Thank you. You may start. Okay, thank you very much. My name is Simone Cresti, I'm the network manager of SDSN Mediterranean and it's my pleasure to moderate this webinar. I introduce Dr. Marco Forte, general director of the Monte de Paschi di Siena Foundation, the hosting institution of the in-presence session of this webinar. Dr. Forte, the floor is yours. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good afternoon to everybody. On behalf of the Foundation, the board of directors of Foundation, of course we are very, very pleased to host you here. We want to thank you for your attendance, virtual and of course in presence in this room. Of course we follow your job, your actions, sustainability is I'd say the main goal in our philanthropic activities is embedded in our mission. So we are very, very interested in developing this kind of initiatives also in this wonderful building. I know that the topics of the day is the student mobility. I have to say that I have experienced the mobility because of my daughter who lives and works in Netherlands and she likes that. She's very, very happy. So I want to say you to continue this approach, the same for the teachers. I think that we have to build a good approach, a new approach for sustainability, for the good relationships between the best part of European students. So I don't want to take other time to your job and I want to say good luck for the future, for the union, the meeting. Thank you very much. Thank you. And now I have the pleasure to introduce Professor Angelo Riccaboni, the chair of SDSN Mediterranean and co-chair of SDSN Europe. Thank you. And only if you were on behalf of, I'm bringing here the greetings of Geoffrey Sacks, the chair of SDSN Global and the greetings of Fibico Nduri and Adolf Kokleck, who are the co-chairs of SDSN Europe. So I'm very pleased that we were able to launch this series of seminars. I would like to thank also Massimiliano Montini, colleague and friend from Europe, Derek Siena and Marco Forte, the hosting institution here, the Foundatione Monte Pasquicena, because they gave us the availability of this wonderful location. And I would like to thank first of all, Chince Angeli, because she was very, very valuable in order to organize this meeting. And Marcella Gargano, general director of the Ministry of Education and the University Research and Patricia Lombard, the chair of the Association of Universities for Sustainability. So I'm very pleased that we were able to launch this series of seminars and the rationale behind it is very clear. We have the elections in a few months and we need to make all the youngsters aware of the importance of these elections. So we need that youngsters go and vote because we need that everybody expresses his or her vote, but especially the young ones, because in the future, you will be the ones that we'll have, we'll see the effect of what is going on in terms of social, environmental sustainability. So it is very important to involve youngsters. And what we thought was to be done was to show to the young generations what Europe is doing in terms of positive initiatives, because we in democracies, we tend to only see what is bad. We have this really bad bias that only we consider and we talk with the social networks. We only talk about what is bad. Why Europe is really creating a very important environment for all of us and there are many, many opportunities. So this is the reason why we focus on three topics. One today is student mobility with a huge success of Erasmus. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate to the Erasmus program, but everybody is doing it and is unbelievably positive for your future. So one will be today on mobility of students, then on May the 2nd, on towards carbon neutrality organized by SDSN Portugal, and then on inclusive societies, May 22nd, organized by the German Network. So we want to mobilize youngsters. This is the aim that SDSN Europe will be pursuing in the next few years. And we will be very pleased to discuss also with you and others online how to do it. We think this is a nice start, but we want to go ahead and we hope to propose more initiatives. So thanks for your work. I know that the four groups have worked very hard in order to present their experience, but also suggestions for the future. So we are looking forward to hearing from what you are saying, but also to help you to present these proposals to institutions. Thank you very much and enjoy your day here. Thank you. Thank you, Angelo. And now a few words from Professor Massimiliano Montini, the Vice Director to the European Citizenship of the University of Siena. Thank you very much. Welcome to everybody, to the students and the participant here in this room. And thanks to Fondazione Monterepaschi for hosting us and greetings also to those who are participating online with us today. I'm here to bring my greetings as Scientific Director of Europe Direct Siena. Europe Direct is a center for promoting information and knowledge about the European Union based at the University of Siena. It is more than 10 years that we are working here at our universities as many of the people who are present today know very well. We are working closely with the office in Rome of the Representanza of the European Commission. What is important in particular in this moment now is to talk and to share experience about students' mobility. And this is the topic today and we are looking forward to listen to the experience of our young students in their recent experience. We have been in my case, I've been Erasmus students myself some time ago so I still remember and I still always think that this is really an experience worth doing. Erasmus for students but also all other experiences of traineeship and other opportunities for exchanging ideas for learning how other European system work and really this time that you spend abroad in Europe is always worthwhile. This is my message as a true believer on the European integration. The other point that is particularly important today and this year and on this Europe Direct is working hard with the other Europe Direct centers all over Europe is to promote a major presence of our young people in the next European elections. As you know in June there will be the elections of the European Parliament which happen every five years for some of you might be the first time that you can vote for the European Parliament for some people might be the second time and it's really important that young people go to vote they are present they use the opportunity that European democracy gives us to express our vote to send our representatives to the European Parliament. This is very important as you know the share of people who are voting in Europe is still around 50 percent so it's not very high but the the good message is that we we participated to a very big campaign five years ago in the latest European elections in 2019 and we managed all together to raise the share of people who went to vote and what is more important that the share of young people who went to vote was much higher in 2019 than in previous European elections. So I hope that this time will be the same and you will also participate to the European election will also convince your friends other young people to be there to vote and to make your voice heard. So thank you very much for being here today and for participating to this effort with us. And thank you very much. I also want to thank you all the people who are joined online for attending this webinar and also professor Alessandra Viviani which joined us in presence just now the rector's delegate for the Erasmus program of the University of Siena. Thank you very much Alessandra. And but now I have the great pleasure to to give the the words to our keynote speaker which is Dr. Marcella Gargano the general