On Friday, April 12, 2024, the Italian Adventist Univesity “Villa Aurora” and ADRA Italia, the humanitarian agency, signed an agreement. The two institutions, which have been collaborating for years, have expressed an interest in further increasing the existing forms of collaboration and strengthening their relationship in order to carry out activities of common interest, both informally and on the basis of ad hoc agreements regarding the individual activities.

The agreement aims to establish a collaborative relationship between the parties, in which the mission of the Institute, its study, and research activities can be coordinated with the projects and services promoted by ADRA. The idea is to cooperatively build a centre for Peace-Plan-Strategies - a centre for research, documentation, information, and training on peace and intercultural dialogue.

In addition to the ADRA Italia staff (Elisa Gravante), Thomas Petracek, head of programs and emergency response at ADRA Europe, was also present at the meeting. The agreement was signed by Prof. Davide Romano, director of the Adventist Institute, and Dag Pontvik, director of ADRA Italia.

More about Italian Adventist Univesity “Villa Aurora”

Founded on 10 July 1939, the Adventist Institute was born as a pastoral training school of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

In February 1947, the property of “Villa Aurora” (a thirteenth-century villa), the current headquarters of the faculty, was purchased. Between 1958 and 1997, middle school and high school courses were added to the theological training courses to obtain the high school diploma. Thanks to the agreement signed between the State and the Union of Seventh-day Adventist Christian Churches, the Adventist institute acquired legal personality as a civilly recognized Adventist ecclesiastical body. Thanks to the understanding as amended by Law 8 June 2009, n. 67., the degrees in theology awarded by the theology faculty of the Institute are recognized by the State. In 1992, the Department of Italian Languages, Culture and Art (DiLCAI) came into existence, offering courses in Italian language, art, and culture for foreigners. 

Today, the Adventist Institute offers a three-year degree course in theology and three master's degree courses, a master's degree in religious fundraising, summer training courses, and three research centres.

The original article was published on the Inter-European Division website.