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Four years after the earthquake of 30 October 2016 which devastated over 500 km2 in the heart of Italy, the breath of the Earth returns to be felt between Greece and Turkey, uniting the two nations in devastation, which have often been at odds for centuries. Earthquakes tear apart communities for years to come, and the economic and housing devastation of the affected areas adds up to the tragic loss of life. For this reason, INGV is giving its contribution to the Mission Structure for the Reconstruction of Central Italy in order to recognize the active faults capable of breaking the earth's surface, to delimit the areas where it is advisable not to rebuild, and to allow the rapid opening construction sites in those areas not subject to this risk. In this commitment, the institute coordinates activities with other research centers and universities.

Each seismic event is an opportunity to learn more and more about the functioning of the planet, and the scientific community is encouraged to study earthquakes and tsunamis with greater energy, to help give those practical indications for a new culture of prevention, as well as to be able act promptly during an emergency. For this we must work in times of peace in potentially seismogenic areas because where there have been earthquakes in the past, they will return there, but there are many areas where our historical memory has not recorded them while geology tells us instead that sooner or later there too they will happen. The world of research is an environment where one must dream of reaching a goal and gaining new knowledge. However, it is not easy to work on a long-term vision during the social compression and the objective difficulties that we are all experiencing in this dramatic 2020, a situation that does not help the continuous natural and indispensable exchange of relationships and ideas.

New models of education, training and scientific discussions have forcefully entered our lives, from primary school to university, to research institutions. Not all of us were prepared for such a massive use of web communication, a revolution that will change us forever. It is in times like this that the development and dissemination of research become fundamental to help overcome social differences, especially where the impossibility of physical encounters and the absence of a network and adequate digital tools inevitably tend to widen the inequalities . Now, more than ever, we must be united to get out of the crisis, enriched by an experience that will help us face a future with determination where science will increasingly have to permeate our lives, at the service of civil society.

These and other questions were the stimulus in the conversation with Cristina Pozzi, Co-Founder of Impactscool, the Guest of Honor of this issue, arguing with her on the concept of the "future". In her opinion, in fact, an ad hoc education can make us capable of thinking about the future in a scientific way, with a critical attitude and through tools capable of accompanying reasoning in a simple, linear and orderly way.

In recent weeks, the days of "I don't risk" have been held, the national campaign on good civil protection practices on earthquake risk, flood risk and tsunami risk. The 2020 edition was a "digital" version, but, thanks to the generous collaboration of all the partners, we managed to bring to the public the promotion of knowledge of natural risks and the necessary awareness of any consequences with respect to the exposure of the Italian territory. illustrating the adoption of some measures which, in some cases, can prove to be life-saving.


Last 7 September was the centenary of the M 6.5 earthquake in the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, the seismic event which from the historical catalog appears to be the strongest known to date for the northern Apennines. It is always important and necessary to remember this in order to keep attention high on the issue of seismic prevention understood both as structural prevention (interventions on buildings to make them safer from the impact of earthquakes), and as risk education for populations living in seismic areas.

The research conducted by INGV brought us to Japanese volcanoes, between tradition and modernity. A trip to a distant nation, with colors that are exotic for us; an island suspended between history and modernity, where an ancient past, made up of rituals, temples and sanctuaries, coexists with apparently unbridled progress, where scientific research is the primary source of vital energy.

From Japan, then, we landed in Antarctica, the perennial laboratory of all researchers. In particular, we have investigated a discovery little known to most: the discovery of the oldest Martian meteorite, ALH84001, the subject of numerous studies, some of which have suggested the presence, in the past, of bacterial life forms on the Red Planet.

In this issue, then, we have dedicated the trip to the laboratories to the Laboratory of Geo-Archaeomatics and Experimental Geophysics which is located in the Roman headquarters of the INGV. Incredibly versatile, it directs its activities and results towards all sectors of interest of the institution, from seismology to volcanology, through environmental monitoring and the conservation of the national archaeological and building heritage. It represents a hotbed of innovative ideas and fertile ground for the development and implementation of ever new and up-to-date techniques and tools, including drones, submarines and augmented reality.

Finally, we discussed the issues of privacy and personal data with the INGV Data Protection Officer. In a completely interconnected world, where personal data travels more than goods and people and represents a true gold mine for commerce, the management of this enormous amount of information assumes strategic importance for any organization. This is also the case at INGV, where the research and monitoring activities inherent in the institution's mission inevitably intertwine with variously consolidated practices concerning, precisely, the collection, management and processing of personal data even beyond national borders .

As a research institution, however, we are at the forefront in the dissemination of scientific data from the numerous monitoring networks, laboratories, etc., collected by the institute: the Data Management Group is completing the creation of the data portal open to the entire scientific community . A great step forward for which we have to thank all the actors who have made it with patience and tenacity.

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