The Istituto Internazionale delle Comunicazioni (IIC) was founded in 1962 after a decade of positive experience with the “Columbus Conventions” (Columbus Celebrations – International Conference on Communication) held annually in Genoa on or around October 12. These conferences were started in 1953 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Autonomous Consortium of the Port of Genoa (C.A.P., today the Port Authority, P.A.) as an expression of self government in the local community and the centrality of culture and maritime-mercantile activities to the life of the city and the province of Liguria.


Founders and goals

IIC was founded by the same Genovese agencies that started the Columbus Conventions – the City of Genoa, the University of Genoa, Province, C.A.P., Chamber of Commerce and Savings Bank – along with the International Fairgrounds and Tourism Board as well as the National Council for Research (C.N.R.), a particularly significant participant. It came into being as an association of agencies that are prevalently public, but with the intention of bringing together new members from the world of private business and the professions. In 1964 (D.P.R.1656 of 12.16.1964), it received legal recognition as well as approval by Statute as a non-commercial institution (non-profit or third sector entity).
The statutory goals of the Institute were to organize international conferences for the field of communications; conducting the preliminary investigation for assigning the International Christopher Columbus Prize along with C.N.R.; in collaboration with the City of Genoa for assigning the Columbus Gold Medal. The Prize and the Medal have been awarded to famous people and prestigious organizations for contributions made to the world of progress, understanding transportation, space communications and telecommunications in the second half of the twentieth century.
Among IIC’s statutory goals is the continual promotion of research, understanding, training and exchange of information in the areas of transportation and telecommunications.

A new role and new members

In this framework, IIC has organized conferences, seminars, study encounters, publications and sometimes performed research and training activities to answer the needs and suggestions proposed by its members or its Academic Advisory Board.
Among the members who have participated for several years in different periods, in addition to the founders, are public and private agencies, professional and consulting firms, professional associations and groups, carefully selected and scrutinized at the time they joined.
Over time, as there has been marked progress in telecommunications, computer technology and data processing, both members and the Academic Advisory Board have asked that the Institute organize or participate in conferences at the highest level specifically in these areas. Together with members and the Advisory Board and upon their request, the Institute has involved businesses, agencies, groups and associations external to its membership. In this way, IIC has gained a higher profile as organizer of scientific and cultural events, meetings and seminars of remarkable prestige in Italy and abroad. In 2000 one of these conferences was held in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) in collaboration with NASA.
In underscoring the success of these events, the important role of the Academic Advisory Board should be recognized, its national and international composition, contacts and the remarkable initiative of its members.

Starting in 2000, IIC oriented its activities toward the following objectives:

• First of all and above all, maintaining and reinforcing its already recognized pre-eminence in the area of telecommunications and “Information and Communication Technology” by helping keep the discussion alive during the current difficult economic period for the TLC industry;
• At the same time, increasing interest in the area of transportation wherever possible in the general area of IIC’s activity (conferences, research, training), especially with respect to promotion of the maritime, mercantile, naval and shipbuilding industries;
  
• To intensify activity in the area of research and training, preferably in collaboration with the University and other members, keeping well in mind the areas of research and training programs of the E.U.’s projects;
  
• To further increase the number of members with continuing special attention to subjects interested in the worlds of transportation and telecommunications.

In this context, the Institute intends to develop full, concrete collaboration both for the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Port of Genoa (2003) as well as for 2004 (Genoa European Capital of Culture) especially in the founders’ and members’ initiatives, in particular those dedicated to transportation, telecommunications and information technology.