Full Professor of the University of Bologna, President of the Association big data), Philip Maria Grasso (Leonardo’s Director of Institutional Relations).

“The initiative aims to create a mutually beneficial mutual contamination with the civil world, through a dynamic system of relations with the main institutional players, with society and with the world of work. The Armed Forces – underlines Crosetto – are used to protect national interests and the “Defense System” represents a foreign policy tool as well as a formidable growth driver for the country. For this reason, in a renewed and complex geopolitical framework, the perception of the national military instrument will have to change compared to the It should be disclosed that investments in research and development in the sector are fruitful not only for the Defense under the dual profile of the operation of the military instrument and industrial development, but also for the country system in terms of increasing employment levels, overall development of the industrial system, technological leadership, increased growth and therefore revenue. Today, the challenge is also played out in terms of communication, as emerges from the increasingly frequent use of fake news and distorted narratives, to the detriment of democracies. “Protecting the correctness of the public debate by promoting the truth of the facts and allowing citizens to access verified information is one of the new frontiers in the defense of freedom, and it is all the more important in a delicate sector such as the military and security one. To this end, making use of the contribution of civil society, to favor an open look that adds to the analysis capacity of military structures that of professionalism of excellence, can prove to be a trump card. I sincerely thank those who have agreed to make themselves available to the country, moreover free of charge and despite the numerous commitments dictated by their respective prestigious roles”.

The aim will also be to promote a communication path on a national level that makes the most of defense capabilities. “These are structures and functions, often little known, that the Defense puts at the service of the country: “industrial functions”, both within the structures dependent on the logistic commands of the Armed Forces, and with the establishments of the Defense Industries Agency; “health functions”, some of which are of an exclusive nature, also for the protection of disabilities, through the military health structures, already the protagonist of a formidable support to the National Health Service during the pandemic emergency; “training functions” through the Institutes of training of the Armed Forces, the Defense Training School, military high schools and the defense university at the Center for Higher Defense Studies; “jurisdictional functions” through the structures of the military judiciary; “research, development and innovation functions” through the structures in charge of the General Secretariat and the Defense General Staff; countless “functions in competition” carried out by the Air Force in the field of environmental protection and in support of civil protection and the administration of the interior”.