director of higher education institution at the Italian ministry of the universities and research. So Marcella if you're online the floor is yours. Thank you very much for being here. Okay thank you. Good afternoon and hello everyone. My name is Marcella Gargano and I am the general director for the higher education institutions at the Italian ministry of universities and research. I thank Prof. Andre Carboni for the invitation to give my testimony at today's webinar and to his team was my gratitude and highest esteem for its dedication to building a better real world of knowledge for young generation and with young generations. Today's webinar is dedicated to the theme of mobility in its broadest sense as an opportunity for young generations to move and educate themselves wherever they want in Europe. And above all to make people understand how this state of mind of freedom of movement and education is now so inherent in the way we Europeans think that only by imaging ourselves being deprived of it can we understand its real extent. And that is why it's essential that the young generation of European citizens born and raised in a system of rights and rules guarantee our freedoms. Be a conscious and an active part in protecting and implementing them and this could be done through participation in the life of the European Union. As you know the most extensive and important program of mobility involving European youths is the Erasmus program and I'm now going to talk about it. First because the Erasmus program has transformed the educational landscape in Europe fostering student mobility, cultural exchange and academic enrichment. Second because in this period leading up to European elections many young people will be called upon to participate in their civic engagement and so in the life of the European Union. Approximately 55 of the young students who studied abroad and had an Erasmus experience believe that participation in the Erasmus program has made them more interested in a willing to vote in European elections. But let's see what the Erasmus program is. The definition the Erasmus program officially established in 1987 is a flagship initiative of the European Union aimed at promoting student mobility within Europe. Its objectives are to enhance the quality and reinforce the European dimension of higher education through international cooperation and exchange. The etymology of the term of the term Erasmus refers to Erasmus de Rotterdam as all of you probably know a leading scholar and inspiring lecturer during the Renaissance period who traveled extensively in Europe to teach and study at a number of universities. But furthermore the word Erasmus also serves as the acronym of the European Community Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students. The program is a student-centered design to provide students with opportunities for studying and gaining international experience through three main actions, learning mobility of individuals, cooperation among organization and institutions which involves an important and great effort on behalf of institutions. Credits are recognized by different institutions and first and third support to policy development and cooperation. Another aspect of cooperation between institutions is the realization of the European websites the single digital gateway which has been devised as a tool useful for mobility. Mobility holds many opportunities in achieving and expanding life plans. For this reason Europe has developed a web portal aimed at helping European youths and all citizens to access information, services, assistance across the European Union. Single digital gateway, your Europe portal, this is the link, is the European Union's single digital gateway that can help you find European and national online sources with all the relevant information you need to leave, work, study, shop, travel or do business anywhere in the European Union. Single digital gateway is designed to ensure interoperability between different national system and databases, allowing for easy exchange of information and integration of services across EU member states. The program has impoverished through the years from its initial focus on a higher education to a program that now includes education, training, youth and sport. For this reason the program has been renamed Erasmus Plus. How does the program impact on students' lives? The program allows university students to study or work abroad for a period of three to 12 months as part of their degree program. This experience enables students to announce their academic and personal development, improve language skills and gain intercultural competencies. Erasmus program facilitates cross-cultural friendship and relationship. It promotes tolerance and empathy and builds a sense of belonging within a large European community of learners. And also it has broadened the scope of its priorities, including four over-reaching priorities such as green transition, digital transformation, inclusion and diversity. Marcella, sorry to interrupt you. This is Marta from SDSN. I just wanted to let you know that we are seeing the view with your notes on the side and you may want to do a full screen of your presentation just to let you know. We're seeing the... Okay, yeah, that's correct. Now we see it better. No, there is the part of the left side. But we still see your notes underneath, just so you know. Okay, just in case you weren't aware of it. Please go ahead, no problem. Thank you. Thank you. And supporting green transition, addressing digital transformation, promoting social inclusion and diversity, as well as fostering stronger participation in democratic life, common values and civil engagement. How does the program impact on European Union? Doing an experience abroad enables the students to have a strong sense of European identity and democratic values, expressing their opinion about the European Union. And the other that you can see in this slide, like, for example, have a greater sense of European identity, are more optimistic for their upcoming employment status, identify the EU as a way to create a better future for younger people or trust more the capabilities of the generation. Percentage of Erasmus students who vote. Erasmus students are more likely to vote in European election. In 2014, 81% of Erasmus students voted in European election. As you can see, the implementation of the program involves the work of many actors. Erasmus in numbers show the success the programs has had up to date. In conclusion, the Erasmus program is fundamental within European higher education. It fosters student mobility, intercultural exchange and academic collaboration is very important in terms of employment opportunities. Those who have had them are more likely to work than those who have not. Last 14% is a new push for European democracy. In fact, it's a reminder to new generation to use the hard worn right to vote. Minorities also have to write to be represented. There is a strong cooperation between institutions to realize in the future the European degree. This cooperation is carried on by University Alliance, which represents an innovative effort to reshape the higher education landscape in Europe. As one of the flagship initiatives of the European strategy for universities, the Alliance aims to ensure the competitiveness of EU higher education institutions and to promote European values and identity. The goal is to reach a total of 16 Alliance between European universities, involving more than 15,000 higher education institutions by mid 2024. So far, 51 Alliance have been created, involving more than 4,030 universities and 35 Italian institutions in particular. joint European degree is not awarded by an European body. It doesn't aim to replace national degree will be voluntarily offered by