Posted

What a NetWorks!

Over 200 NGO partners, experts and volunteers gathered from 21 to 24 November in The Home of The Human Safety Net for our sixth annual summit NetWorks 2023. Forty speakers from 12 countries and 15 organisations shared on stage their ideas to shape the movement's future for the years to come.

This year, we added two new countries to The Human Safety Net family gathering, Luxemburg and Chile, bringing the total to 26 nations, 77 partner organisations, and 20 new colleagues in the country teams. 

We talked about partnerships with Phillip Donnet, Generali Group CEO, where we are going with Simone Bemporad, Vice-Chair of The Human Safety Net and Generali Group Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer; we touched upon sustainability with Marco Sesana, Generali General Manager. We discussed collaborative work with Gabriele Galateri di Genola, Chairman of the Board of The Human Safety Net. We also explored structural volunteering with Monica Possa, Board member of The Human Safety Net and Generali Chief HR and Organisation Officer Group. Our Executive Officer Emma Ursich led our team, which delivered over a dozen dialogues and workshop sessions. 

Among NGOs and experts, we had three super-insightful keynote speakers. Joan Lombardi from the University of Stanford can be considered the "Godmother" of the Early Years sector. She talked about embracing a holistic view of the sector, the value of collaborative work and partnerships, measurements, and foundational skills. Nicolas Hazard, founder of impact investment fund INCO, shared his views on society and how to create a positive change in society. Nicolas touched upon INCO's incubation programs in 15 countries and people trained. In his view, society needs to transform the system to support those who work and those looking for jobs (in social enterprises, green jobs). Rumaya Juhari from the University Putra in Malaysia shared her 37 years of experience working on evidence-based programmes, especially in a multicultural environment like the one in her home country. 

We also had a special surprise to end things this year: a visit from the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on the last days of NetWorks 2023.

We are looking forward to next year!