Historic visit this morning to the Caronte & Tourist offices a delegation from the Matacena Foundation, part of the Geographical Society of China (GSC), which reported on the activities carried out between 2020 and 2023 by the Foundation itself. The GSC is an academic organization with a centuries-old tradition among the most influential in China and which includes over fifteen thousand scientists and researchers.
This event not only renews, but confirms the collaboration in the field of scientific research between two entities on opposite sides of the globe united by that common thread of passion for science and commitment to environmental protection that belonged to the co-founder of Caronte & Tourist, Elio Matacena. “The Foundation founded by my grandfather continues to live in the continuity of his foresight and sensitivity to environmental issues – recalled Lorenzo Matacena, CEO of C&T. His love for the environment, already nurtured in an era in which it was neither a cogent nor fashionable topic, continues to unite distant people and countries, in particular China where he concentrated many of his studies and was recognized as a luminary also for his merits in the field of international scientific cooperation”.
Founded in Beijing in 2001 as part of the historic collaboration between the shipowner and the People’s Republic of China, in the presence of the then Minister of Scientific Research of the People’s Republic of China and the president of the Chinese Academy of Science, the Matacena Foundation (of which Prof. Bojie Fu, also president of the Geographical Society of China, is president) was born with the mission of promote collaboration between Italian and Chinese scientists for the protection of the ecosystem, a commitment which over the years has continued to be fueled through the awarding of scholarships and work to young scientists, as well as with the promotion of academic exchanges between Italy and China, all aimed at increasing studies for environmental protection and contributing to human and social development. Today’s meeting kicked off new projects of the Foundation, renewing the members’ commitment to starting working tables, carrying out joint research projects and exchanging knowledge and technologies that address global environmental challenges, unfortunately increasingly urgent.
At the end of the meeting at the C&T offices, the Matacena Foundation delegation was guests on board the Elio ship, where they visited the engine room and the command bridge.