With a Toast of Prosecco, ISGC is Off to an Exciting Start

The International Student Government Conference is officially underway. The opening ceremony completed at 6pm with a grand toast of prosecco in celebration of the ground-breaking event.

The ceremony ran briefly and smoothly, with guest speakers including John Cabot University President Franco Pavoncello and Keynote Speaker, Professor Pietro Paganini. JCU’s Student Body President, Eva Paunova, welcomed all to the conference, expressing her excitement for the weekend ahead; “I am looking forward to interactive, stimulating and energizing discussions and sessions with lots of ‘take-aways’! The meetings will deliver little ‘gems of gold’ to take back home with you,” she cheerfully said.

President Pavoncello addressed the many aspects of Student Government, including its role as the advocates, coordinators, controllers, and memory of the institution. "Student Government is the political and organizational body, and moreover, the main stake holder of the university," he said. He expressed his pride in being a part of a University that has embarked on a mission of uniting student leaders abroad through leadership and dialogue.

Following president Pavoncello's speech, was a speech by Professor Pietro Paganini, co-founder of Competere Global Management, a transatlantic consulting firm based in Milan, Rome, and Washington D.C. He took a very unique angle, comparing the inaugural conference to the creation of the European Union in 1957, which just had its 50 year anniversary last year. In doing so, he stressed the importance of world leaders and student leaders alike, of “breaking barriers through passion and his ‘three T’s’: tolerance, technology, and talent.”