If we talk about “University in Manfredonia” the old headquarters will surely come to mind for most Sipontians, so we propose a brief historical excursus on the former university center present in our municipality. First of all, it is worth specifying that it was a decentralized branch of the University of Foggia, activated in Manfredonia starting from the 2001/2002 academic year and where the degree course in “Economics of territorial development” was held, located where the municipal social services offices are today located. This course was the result of a program agreement stipulated between UNIFG and the Municipality of Manfredonia for the development of educational and scientific research initiatives in the Siponto city. Unfortunately, after 10 years, due to the reform of the university system which imposed on the universities a strong reduction in expenses and in their training offer, the Rector of the University of Foggia, in order to adapt to ministerial directives, expressed to the Mayor of Manfredonia the desire to withdraw from the aforementioned program agreement, effectively starting the procedure envisaged for contractual withdrawal. Therefore the Faculty of “Economics of Territorial Development” closed definitively in 2011, causing considerable damage to the expectations of cultural growth and economic development of the territory. But what has changed after 13 years? Certainly in a political-economic context that sees continuous cuts imposed on the Italian public university system, it is not easy to determine what is better, whether to optimize the resources allocated by strengthening the major existing universities or investing in a delocalisation of the cultural and professional development of the local community, once again guaranteeing a structure that can represent an important component of the socio-economic fabric of the Capitanata area. But for a political decision in this sense the will of the entire Gargano community would undoubtedly be decisive, with which the necessary pressure could be exerted to propose a useful investment, in order to enhance both our city and the neighboring municipalities. In short, it would be a local university that can attract financial resources and intellectual energy in order to actively involve university students themselves in the promotion of our territory. While waiting to understand what we want to invest in in Manfredonia, between fishing, tourism, culture, industry or sport, practically remaining firm with the four arrows in every sector, we could certainly propose to reconstitute what would be an important cultural meeting place and study for all citizens. Obviously it is a complex procedure that starts from the individual University and ends with the authorization of the Ministry of University and Research. As indicated in the new Ministerial Decree 1154/2021the proposal for the establishment of a new decentralized headquarters by already accredited universities must be formulated by the University at the same time as that of the courses to be accredited in the new headquarters. A fundamental role in this sense is played by the Department of the degree course that is intended to be established, in fact the request to the MUR must be presented by the University upon proposal of the Department itself. Therefore, if we wish to establish a new university headquarters in Manfredonia, we must first initiate, through the forms provided for in our Statute, a consultation with the categories of citizens interested in this initiative, as well as a constructive discussion between the political authorities and the organizations involved in a to define and above all quantify the widespread interest. In other words, it is necessary to listen to the opinion of all the boys and girls who attend the last years of school, also through their representatives, so that it can be established how many students have the ambition of attending a university directly in Manfredonia and try to understand which degree course they want to enroll in. Ultimately the change starts from us, from every citizen who, in their own small way, could provide a fundamental contribution to enhance our territory, and concrete results could only be achieved by joining forces and all proceeding in the same direction. The future is in our hands, we just have to decide which path to take.
Pasquale D’Antuono
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