universities. In conclusion, what has been done? We have focused on three main elements crucial for mobility. The Erasmus Plus program, the website single digital gateway, Alliance between European universities. The response was very good. Institutions are working hard for successful results. Therefore, it is important that young people who are the main actors in this project actively participate to the life of European Union in order to maintain and improve the democratic institutions we have built so far. Thank you so much. Simone, we cannot hear you. You're muted. Thank you very much, Marcella, for this interesting intervention. We ask you to remain to stay online for some questions during the discussion. Now, there is the panel with the students that have worked together, coordinated by Cince Angeli and Professor Alessandra Viviani, within the soft skill courts, coordinating with others. So I want to thank you also, Lisa Vannucini, Alessandro Ortolani and Giulio Sellari, which have been collaborated with the discourse and with the students. So now the students that have to present their part, the ideas and their thoughts are Martina Marinelli, Ginevra Rovetini, Francesca Carriero and Gabriel Ciorziria. So Martina, the floor is yours. Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we are here to talk about Erasmus, a program that offers European students the possibility to live and study abroad. Erasmus is not only a study experience, but it is a unique opportunity to grow as a person, to enrich your cultural background and to develop new skills. On the European map, we can see through words what Erasmus means for European students. It means networking, international experience, personal growth, opportunities and sharing. We analyzed data on Erasmus from the Almara website. At first, we can see that parents' education and socioeconomic status influence the possibility to access on a mobility program. There are differences between students with educated families and students without educated families. Students from educated families are more likely to participate in these programs. Then, we can see that despite the impact of the pandemic, there are differences in disciplinary groups that participate in Erasmus programs, and languages students have a higher rate in participating. Regarding the destination, Spain remains the most popular destination, followed by France, Germany and Portugal. We can see that study abroad experiences remain stable until 2020, and then there was a decrease, probably due to the pandemic restrictions. There are a lot of reasons for students to do an Erasmus experience. First of all, it is an open-minded sense of discovery. When you travel and make new experiences, it's like you open your eyes wider and you can develop your personal and professional skills. You can get for these better job opportunities too, and you can learn about new culture because you meet people from all over the world with different traditions, ideas and ways of living. A student can also step out of the comfort zone and strengthen European identity. Moving on, we can see the historical evolution of Erasmus programs. Erasmus was convinced by Sofia Corradi in 1969, but it was developed only in 1987 for university students. Over the years, Erasmus has grown significantly, and today it is a program for students, trainees, professors and professional figureds, and it promotes mobility, cooperating and professional and personal skills. Erasmus aligns with several SDGs set by the European Union, and it creates a sustainable future for all of us. We can say that Erasmus is not a benefit for the individual students, but it also promotes a sustainable future. Today, we are here to suggest that Erasmus can be a fundamental pillar of European citizenship. We propose some ideas, divided in three areas, engage, support and share. Hi everyone. I want to talk about an online platform designed to help students who are considering going on Erasmus exchange. We know how challenging and also confusing it can be to choose the right destination, so our platform comes into play, making your decision process easier and more informed. Let's take a look at our platform. This platform is divided into three parts, three pages, the on-page, the tips and advice pages, and the digital tutor page. For the first part, we have what is Erasmus, an overview of what the platform of Erasmus offers and what type of Erasmus you can consider, for example, Erasmus Plus or Erasmus for studies. In the second part, we also have what is this platform with online platform for, so the explanation. This platform was created to share experience, but the important part is the part of tips and advice. In this part, we have divided by destination tips or places to visit, possible trainers and much more to suggest for everyone who wants to go to Erasmus. Let's check an example, Dublin. This is my ex-room mate that goes to Dublin. She said, I, it's Tullia, I'm going to give you a couple of advice on Dublin. I studied in Trinity College for a semester and I also had chance, the chance to live in the university accommodation inside it. The English-American university system is very different from what I was used to do in Italy, so make sure to pay attention on how everything works. Beside the orientation week and the very start, there are lots of other channels to ask for help, whatever question you might have, such as tutor, e-g-pages, offices and other. The university life is not just work, though, because societies make it all better. There are dozens of them and you'll be able to join what is more in your taste. Dublin is a capital, but it doesn't feel too big and dispersive on the other end. It's very multicultural, walking in the city center, you will hear speaking languages from all over the world. So this is an example to understand which will be the structure of this review. And I want to tell you that these girls work there, so it's an important thing to do. So the last part is digital tutor. What I do, one, personalized guidance. As your digital tutor, I act as your personalized guide throughout your Erasmus journey. I'll help you navigate the application process, choose the courses that align with your interests and goals, and prepare you logistically for your adventure abroad. Think of me as your mentor, always available to answer your questions and offer guidance. Two, academic support. I understand how important academic success is to you. That's why I offer tailored academic support, providing you with personalized learning resources and recommending courses that suit your aspirations. If you need extra help with specific subjects, I'm here to offer virtual tutoring sessions to ensure you excel in your studies. This is an important aspect of Erasmus programs, language support and certifications. As you know, participating in Erasmus programs requires some level of language proficiency. And especially for exams, many students face this common challenge, but we have identified potential solutions, which are free language courses. Universities can offer free language courses before and during the Erasmus program, and creating a language European passport that allows students access to community certifications recognized throughout the Erasmus system. Another critical aspect is accommodation and cost of living. Currently, we can categorize countries into three groups of cost of living. The first one is the group one is high cost of living. The students in these countries receive 350 euros per month. The second one is the medium cost of living. The students here receive 300 euros per month, and the last one is the low cost of living. The monthly allowance is 2,050 euros. Instead of this, we can assign each destination its own bracket based on the cost of living index. Now, let's shift our focus to