The 2019 summer season of the Information Centers of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) on the Aeolian Islands of Vulcano and Stromboli is about to begin. The Centers are premises specially designed to provide information on volcanoes, on the simplest dynamics of volcanology and on the geology of the places visited by excursionists. Over the years there has been a constant growth of interest in the dissemination activity of the Institute, both on the part of the communities residing in the archipelago, and of the very many tourists who travel to the Islands during the summer to get to know "from near” the two volcanoes.
This year INGV has launched a procedure for the selection of Italian universities that intend to participate in scientific dissemination activities in the Visitor Rooms of the Centers in the Aeolian Islands. The objective of the call is to recruit students from the Science Departments of the participating universities who will be coordinated by Institute experts in dissemination activities aimed at informing visitors and residents about volcanism in the area and the risks associated with it.
These dissemination activities, with a high cultural value, represent an excellent training opportunity for university students. INGV is particularly attentive to the dissemination of scientific culture and the development of a culture of risk and prevention aimed at increasing citizens' awareness, and pursues these objectives through communication, information and training initiatives in schools and in society, with particular attention to areas of the Italian territory with the highest seismic and volcanic hazards.
Thanks to the activities of the INGV Centers, aimed primarily at enhancing the volcanoes of the archipelago and bringing visitors closer to volcanology in an aware and scientifically correct way, the communities residing in Vulcano and Stromboli perceive the two local poles of the Institute as referents institutions for the study of volcanic activity and guarantee of the constant monitoring work carried out.