Lorenzo Cagnoni Award 2025

Director of the European Parliament Offices in Italy 

General Director of ''Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per lo Sviluppo Industriale'' 

Diana Battaggia graduated in Political Science and International Relations at Padua University with a thesis on the internationalization strategies of Carrera SpA, then she later specialized in Financial Analysis and Corporate Finance. 

She began her career as a consultant for economic and institutional affairs at Italian and European companies and institutions, particularly in international finance, industrial development and cooperation. 

In 1999, she was appointed Coordinator of UNCTAD's “Mediterranean2000” Program. During her tenure, she has supported numerous Mediterranean and Horn of Africa countries through support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), promotion of industrial partnerships, and business competitiveness in the global market. 

Since 2003, she has been a founding partner and board member of Foedus Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen business development related to solidarity and cultural engagement through international promotion programs, partnerships and institutional collaborations. 

In 2004, she was a consultant at UNIDO Headquarters in Vienna carrying out relevant assignments aimed at probing the market access capabilities of SMEs and analyzing trade facilitation marked by trade facilitation.

Since 2004 she has been the director of UNIDO's Italian Office for Technology Promotion and Investment, where she is responsible for projects aimed at the sustainable industrialization of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
She strengthened UNIDO ITPO Italy's commitment to Sustainable Energy Access by participating during her tenure in the G8 meetings: the one in Syracuse, G8 Environment and the G8 Energy held in Rome.  

In addition, she focused on other issues such as poverty reduction, insisting on the importance of increasing Global Food Security with the goal of minimizing food waste in developed countries. To support this, she led an initiative to foster UNIDO's cooperation with the other Rome-based UN Agencies (FAO, IFAD and WFP) related to the agriculture and food sectors, with the aim of developing a comprehensive approach in the fight against hunger and poverty reduction worldwide. 

Researcher at ''Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche''​

The Dr. Domenico Nuzzo graduated in Biological Sciences in 2003 and in 2007 obtained the European Research Doctorate in Biopathology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Palermo. The Dr. Nuzzo is a researcher at the Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation of Palermo - IRIB of the National Research Council - CNR. He is the author of more than 90 scientific publications in indexed journals, is the inventor of two patents and collaborates with research groups of various Italian and foreign institutions mainly in the field of biology.

He is Principal Investigator of numerous research projects in the field of food science all focused on the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. He is on the Editorial Board of prestigious international journals (Antioxidants, Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity and Frontiers in Nutrition) and is Guest Editor of numerous Special Issues focused on natural biomolecules and health effects. 

Editor of the magazine "Rinnovabili"​

Mauro Spagnolo, architect and journalist, has been working on sustainability and quality of life for more than twenty-five years. 

Alongside his professional work as a designer of green buildings and infrastructure, he has also pursued a career as a journalist and science communicator. He is one of the founders of the newspaper rinnovabili.it , for which he is editor-in-chief. He is head of the SEI (Integrated Energy Systems) unit at the Interuniversity Research Center for Sustainable Development at La Sapienza University, where he has been a professor.

He is also a lecturer in first- and second-level university master's programs and scientific head of training courses at ISES Italia, ANAB and INBAR. On television, he is a consultant on environmental issues for the program Unomattina on Rai. He has been among the energy experts for radio stations such as Ecoradio and Lifegate, radio programs such as Radio Europa of Rai Radio 1 and Radio 2 days of Rai Radio 2, and television shows such as Rai utile, Condominio Terra and Alle falde del Kilimangiaro. 

In addition to numerous scientific and popular articles, he has written "L'integrazione del fotovoltaico nell'edilizia e nell'infrastrutture urbane"- (ENEA, 1999), "Il sole nella città, l'uso del fotovoltaico in edilizia" (Muzzio Editore, 2001) and "Efficienza energetica nella progettazione" (DEI, 2007). 

President of ANGI – National Association of Young Innovators

A young innovator and leader, included in the Forbes TOP 100 under 30 and among the 40under40 most influential in Europe (Business Élite Awards 2024). He holds a degree in Economics and Business Management from the University of Rome Tre, awarded scholarships and recognized for academic and entrepreneurial achievements, including the Special Unirete Award (Confindustria) and the Innovation Award at Terni Digital Week.

He is the President of ANGI – National Association of Young Innovators, which promotes the ANGI National Award – Innovation Oscars, and co-founder of iCarry, a platform for the on-demand economy. He is co-director of the Master's in Open Innovation at LUMSA, a lecturer in Marketing, and a consultant for the Innovation District at Italian Exhibition Group SpA.

Active in various strategic roles in innovation and startups, he is a member of Confindustria commissions, juries for national and international awards, and task forces such as the B20 Digital Transformation. He authored the book "Thinking Beyond and Acting Fast", is a radio and TV commentator, and a Digital Champion for the Economy of Francesco. A former UNESCO Peace Ambassador, he has been honored with numerous awards for his social and professional contributions.

Graduate in economics, she is Full officer of University of Bari Aldo Moro (UNIBA) at Soil, Plant and Food Sciences Department (DISSPA) Research and Third Mission office.

She has more than 25 years’ experience in management of national and international projects, cooperation activities and support to public and private bodies for monitoring and auditing activities. She was also private companies’ consultant for internationalization activities and joint venture settlements.

She supports UNIBA project scientific responsibles for administrative, accounting and dissemination tasks. She has been member of Organizing Committee of several events, such as International Conference on Microbial Diversity organized by UNIBA in 2017.

She is Project Manager of the Italian EIT Food Hub since 2019, acting as coordinator of activities, but also as evaluator for startup competitions, speakers at events and assessor for Fellowship selections.

Moreover, as DISSPA Third Mission responsible, she organizes and attends meetings, events and workshops with local, national and international stakeholders.