inclusivity. In many Italian universities, transgender people may require an alternative and temporary profile. However, this profile is not directly recognized even in the host universities of the Erasmus circuit, and these exclude and discriminate against these people. Thanks, Ginebra. As we've just heard, Erasmus Plus is already really well equipped to continue into being an asset in the educational and personal growth in the European context. However, it is crucial that this wonderful experience is not an end to itself. Furthermore, it has to have a real and long-term impact on our lives. That's why we've envisioned something more for the aforementioned platform which could make the journey even more impactful. This is the Erasmus Aluminus tutor. With the goal of integration in mind, we believe that this figure, which is a veteran of at least one semester of mobility, cannot value to those students which are in the same shoes as the tutor at the beginning of the journey. The new Erasmus student will be remotely supported so that they have not only assistance in the technical matters, but also guidance through human, cultural, and psychological issues and problems. On the other hand, the tutor will receive recognition among their only universities in terms of credit or as a certified internship. So we have to reshape the Erasmus as we think of it, not as a linear path, but rather as a more simpler and comprehensive path, with an even greater focus on students laying that the groundwork for a more integrated and multicultural Europe. Another turning point we propose concerned communication and sharing. Let's take Instagram for instance, one of the most social media platforms used by us university students, which in recent years has integrated also promotion and information regarding events and opportunities such as Erasmus Plus. However, if we were to search for Erasmus Plus on the platform, we would find ourselves in wild waters. There isn't as of today a very fat age that guarantees the reliability and safety of the published information. Without it, it's like searching a treasure in the sea. It's impossible. So it's absolutely necessary to find a digital space through which the European Commission can not only clearly advise anyone who wants to know more, but also interact directly with its participants to understand the issue or request firsthand. But what type of content would make a difference for us? We thought about one which is more a static piece of content such as this one you see, or a more dynamic one, a short-lived one, which is the real, which will be posted directly by the personal profiles of Erasmus students who through their daily lives and tax will show and sell the added value of the experience, curiosities, and these are our advice. The real will also present on the Erasmus Plus platform so that we can have an album of feedback and direct testimonials easily accessible to anyone. So what you have just witnessed is the result of our collaborative effort of a dedicated team of nearly 50 individuals, including students, mentors from Utsiana alumni, and various guests for our university's bodies and associations to whom we owe a big thank you. Throughout this project, we've explored the transformative potential of international mobility in fostering a more cohesive and equitable society. So we had some challenges, but we worked together implementing inclusive policies and best practices in a dialogue between diverse personalities and perspectives. Therefore, Meetmark's significant stride towards a more united, inclusive and supportive community, both here in Siena and as a contribution to the whole European Union. The democratic environment of the very European Union enable us to engage in such discussions about shaping our future. We have a plethora of tools and avenues to translate our ideas into a single action and ensure our voices are heard as active citizens of our society. However, this is just the beginning of our journey. The next step is to spread our findings among those who can effectively influence the future of programs such like Erasmus Plus. To achieve this, we have the invaluable right and responsibility to exercise our collective power in the form of voting this coming June. So until next time, let's remind ourselves that every bond and every community, regardless of its size or degree of diversity, adds another hue to the magnificent canvas that is the European Union. Thank you. So thank you very much to the students that have just presented, but also to all the others that have participated in this great work for highlighting the relevance of the European Union and the mobility for students within the European space, let's say. And now it's time to raise questions from the floor here in presence and also online using the chat of Zoom. So please raise your question if you have or your comments or your thoughts about this topic. And I will address your points to all the speakers that have intervened just now. So is there any question from the from the floor here in presence? Okay, Cinsia, would you like to raise questions if you come here? Many thanks to all the speaker, very interesting. I was just thinking what can be done, I don't know who can answer, by the way, in terms of cost of living. It seems like a very tough area in order to make like the program more inclusive and open. I don't know, maybe this question is for Marcella, but what can be done in order to make like the subsidy more like in line with the cost of living of the different place in order also to ensure like the participation in all the different countries across Europe and not like just moving to the cheapest one. I don't know, Marcella, if you can if you hear, okay. Thank you, Cinsia. And we support students that make Erasmus Program and Erasmus Plus and we support single students, but in particular the universities with our fund that is financing the universities of our system. And now there is an important moment to improve this program. And so it's very important to guarantee resources because the cost of life in Europe are very different between countries. And so we believe that it's important to guarantee the same opportunities to our students. And so we think that are necessary more resources to improve this program. Okay, thank you, Marcella. Thank you for... Good afternoon, everybody. Can I? Yes, sure. So first question is regarding the experience. This is to the students, the experience of putting together all your efforts to come up with this kind of presentation. And the first question is about what are your takeaway from this kind of experience? And the second is how do you feel being heard by the university and by the institutions that are here to listen to what you have to say about the Erasmus project, about the mobility. So it's around the experience that you went through building together this kind of presentation, this kind of recommendation to the institution. Thank you. Thank you for the question. So regarding the project, we had to shorten bridges and to broaden views. So basically we had some challenges regarding facing each other's personalities. So we had to work on that. But even diversities in terms of experiences, because many of the 50 people aforementioned haven't done yet the Erasmus experience. So it was challenging in the way of finding out all the stories between underneath Erasmus. So we had to talk to ESN, which is an association here in Seattle, but you know, you have it in all Europe. But we had a great time. And by doing that, we didn't only grew as people, but also think as citizens of Europe. Because by simply speaking in English, which is, you know, a common language, but is not so common in every just defeated another, you know, obstacle towards inclusivity and equality. So I think in the end, it was a