The 2013 Europol Threat Assessment concerning Italian organised crime outlines how the ongoing threat that mafias pose to the EU is ‘unparalleled by any other European Organised Crime Group’. Significant successes in judicial investigations have undoubtedly contributed to a better understanding of Italian mafias over time. However, the emergence and expansion of mafia groups in non-traditional areas of settlement leave aspects of the phenomenon still unexplored. This is the case of the Sicilian mafia in the province of Messina which, despite being the object of parliamentary inquiries, court cases, and increasing media attention, has largely been neglected by scholarly literature. The proposed research aims to fill this gap. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this project aims to trace the history and evolution of mafia groups in the province of Messina –what the judiciary refers to as ‘The Messina Case’– examining their structure, ethos and modus operandi. It will be conducted using a qualitative methodological framework within the interpretive tradition and will involve the analysis of legal documents and judicial papers, in-depth interviews with judicial and police authorities, and state witnesses. Such an interdisciplinary approach allows us to delineate the evolution and structure of mafia groups, their external and internal relations and flux of power, as well as the role that shared cultural values and social conventions play in the dynamics of identity formation. By identifying the components that the mafia in the province of Messina shares with traditional mafia groups in Sicily and Calabria whilst simultaneously exposing a unique reality, this project will advance current research into mafia expansion in non-traditional areas. Through a number of research outputs and engagement events, it will also create impact outside academia by furthering public and policy makers’ awareness on the socio-economic liability that mafia infiltration of territory entails.

The GALATEO (Good Attitudes for Life in Assyrian Times: Etiquette and Observance of Norms in Male and Female Groups) project aims to understand anew the importance of etiquette in late Assyrian society (10th–7th century BCE) and to investigate through a multidisciplinary approach the extent to which etiquette influenced the subsequent cultures of the Middle East. As a showcase of the project, the creation of an open source Atlas will be delivered, which is conceived as an open repository, in which the addition of new references to delineate the manners of a given culture can contribute to the understanding of etiquette, from the ancient to the modern Middle East. GALATEO develops and works through an adaptable sociological and anthropological theoretical model for the study of etiquette in the ancient Middle East. To this end, the sociological perspective will explore the way that correct behaviour in Assyrian society was codified and imposed during meetings, both religious and lay, in variously political, economic, and convivial settings. In this way it will be investigated how etiquette becomes a means for both men and women to display their social status and gender balance. The anthropological perspective will examine the etiquette of hygiene, especially concerning the practices of proper handwashing, body washing, facial cleanliness, and bodily purification from a religious point of view, the intention of which was to avoid the transmission of disease, such as sex and bodily pollutions, as well as the admission of evil spirits. This analysis will show how the extent to which hygiene plays a role in assigning order and integrity to a culture or group. Being adaptable, this model will pave the way for emerging new perspectives on understanding the social history of a number of cultures of the ancient Middle East in light of etiquette, to better understand contemporaneous ones.

The SOLAR-H2 project introduces a groundbreaking artificial tree (AT)-like technology for distributed, on-demand H2 production, designed for zero-carbon communities and off-grid applications. Unlike conventional electrolysers requiring high-purity water and grid electricity, this system has near-zero operational costs, leveraging solar energy and capture of reactants from the ambient. The aim is to develop a showcase prototype for the Solar Hub under development at the Univ Messina to present to stakeholders the potential of AT technologies. The innovative approach integrates photo-electrocatalysis, where CO2 and H2O are converted into H2 and formic acid (FA) using sunlight. The latter acts as a hydrogen storage medium, enabling on-demand or continuous H2 production, even during the night, through catalytic decomposition. Additionally, the system ensures a closed-loop CO2 recirculation, with minimal losses compensated by external CO2 sources, making it a highly sustainable and carbon-efficient solution. Building upon the ERC Synergy SCOPE project, SOLAR-H2 aims to advance the technology to TRL4. This will involve scaling up to a small-scale demonstrator, improving performance and gas-diffusion electrodes as well as the cell for stable continuous operation, and integrating the systems for capturing reagents and the storage/decomposition-on-demand of FA. The project assesses techno-economic and socio-environmental aspects, along with a market analysis to identify key barriers and opportunities. The exploration strategy is to build a first demonstrator for the Solar Hub to foster this important area of solar-to-chemical conversion and lay the foundation for a spin-off company, positioning formic acid as a breakthrough hydrogen vector in the clean energy transition. By bridging the gap between lab-scale research and industrial feasibility, SOLAR-H2 will de-risk the transition paving the way for large-scale adoption of sustainable H2 production technologies.

OIR is an international project whose originator and leader is the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (Poland). The consortium also includes the University of Italy (Università degli Studi di Messina) and the University of Oviedo (Universidad de Oviedo, Facultad de Formación del Profesorado y Educación, Spain). The project is a response to the problems of some academic lecturers in the field of remote education which were diagnosed during the period of increased intensity of remote activities caused by the COVID-19. The problems result largely from the lack of appropriate competences in:•handling digital technologies,•the ability to work with digital services and resources•indivudual and teamwork in a remote model•creating materials and course scenarios in a different methodology.The project aims to develop innovative digital educational resources and provides an opportunity to meet educational challenges by enabling the inclusion of higher education for people with different and special needs. The assumption of the activities is to counteract the educational exclusion of all those groups of learners who, due to the transition to distance learning and the problems that often result from it (related to the inadequacy of forms and methods of work to their special needs) have limited access to education at the highest quality level.The aim of the OIR project is to strengthen the ability of universities to provide high-quality digital education favourable to social inclusion, and in particular to improve the forms and methods of educating future teachers (including those with special educational needs or belonging to other educationally disadvantaged groups). It can be done by creating an open online space of specialized digital educational resources such as: online lectures, podcasts, educational materials, didactic videos, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, tasks) adapted to the needs of learners with various special educational needs (SEN) in accordance with the principles of universal design for education (UDL).Project participants will be 138 lecturers-academic teachers, 1 200 students and 60 school teachers. The project assumes conducting trainings on: I. the use of digital resources in distance learning, II. developing remote learning skills with the use of innovative educational resources and activating methods, III. universal design in distance learning.During the project implementation, the following project results will be developed:1. Open digital educational resources adapted to the needs of learners with various special educational needs in accordance with the principles of universal design for education;2. Training programs and training materials for lecturers, school teachers and future teachers concerning:•raising competences related to the use of communication and information technologies in remote education,•universal design,•educational resources used in activating working methods;3. Didactic films tailored to the needs of various groups of students;4. Cultural guides.The project will have an impact mainly for the local, but also for regional, national and European community. The materials worked out in the project such as: innovative digital educational resources (online lectures, podcasts, educational materials, didactic videos, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, tasks) will be widely available, so they can be used by domestic and foreign entities.In the long-term perspective the project will become a strong impulse for the continuous improvement of the quality of distance and hybrid education and for the development of pedagogical digital competences of academic teachers, school teachers and students of teaching faculties.