Zonta Club of Parma invests in education to prevent violence

In December, the Zonta Club of Parma, Italy, presented its Inspiring Women Award to six extraordinary young women who achieved goals of excellence:

  • Giulia Chionna Castelli is an engineer and logistics and distribution manager at Bormioli Pharma.
  • Federica Fantuzzi, Ph.D., is a molecular biologist who returned to Italy in January 2023 from the Université Libre de Bruxelles Center for diabetes research to become a researcher at the University of Parma.
  • Marina Ferrari is a technical and business program manager at Chiesi Spa, who obtained a master's degree in pharmaceutical chemistry and technology.
  • Silvia Migliari obtained a master's degree in pharmaceutical chemistry and technology and is now a qualified person in the radiopharmaceutical laboratory at the University Hospital of Parma.
  • Benedetta Pellegrino, Ph.D., is a medical oncologist and breast cancer researcher at the University Hospital of Parma.
  • Letizia Roscelli obtained her master's in environmental physics from the University of Bremen under the Erasmus Plus program at the University of Aachen. She participated in the M180 SONETT oceanographic expedition on the research vessel Meteor in the South Atlantic.

The awardees shared their educational and professional journey at the ceremony with a room full of young people. The club also presented Zonta's actions, international service projects and education programs to help realize a gender-equal world. It was also an opportunity to demonstrate that supporting talent and excellence is an investment to prevent violence against women. Everyone was truly honored and excited to host these young women, rich in enthusiasm and passion, projects and dreams for the future of their communities.

The municipality of Parma sponsored the event, and Chiara Cacciani, a journalist from the local Gazette, moderated it. The Gazette illustrated the event, and the club posted the results and pictures on their Facebook. They plan to maintain the relationship with all the awardees and invite them to future thematic conferences to gain new members.

Thanks to members' relationships, the club is continually connected with researchers and universities. Moreover, their Golden Zeta Parma Network allows them to maintain and enlarge their network.