lot, but a great lot in the positive way, the best way. Thank you. Thank you very much. There are no more questions online. Something more from the floor here in presence. Okay, if not, I think just in order to be on time, I'm very glad to give the floor to for the closing remarks to Professorissa Patrizia Lombardi, the president of the Italian network of universities for sustainability. So Patrizia, thank you for joining and the floor is yours. Thank you very much. I hope you can hear me well. Yes, I have been following all the webinar and thanks a lot for inviting me because it was very useful, especially to hear the students stories. I would like to conclude with my five minutes just to focus on the need for accelerating transformative change because at the end of this webinar and focus on student and European educational area, I believe that is the need for understanding that we are not doing well in terms of activities, in terms of our ecological and social transition. We are been impacting on the earth in a very strong way and six out of the nine planetary limits in really crisis. We are not achieving the target of sustainable development agenda and the progress is really critical. 30% of targets are into reverse as well. So it's really important that the priority set from the European Union can continue to be strongly implemented. And I believe that the educational European area is crucial for building this, for highlighting a knowledge exchange that is intercultural and that can promote diversity as well and also opportunity for all students to be part of this European agenda. So it's critical that we and students have the opportunity to build their proper skills for achieving sustainable development considering the challenge and the challenge and they are exposed at this time. And the problem in Italy is particular critical because Italy is experiencing a big gap in terms of tertiary education, in terms of ability to meet the need of employers, in terms of the possibility for all genders, young people to be part of this working community. And unfortunately there are problems that are relating to the not the need problems that are those or neither in employment nor in education and training you see Italy especially male are the last ranking position for in European countries. And also the employment rate in Italy is very, very critical. So giving this picture that is quite pessimistic we really need to reinforce this space, this European space and our agenda 2030 and our university are trying to make the best for impacting in a positive way considering the activities that they are doing for helping Italy in doing this. The Italian network of universities for sustainable development which I represent is trying to do this with all the possibility that we can, we are really just a network with 86 university involved and a technical table on capacity building and the student hub with all these 800 people involved plus about 1,800,000 students that can have a positive opportunity for changing what we are we just represented. This is why we wanted also to have a network at the regional level to be closer with communities and working with the different topics especially in education we have put forward also guidelines for achieving a transversal course and increasing soft skills as well as sustainability framework in all educational courses in Italy. These are the figures and we hope that and this number is going to increase. Just the final news is that we in this year we have to revise the manifesto that we set up on 2019 and all university involved are focusing on the trajectory for sustainable development 2030. Also at international level we are quite involved in negotiating and policy negotiation to support policy negotiation together with all the other university network around the world. I concluded by saying that networking is really the key for building the future and thanks again for the opportunity of well being part of this community and go together to the 2030 target. Thank you very much. Thank you very much Patrizia. Thank you for your interesting words and Alessandra, it's time for you to tell us something about this experience as a delegate to the Razor's program of the University of Siena. Thank you Simone. Please first of all let me thank again the students, the 50 generally speaking and the four in particular because it takes a little bit of courage to stand up and speak so thank you very much. To all of you it has been very very interesting listening to you in those days and looking at the process that led you to concentrate your attention on certain aspects of the Erasmus program and I think a couple of things are relevant in what you said well all the things you said are relevant but to me a couple of particularly relevant. First of all you did manage to speak about the importance of mobility and the importance of sharing values and beating up a Europe that it's more and more close to citizens without having had the experience of mobility yourself and I think this is great because it means that imagination and creativity are leading forces and I would hope that after working on these ideas you will be a mobile student at the University of Siena in the next coming semesters. Please take this opportunity what you wrote what you researched what you analyzed about the fact that mobility studying abroad does change lives does transform it's true I can tell you from my personal experience and from the experience of many of other former Erasmus students and another relevant thing that you point out is the expert concerning inclusion and I think this is the real challenge of the European Union this is also why it's so important to go and vote on June and Erasmus does his part let's say as a program in building inclusion in various ways but there is still a lot to be done so it is important that we keep in mind that as you said we don't do mobility abroad we don't do Erasmus per se but as it is an instrument towards an end and the end is building a more inclusive Europe sharing democratic values and this as you said can be done only exercising our right to vote and the last thing I would like here as a person representing the institution please do not disappear now that you have ideas keep on sharing them with us there is a lot we can learn from you there is always the possibility of doing better we're very proud of the role the University of Siena has played in creating the Erasmus program but we want to play a role in making the Erasmus program better but we need you we need we cannot do it like top down we need bottom up and so please all your beautiful ideas let's work together we might be able you know to realize one of your suggestions so I thank you for what you have done so far and for what hopefully you will do in in the near future and let's see in June and go let's let's meet in June when we vote for the European elections thank you thank you very much and we are perfectly on time to to close this webinar I want to thank you very much again all the speakers of today all the people that attended online we had more or less 160 enrolled person online and 50 people here in presence thank you also to the SDSN secretary of staff and in particular Maria and Marta who supported very much with this webinar in the in the back office and other colleagues so we wait you in the next webinar on May 2 with carbon neutrality hosted by SDSN Portugal and May 22 with inclusive society hosted by SDSN Germany so thank you very much


