The First Meeting of the Masters took place on the 25th of January 2019 in Rome
Stepping inside the classroom on the First Meeting you could immediately sense the excited and comfortable environment permeating the air. As this new adventure began for our fellows who enrolled in the December 2018 Master Edition, the School and its staff were glad to accompany them through these first steps, together with a representation of our loyal partners.
With a total of 45 students for the current Edition of our three International Masters (Master PMC in Project Management for International Cooperation, Master FRAME in Fundraising Management and Master HOPE in Humanitarian Operations in Emergencies) we can say we are not just proud of the number in itself, but mostly of the quality of our new students. These are the profiles our partner organization are looking for, young and adult professionals with very interesting profiles that will soon be #ReadyToImpact and make a difference in the world
As Marco Crescenzi, President of Social Change School, stated during his opening speech
In the sector we don’t only need good professional with good tools but also good people, especially after the various scandals recently faced by NGOs. It is important to raise the professional level, but also the human one”.
The President also underlined how the staff feels a great responsibility towards the Master fellows, knowing very well how this lifechanging experience will change the future of the students, both at a professional and personal level.
After this first speech, Lodovico Mariani (Finance and Administration Director at Amref Health Africa – Italy and Senior Adviser at Social Change School) took the floor for a Keynote Speech. Mariani shared with the fellows various anecdotes about his experience and told the students:
One thing that I want to say about Social Change School is that all the people that work for the School are actually doing this job. You will not find any of the teachers that is a pure teacher. Teaching humanitarian aid for 25 years. Ok but when was the last time this person was doing it? Never. Well then something is not working. All the lecturers at Social Change School are people who are doing it on a daily basis”.
As part of the tradition, one of our fresh alumni came to greet the new fellows and to symbolically entrust the flag of the School to a new student. This year Francesca Marini (a Master PMC alumna from the December 2017 Edition) joined us for the handover and to speak to the new Master fellows. Francesca told the fellows:
The Master made my dreams and courage stronger and real. I am now ready to start. In all these months I had the chance to discuss about my ideas, create my Master project, build it and rebuild it with experts and teachers and I collected a lot of feedbacks. I learnt a lot of theoretical knowledge, but also competencies and a wider perspective”.
After her words, Alessio Di Carlo and Tanja Berretta (Directors respectively of Master PMC and HOPE) welcomed their new students with a few words about what is to come and about their notable experience in the sector. A representation of the staff of the School was also in Rome for the occasion and presented themselves, their role and past experience.
We were also happy to be joined by representatives from some of our partner organizations. Maria Luisa Garofalo from Médecins Sans Frontières, Letizia Papotti from AVSI, Maria Torelli from Mission Bambini, Davide Berruti from INTERSOS all presented their organizations and gladly connected with the students.
In the afternoon, fellows had the chance to present themselves to the whole group of students and staff, connecting with each other and stating their goals and dreams.
The day was particularly appreciated by the new fellows, who shared their pleasure in meeting the partners, getting to know and listening to the words of lecturers and staff.
