Massimo Lapucci (Fondazione CRT) elected new chair of the European Foundation Centre

Massimo Lapucci, Secretary General of Fondazione CRT, is the new Chair of the European Foundation Centre (EFC), based in Brussels. Lapucci, who takes up the position today on the last day of the EFC’s international conference, “Courage to Re-embrace Solidarity in Europe, Can Philanthropy take the lead?”, was unanimously elected at the EFC Annual General Assembly in Warsaw. He will hold the position for the next three years. He will be supported by returning Vice Chair, Katherine Watson (European Cultural Foundation in the Netherlands), and newly elected Treasurer, Christina Lambropoulou (Stavros Niarchos Foundation in Greece).

At the closing of the Conference, which hosted more than 600 philanthropic representatives from all over the world, in his first speech as new Chair, Lapucci started by thanking outgoing Chair, Ewa Kulik-Bielinska for her energy, dedication and engagement and all the initiatives undertaken during her years of tenure and, on behalf of all the members, expressed his deep gratitude for his invaluable work.

Lapucci went on to say, “I am very proud of this appointment and I thank the EFC and its membership for the confidence they have shown in electing me. The strength of institutional philanthropy lies in the ability to create value for society. Philanthropy must make its voice heard strongly in order to confront the biggest challenge that we face: to help to create more conscious citizenship in individual countries and across Europe, which keeps the common good at the heart, and knows to always look at the worldwide dimension.”

“As Chair,” continued Massimo Lapucci, “I will continue to work following the priorities set out in EFC’s 2016-2022 Strategic Framework, to strengthen synergies between the philanthropic world, the European institutions and the private sector, with the objective to promote a greater social cohesion, new opportunities for economic growth and the consolidation of civil society’s space.”

“For Europe, it is time to show that a change of course is possible, starting with the positive signals that have emerged from some countries in recent elections,” Lapucci said. “After the weakening of cohesion in the international community, partly due to the profound economic and financial crisis of recent years, it is only through joint action to support a more shared development, and the creation of value for citizens by the various actors involved, that it is possible to rebuild confidence in institutions and in the future for Europe. In this context, it is also crucial to recognise the role played by philanthropy as a strong bonding agent in society.”

The vision, therefore, is that of a philanthropic community that is independent – that is careful to build bridges with institutions and the economic and social world – and that is committed to finding innovative solutions to the most important global challenges.