The Yamnaya culture was instrumental in the spread of Indo-European languages and steppe ancestry across Eurasia. But what do we know about this culture? Who were the Yamnaya people? What did they look like? How important was the horse in their expansion? And did they commit a form of genocide against the ancient people of Eurasia? The Yamnaya culture, which is also known as the Pitgrave culture, existed from around 3300 BC to around 2600 BC in the Pontic Caspian steppe. It was discovered in the early 1900s near the Donets River by a Russian archaeologist, earning the name Yamnaya because of the way they buried their dead. In fact, Yamnaya is a Russian term that means related to pits. They buried their dead in kurgans, a type of tummulus, meaning a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave. The dead were often accompanied by animal offerings, with the bodies placed facing up with bent knees and covered in ochre, a type of natural clay-earth pigment. Status played the role in burials, with similarly individuals buried with complete wooden wagons. The Kernosivsky idol is a fascinating thing to mention. This anthropomorphic sculpture was found in a village in Ukraine in the 1970s and is cut from stone. It is associated with the Yamnaya culture. Although its meaning is not clear, one theory argues that it depicts the supreme deity of the Indo-European Pantheon. Similar stones have been found and they're collectively known as the Kurgans-Stellys, as they're found on top or near Kurgans, and probably served as part of the mythology around death and the afterlife. Now there is an increasing body of evidence that the Yamnaya rode horses and were perhaps one of the earliest cultures to domesticate horses, with there being an increasing body of evidence that horses were domesticated somewhere in the steppe area in general. A 2023 study looked at five Yamnaya individuals from around 5000 years ago, found in Kurgans and Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, and found that they displayed changes in bone morphology and distinct pathologies associated with horseback riding. The study added that these are the oldest humans identified as horse riders so far. This would make sense, but have to keep in mind the geography of the steppe. The steppe is a massive area of grasslands that stretches from Hungary all the way through Eurasia to northeastern China, the province of Mancuria. The Eurasian steppe has been described as a landscape of movement, with rolling grasslands encouraging further and further movement, and it would have been perfect for the horse. The Yamnaya were nomadic or semi-nomadic people, with some agriculture practised near rivers and a few fortified sites. They consumed a protein-based diet which included dairy and probably meat, milk, yogurt, cheese and soups made from seeds and wild vegetables, and perhaps drank meat. Given this high protein diet, they were probably relatively tall and strong. They had a chieftain system and ox-drawn peeled carts and wagons. People of the Yamnaya culture are believed to have had mostly brown eye colour, light to intermediate skin and brown hair colour, with some variation. Some Yamnaya are believed to have carried a mutation associated with blonde hair, as several individuals with steppe ancestry are later found to carry this mutation. It has also been hypothesised that a gene variant associated with lat-taste persistence, i.e. the ability to digest milk into adult food, was brought to Europe from the steppe by Yamnaya-related migrations. The Yamnaya culture is connected to many other cultures across Eurasia. These include the Corded Ware and Bellbeaker cultures of Central and Western Europe. With Corded Ware skeletons from Central and Eastern Europe having up to 75% Yamnaya-like ancestry in the DNA. The Yamnaya are associated with many other cultures however, including the Sintashta, the Andronoval and the Strabnaya cultures. They are also very similar to the Afanasi-Evo culture of South Siberia, and the populations of both cultures are genetically indistinguishable. This suggests that the Afanasi-Evo culture may have originated from the migration of Yamnaya groups to the Altai region. Or alternatively, the both cultures developed from an earlier shared cultural source. Genetic studies have suggested that the people of the Yamnaya culture can be modelled as a genetic admixture between a population related to Eastern and European hunter-gatherers, and people related to hunter-gatherers from the Caucasus. And they are considered Western steppe herders. I am going to do a full genetic breakdown of the Yamnaya and our origins in a future video. Before we move on to the question of genocide, it is important to note that the Yamnaya culture and its associated cultures are considered to be a major vector in the spread of the Indo-European languages across Eurasia, with now over 3 billion people speaking an Indo-European language, from Irish to Sanskrit and India. These cultures also spread steppe ancestry across Eurasia, and I detail this more on the video I made on Indo-European DNA that I'll link above. What I want to consider in this video, however, is how violent the spread of the Yamnaya and associated cultures was. The rapid spread of the Yamnaya culture and associated cultures across Eurasia has led many to argue that the potential they committed are a form of genocide against the native peoples they lost they went on to replace. One study shed a little light on this. The study basically looked at the sex bias of two different migrations, an early Neolithic migration across Europe associated with the spread of farming, and a later Neolithic and Bronze Age expansion from the Pontic has been steppe. They wanted to see if the number of males and females migrating from these areas was broadly equal or not between the early and the later migrations. This study used sex bias as a proxy to understand the nature of these migrations. If there was a relatively equal distribution of males versus females in these migrations, it would suggest a relatively peaceful migration of families from one area to another. If it was a male-dominated migration, however, it would be considered much closer to an invasion and much more likely to produce mass amounts of violence, as who wants bands of men on horseback invading into your land? So what did this study find? Well, it found that there was no evidence of a sex bias during the early Neolithic migration. For later migrations from the Pontic steppe, however, they estimated a dramatic male bias, with approximately 5 to 14 migrating males for every migrating female. They found evidence of ongoing primarily male migration from the steppe to Central Europe over a period of multiple generations, potentially connected to new technology and conquest. What is beginning to emerge is a picture of the Yamnaya and associated cultures, on horseback and in bands of young men, fuelled by a high protein diet, which meant they were probably relatively tall and strong compared to others, facilitated by a landscape of movement across the vast grasslands of the Eurasian steppe, galloping across Eurasia, wiping out many men who had probably never seen a human on horseback before, before going on to marry their women. When I read about the Yamnaya, I actually get vibes of the Vikings, in the sense of male-dominated migrations with violence into new lands. The problem is that the Yamnaya are thousands of years before the Vikings ever existed, and therefore we know less about the Yamnaya than the Vikings, although there are some parallels that are interesting to explore.  Did they simply have better technology, a better diet, or some other advantage that allowed them to replace so many groups across Eurasia and probably serve as a major vector for the spread of Indo-European limeges that over 3 billion people today speak? Please let me know in the comments below. But what do we know about Indo-European DNA? To find out, please click here. Thanks for watching, please subscribe and hit the bell for ways to support the wellbeing in the description below. Thanks again for watching and I'll see you next time.


