The University of Perugia and the University for Foreigners of Perugia were the only Italian universities to represent Italy at the VI University Presidents for Peace Conference, held on August 6 in Hiroshima (Japan) and promoted by Hiroshima University. The event brought together rectors and university representatives from all over the world.
The joint participation of the two universities holds particular significance for Umbria, a region where the theme of peace has deep roots: from Francis of Assisi to Aldo Capitini and Franco Rasetti, from the Perugia-Assisi March for Peace to the many initiatives that universities—also in collaboration with local institutions—promote at both the national and international level.
According to the Rector of the University of Perugia, Prof. Massimiliano Marianelli, “Being here together has a value that goes beyond the participation of individual universities, enriching it with a shared purpose deeply tied to our historical and cultural traditions, while broadening and strengthening its scope. In fact, Perugia brings a unique history and responsibility to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is the land of Francis of Assisi and Aldo Capitini, but also of Franco Rasetti, the scientist who refused to participate in the Manhattan Project for the development of the first atomic bomb. Ours is a history that challenges us today to turn memory into responsibility, and knowledge into a tool for dialogue and peace.”
The University of Perugia is an active promoter of the project “Universities, Bridges of Peace,” which culminated on February 25, 2026, in the signing of the “Assisi Charter” in Assisi—a document whose first signatories included the University for Foreigners of Perugia, alongside sixteen other Italian and international universities. The Charter calls upon universities to take responsibility for knowledge, dialogue, and building relationships among peoples and cultures. “We therefore extend our sincere thanks to the University for Foreigners of Perugia and to Rector Prof. De Cesaris for their commitment and determination in promoting around the world the ideals of peace we share.”
According to the Rector of the University for Foreigners of Perugia, Prof. Valerio De Cesaris, “The joint presence of the two Perugia universities in Hiroshima and Nagasaki reflects a responsibility that the university community is called to embrace with even greater determination in today's international context. In light of the resurgence of war and rearmament logic, universities can and must provide different tools: education, culture, research, and cultural diplomacy that allows one to see in others not a threat, but a counterpart. Peace is not simply a principle to affirm, but a process built through knowledge and encounters. For this reason, international academic cooperation and student mobility have a value that goes beyond training: helping young people travel for study, enabling them to experience different languages, cultures, and perspectives, means genuinely helping to bridge divides and create the conditions for dialogue. This is the responsibility we particularly feel as the University for Foreigners, and which we intend to continue sharing with the University of Perugia and with our international partners.”
The mission of the two universities then continued in Nagasaki, where representatives of the two Perugia universities participated in meetings and commemorations related to the memory of the atomic bombing, furthering dialogue and strengthening ties with the Japanese university system.
The presence of both universities thus highlights the strong international vocation of Perugia—and of Umbria: a university environment that, through institutions diverse in history and mission, finds in peace, in the encounter of cultures, and in the responsibility of knowledge a common ground on which to build new international relations.