via Sant'Eufemia, 4
20122 Milan MI
Italie
- Arts
- Democracy and community development
- International/Cultural relations
- Research
- Youth and education
theSquare is a boutique think tank currently composed by a volunteer staff of 9 members and a prominent scientific advisory board of experts. So far the centre has benefited financially from donations and free contributions from private individuals. The centre organizes conferences, seminars, book presentations, art exhibitions, online and scientific publications and digital/visual initiatives. In its first year of activity, theSquare has organized one conference (University of Messina, May 25, 2019), one book presentation (February 21, 2020), a photo exhibition (September 19-20, 2019) and an online visual map project tracking all the contested monuments across Europe and Mediterranean (June 2020). The main partners are private and public research centers such as the University of Messina, the Casa della Cultura in Milan, Occhialì – Laboratory on Mediterranean Studies of the University of Calabria, OIKOS – Research centre on the political "We", the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the Centre for sociological studies "Universi teatrali e degli immaginari sociali".
theSquare – Mediterranean Centre for Revolutionary Studies is a boutique think tank devoted to the study of revolutions in the Mediterranean region. It’s an independent, non-partisan and non-profit centre. theSquare is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary centre. It combines policy-oriented research with an equally significant theoretical approach. We adopt geopolitics, economics, philosophy, history, and other methodologies. Therefore, contrary to the majority of think tanks, theSquare studies both the theoretical and practical side of the topic. theSquare’s work focuses on ideologies, practices, causes and consequences of all kinds of revolutions. The centre analyses the evolution of disruptive groups and cultural, social and political breaking phenomena. theSquare seeks to connect experts, academics, policymakers, civil society actors, practitioners and institutions from different fields by providing a platform for productive collaborations. On its website, theSquare publishes Commentaries, Insights, Newsletters, Op-eds & Columns, acting as a publishing hub on information related to the various topics. The publications aim at bringing knowledge on topical revolutionary issues both to selected audiences of scholars and policymakers and to the wider audience. Moreover, theSquare is devoted to the promotion of dialogue between students across the Mediterranean and to improve the youth awareness on social, cultural, political environmental issues concerning both shores of the Mediterranean.
theSquare has organized one important conference at the University of Messina (May 25, 2019) entitled "A Sea of Revolution: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Mediterranean Sea", an event that saw the participation of many young students and professors of history, philosophy, sociology and political studies. On February 21, 2020, theSquare, in partnership with Casa della Cultura in Milan, set up a book presentation of Dr. Gianfranco Bria's essay on late evolutions of Sufism in Albania. theSquare also participated as a proud partner in an event entitled "Mémoires intimes d'une révolution", a vernissage at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (September 19-20, 2019) on the Tunisian revolution (December 2010-January 2011). In June 2020, following the death of George Floyd in the US, theSquare has created a visual and interactive map tracking all the contested monuments across Europe and the Mediterranean. In June 2020, theSquare has also organized a book presentation of Milan's City Council member Sumaya Abdel Qader's novel on interreligious dialogue and women issues – an event postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic. Also, theSquare is setting up a scientific journal entitled "Diversity & Innovation – Journal on the Mediterranean Region", with its own Editorial Board and Scientific Committee. Eventually, theSquare is developing a project for a Turkish-Italian Dialogues among graduate students from Turkey and Italy on the most hot topics concerning Ankara and Rome in the Mediterranean scenario.
theSquare is an organization that can boast a wide international network of experts and scholars in multiple disciplines ranging from geopolitics, philosophy, art, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, religious studies and democratization processes. Thanks to our team of young researchers and Mediterranean enthusiasts backed by a professional network, we can strengthen the Italian ALF platform and forge new relationships between the most rooted academic reality and the new generations. theSquare is a young project that wants to stay young, and therefore privileges activities with young university students and enthusiastic researchers, organizing engaging initiatives, in-depth seminars and collaborations between the new Italian generations and those of other states bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
theSquare is a project born in 2019 which is interested in establishing relationships with national and supranational institutions. The vocation of the Centre is its Mediterranean projection, thus joining the prestigious ALF network would be a unique opportunity to take a step towards full organizational and scientific maturity. In fact, ALF allows for cultural and scientific exchanges of great importance. Since its very beginning theSquare has placed great importance on the study of extremism and radicalisation. It is our opinion that we can contribute to enrich the ALF network on this specific topic. Moreover, the dialogue between religions, as well as the relationship between cultures, is at the centre of theSquare's theoretical commitment: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, but also the new cultural, political and social instances born outside of a purely religious framework, and their constant interconnections, are studied from several perspectives by theSquare — which can boast an interdisciplinarity that is not only proclaimed but actually experienced.