I have to know what's going on with you. And sometimes it can take me 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30, 40 minutes maybe to read your chart and everything that's been going on with you since you were last seen. So if you're waiting for a long time, sometimes that's the reason. In fact, I'd say that's probably most commonly the reason that you're waiting for a long time is because I'm just trying to get a good idea of what's going on with you. But overall, unless there's something really new going on with you, something that's been bothering you, something that I don't know about yet, that interaction is probably gonna be pretty quick. And if I know what I'm doing, that interaction might be as short as like five minutes. Good morning. My name is Boris. I'm a board certified physician assistant working in medically supervised weight loss and outpatient internal medicine, which is basically primary care, but for somewhat more complicated patients usually. In today's video, the information is geared more towards those of you who are patients and less for those of you that are providers like myself because you guys know how it is. But those of you who are patients, so go to your doctor and you're wondering why am I waiting for so long? Why have I been sitting here for an hour? My appointment was at noon and it's like 1.15 and they still haven't called me back. Why is this taking so long? And then when the doctor or the physician assistant or nurse practitioner, whatever provider, when they come in, they come in for like five minutes, just like rattle off a couple of things, mumble a little bit at me for like five minutes and maybe show me a couple of things on the computer if they're nice. If they're not, they literally just talk for like five minutes and then they leave. And that's it, that's what I was waiting for. Like what is going on? Why am I waiting so long just to be seen for five minutes? Well, as a provider, especially as a brand new provider, and today is actually my first solo shift. So right now I'm driving to get some lunch so I just saw my first few patients on my own after training for a couple of months with the doctor that hired me. So today's my first solo shift. I'm actually doing this all by myself and so the full weight of the responsibility and everything is on me and I feel it and I can now finally tell you from kind of the behind the scenes, what is going on, why all of this is going on. Why sometimes what I just described to you where you're waiting for a long time, sometimes even an hour or even more, why that's happening and then I come in there, I see you for like five minutes and I leave. Why that's going on, why that happens and why it's probably not quite as bad as you think it is. But the first thing I wanna say is if you're waiting for an hour or more, I mean, that's really not cool. I definitely do empathize. I mean, having been a patient myself, just because I'm a provider doesn't mean I don't have my own primary care provider and you know, specialty providers and stuff. So I've been a patient. I have waited for an hour. It is really annoying. I definitely understand and anyone that I've kept waiting for a long time or I keep waiting for a long time in the future, my apologies. Like legitimately, I'm sorry. I definitely don't mean to keep people waiting. I go as fast as I can while keeping people safe. You can't go too fast. You don't wanna miss anything. You gotta keep your patients safe even if sometimes it takes a little bit longer. So again, it's not really acceptable to keep you waiting as long as that, an hour or even more. But unfortunately, sometimes it just does happen. Sometimes a patient encounter goes longer than it should. Sometimes you find something or they have complaints that are new or you have to send someone to the hospital or even like get an emergency EKG, send them by ambulance, put oxygen on them.  Sometimes you might be with a patient for an hour and a half and things just happen. But that's rare. That's the rare sign of things. Most commonly, the reason you're kept waiting with a provider, especially a brand new provider like me who doesn't know you. So if you're a new patient or there happens to be a new provider in the office like me who has not seen you before, who has not seen you for years, who is not very familiar with your chart and everything going on with you and where you've been the past few months, your blood work, your imaging, your specialty consults, all the stuff that's going on with you as a new patient or a new provider. Before I even go into the room and see you for even one minute before I even say hi to you, I have to read all of that. And sometimes it's tons and tons of documents. Like some of these documents can be 13, 14, 30, 40 pages. If you were at the hospital, for instance, there's a lot to read. Now we don't always thoroughly read every single page but we know what to look for. We want to get at least a very good general idea of what's going on with you, what's going on with your health, what's going on with your care, what's going on with your lab work, your imaging, what specialty consults, what procedures have you had recently? Just what is everything going on with you?  Now of course I do have to ask you what's going on, how you're feeling, is there anything new going on? How do you feel about your diagnoses? What is your level of understanding with everything that's going on? Of course I have to do the physical exam to see if there's any physical findings to see if anything's new, if anything is pertinent. There is a point to me actually going in there and talking to you, but unless it's like a detailed physical exam, your annual exam, where there's really just that much going on with you, more than likely, that interaction does not have to be very long. I just have to ask you my list of very specific questions that I've already thought of and already cultivated, ask you if there's anything new going on with you that you really need to tell me and then do whatever physical exam is appropriate in order to solidify my understanding of what's going on with you and then what I'm actually going to do for you as your plan. Of course I'm going to explain the care plan to see if you need to get any orders done, if you need to go see any other providers, if you need to do anything besides just seeing me and I'm going to make sure that you express understanding and I'm going to explain it in as many ways and as many times as it takes for you to understand that. So that's part of our interaction as well. But overall, unless there's something really new going on with you, something that's been bothering you, something that I don't know about yet, that interaction is probably going to be pretty quick. And if I know what I'm doing, that interaction might be as short as like five minutes. Now as a specialist, that might be different and I'm not a specialist. I'm a primary care provider. So as a primary care provider, I am responsible for quarterbacking literally all of that.  