The Vatican Covid-19 Commission of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Deloitte Network will hold the event, “Prepare the future: Building a sustainable, inclusive, and regenerative economy”, in the Conciliation Hall of the Lateran Palace and on Zoom from 16:00-18:15. The conference is not open to the public.

The pandemic has highlighted the inadequacy of our economic and social systems. Though capable of ensuring high levels of economic and technological development, the current systems are responsible for growing injustices and inequalities among countries, communities, and individuals. Faced with the global challenge of the pandemic, the event responds to Pope Francis’s invitation to “prepare the future” and “overcome the challenge before us” through the tools of science and imagination (Audience with the Vatican Covid-19 Commission, February 2021).

Card. Michael Czerny SJ, Prefect ad interim of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Sr. Alessandra Smerilli FMA, Secretary ad interim of the Dicastery, and Fr. Fabio Baggio CS, Undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section will be joined by speakers including Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Global, Jiang Bo Kui, Senior Researcher at the Taihe Institute, Baronness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics, Richard Houston, CEO of Deloitte North-South Europe, and Stefano Zamagni, President of the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences, to reflect on the socio-economic and cultural challenges of the future and collaborate on guidelines to address them.

To conclude, the String Orchestra of the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia, under the direction of Maestro Michelangelo Galeati, will perform a number of classical music pieces accompanied by the tenor, Francesco Grollo.

On March 20, 2020, Pope Francis asked the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) to create a Commission, in collaboration with other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and other organizations, to express the Church’s solicitude and care for the whole human family facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drawing on a wealth of expertise from local communities, global platforms, and academic experts, the Commission seeks bold, broad changes: dignity in work, new structures for the common good, solidarity at the heart of governance, and nature in harmony with social systems. The goal is not only to alleviate immediate suffering, but also to usher forth the transformation of hearts, minds, and structures toward a new model of development that prepares a better future for all.