Cutting-edge scientific innovation is welcomed in Florence for the conference led by three top Italian organizations in low vision research: The Low Vision Academy, PRISMA (Professionals for Low Vision Rehabilitation and Associated Diseases), and the National Center for Services and Research for the Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired. LOC President and Low Vision Academy Scientific Coordinator Paolo G. Limoli gives the details.
How important was the collaboration with Fondazione Destination Florence in achieving this important event for Florence, and how instrumental was your role as Ambassador?
Fondazione Destination Florence was crucial in bringing about the events necessary to organize a conference on the scale of Vision 2025, featuring over 300 speakers from around the world, delivering approximately 650 presentations. Clearly, such a superlative organizational machine needed the scientific expertise embodied by the Ambassadors, who enabled and fostered the formation of a scientific consortium made up of the leading Italian associations and institutions: Low Vision Academy, Prisma, and IAPB, without which Vision 2025 would never have been realized. Personally, the creation of this program represents the recognition of a career entirely dedicated to the restoration and recovery of patients’ impaired vision. Having encountered the organizational professionalism of OIC allowed us to achieve what at first seemed insurmountable, especially given the social moment characterized by a pandemic like COVID-19, incomprehension between states around the world, and fundamental changes in global geopolitical structures. Thus, our conference proposal, with the organizational support of Fondazione Destination Florence and the backdrop of the city of Florence, was able to determine the victory of the Italian bid for Vision 2025.
What impact can scientific events like these have on a destination like Florence, not only economically, but also scientifically and culturally?
I believe that the economic contribution of a global event like Vision 2025 is not only linked to the number of people who come to Florence thanks to the conference and the needs they may have during their stay. The arrival of an audience from around the world can bring the beauty and history of Florence to their communities, sparking curiosity and a desire to learn about the Florentine and Tuscan world, with unprecedented positive feedback. Furthermore, the scientific and cultural value of the congress in question, give the city of Florence a sort of modern cultural primacy that had already been traditionally achieved in the Middle Ages with the birth of Italian literature and the development of art and thought. Being able to bring together artistic and scientific minds from such diverse backgrounds contributes to the distinctive and unique character that distinguishes the city of Florence throughout the world.