So just because you have care from other providers doesn't mean I don't need to know about it pretty intimately, pretty thoroughly. And I don't need to at least know what's going on and see how your other care plans kind of fall in line with the care plan that you're getting from your specialist. So I know that was kind of a lot of lingo for the, for someone who's not a provider, but basically I have to know what's going on with you. And sometimes it can take me 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30, 40 minutes maybe to read your chart and everything that's been going on with you since you were last seen. And again, if you're brand new to me or you're brand new to the practice, I have to read everything from like years back to see who are you, what's going on with you, what can I do for you, what are things that I absolutely have to watch out for to make sure that you are not unsafe, that you're taking care of the way you need to be and I'm not unsafe due to liability for missing something that I shouldn't have missed. Sometimes it's just like literally an X-ray and a blood test if you're a young, healthy person or sometimes like I said, it could be hundreds of pages of documents that I have to at least scroll through and get the gist and see what's going on before I can even say hi to you. So if you're waiting for a long time, sometimes that's the reason. In fact, I'd say that's probably most commonly the reason that you're waiting for a long time is because I'm just trying to get a good idea of what's going on with you. Do know that as a primary care provider I definitely empathize with your frustration. Having to sit there for even like 10 minutes past your appointment time, you probably think I'm making an appointment with I don't know Boris, the PA or with the doctor or whoever at one o'clock, that provider is gonna see me at one o'clock. That's not what actually happens. What happens is hopefully by one o'clock, maybe by like 1.15, 1.20, the nurse actually calls you in, takes your weight, takes your blood pressure, asks you all the stuff that the nurse is gonna ask and then when the provider reads all of that and is done reviewing your chart, then they're gonna see you. So it might be even like at best 20, 30 minutes from your appointment time before the provider actually sees you and that's legitimately at best. At worst, it might be even longer. So in case you are a patient that's ever been frustrated by this kind of thing, I just really hope that explanation helps you understand things from my perspective as the provider that's gonna see you and know that I'm not trying to keep you waiting because I like to keep you waiting because I think you deserve to be kept waiting or for any other reason except for the fact that this is just how the process works and this is what we have to do in order to get you the best possible care that we can provide for you. So just a really quick video, I wanted to give you the provider's perspective if you're a patient and sometimes you're frustrated that you might be kept waiting for a long time. I wanna say first off, it's unacceptable to keep you waiting for more than like 20, 30 minutes past your appointment time. But if I do that or if any provider does that, especially a new provider, you know, have some grace, we're trying our best, we're doing the best we can. We're not just lollygagging and chilling and like watching YouTube videos back there, we're working.  Yeah, sometimes we'll have like a pleasant conversation with our friends at the office and nurse just to like keep morale going, keep the team happy and energetic and feel like their provider cares for them. Like that's as important as actually providing medical care, making sure that my team feels heard, understood and cared for. Even if I can't spend a lot of time with them, I at very least would wanna like exchange pleasantries, say hi, how are you doing? How's your kids?  How's your car? Just like make the team feel like someone cares about them even just for a second. And that's important. So if you see us conversing, usually that's what's going on. We just wanna keep the team morale up. And if you're kept waiting, it's usually because we're trying to provide the best care that we can for you and we're reading everything that we can and that we need to in order to provide that for you. So in case you are a patient that's ever been frustrated by this kind of thing, I just really hope that explanation helps you understand things from my perspective as the provider that's gonna see you and know that I'm not trying to keep you waiting because I'd like to keep you waiting because I think you deserve to be kept waiting or for any other reason except for the fact that this is just how the process works and this is what we have to do in order to get you the best possible care that we can provide for you. See you in the next video.


If I start online now, do I have to stay online forever? No, of course you don't. No, you do not have to stay online forever unless you choose to be. As soon as things open up again and we're back on campus, then it's ultimately up to you. We have a mode of learning called blended learning and so this means that the way that the information is delivered is delivered in a variety of different formats. Contemporary education is a blend of so many different modes of learning and again that is, all of that is training. It's teaching you to adapt and to work in a world in which we use all these different modes. Personally I can't wait to get back on campus. I can't wait to continue teaching face-to-face but equally I've really enjoyed this last couple of months teaching online.


As the forces of freedom converge on a remote area of Poland, Saber Strike 15 comes to a close. An important multinational exercise, many dignitaries were on hand to witness the showing of force. The exercise has been making headlines worldwide with more than a dozen countries participating. Saber Strike was a phenomenal exercise. We had over 6,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines from 14 nations operating in four different countries at six training sites simultaneously. Very complex. Part show of force, part action movie. Top military leaders were on hand to observe joint capabilities in action. The message is that nobody is alone, especially in this part of the world. That's kind of a feeling that countries like Poland as well as Baltic states, they are together with their alliance. With new friendships forged and alliances sharpened, Saber Strike 16 is sure to be full throttle. Saber Strike is on tap for next year and it's integrated into our Anaconda 16 training platform. We are standing tall together, standing strong together, and we know that we will be there for each other. Although the exercise ends, the partnerships continue. From Saber Strike 15 in Drowsko-Promorskie, Poland, I'm Senior Airman Stephen Adkins.