Forum sulle Ragioni della Scienza - A permanent forum on the reasons of science is an integrated feature of the Fondazione’s programmes, as it is dedicated to creating open forums to talk about the social consequences of scientific research, especially regarding biotechnology. Our commitment is to offer a discussion table which helps the understanding and sharing of democratic choices. It is not a platform for one or the other party to have their say, but a place where it is possible to come closer and understand the reasons of science which are free from any judgement or confusion, ignorance and preconceptions.

Spoletoscienza - Spoletoscienza is the very idea of contamination. It started in 1989 as a supplement to the renowned Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, but soon it turned into an engagement of its own, attracting a specific audience interested in quenching their thirst for knowledge. Scientists, philosophers, artists, economists, jurists, and musicians gather every year in the halls of St. Nicolò cloister, confronting their procedures and languages. It paved the way for later “piazza festivals” (albeit restricted to literature, philosophy and so on) and year after year it reasserts its leading role for fans of scientific disputes.

Laboratorio di Spoletoscienza - A 1996 spin-off of Spoletoscienza experiences, this peculiar Lab wants to be a place to look at and dissect the qualifying mainstays of medical careers. This is showcased through conferences, round tables, workgroups or by role-playing. Subjects at stake are: informed consent, relationships between patient and doctor, reflections on communicating “bad news” and discussion of models for NHS financial management – they are all discussed and in this way, advance the participants’ knowledge. The Lab is acknowledged for CEM programmes by the Italian Ministry of Health.

ECM - Programme for continuing education in medicine, as established by the Italian 229/99 law operative since 1st January 2002, which imposes specialist training and update for all healthcare professionals, both of state enterprise or private concerns. By 2006 each of them is expected to run up 150 training credits. The Ministry of Health allots a fixed amount of credits to specific events, after being given a detailed description of any event entitled for them. The Ministry committee assesses the relevance of all events by means of a special value grid and also checks the coherence with respect to training goals of national interest.

Lezioni sul Metabolismo - These lectures began in November 1999 in Milan as an international symposium, organised to discuss present-day and novel stances from a metabolic approach to disease. Although a mitochondrial therapy is still a long way off, one of the reasonable goals for degenerative pathologies is to act upon metabolism, in order to limit damages brought about by ageing.

Fondazione Sigma-Tau Lectures - These lectures are a recurrent, granted date in the Fondazione’s yearly schedule, as an unsurpassed opportunity to share and to critically verify medical knowledge. Ranging from neurosciences to the metabolic approach to health and well-being, the agenda includes nearly 100 excellent researchers from all over the world. They have held lectures in universities and main hospital wards for specialist audiences to inform about new findings and to set up relationships among Italian and foreign healthcare professionals.

Lezioni Italiane - Groundbreaking topics of scientific and philosophical cutting-edge research, as both an intellectual challenge for the authors themselves and a metadisciplinary update for a wider audience are discussed in these lectures, following EC guidelines for continuing training. An undisputed Italian or foreign speaker takes his stand, shunning technicalities, on the topic chosen for an informal, open-door seminar – the model of Anglo-American lectures dovetailed to the spirit of European universities. An average of two books a year have come out so far, issued by Laterza Publishers and translated abroad as well.

La Scienza in Scena - The scientific texts are the meeting ground between the Fondazione Sigma-Tau and the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, run by Luca Ronconi and Sergio Escobar. Sprung out of Ronconi’s mind and of an inner need to revitalize dramaturgy along with intellectual challenge, «the science as a performing art has turned out to be one of the most powerful means to reckon with natural and technical transformations of reality, and also one of the most fabulous chances to realize a truly universal community», as stated by Giulio Giorello, Professor of Philosophy of Science at the State University of Milan.