SIOI, a non-profit organisation (recognised by D.P.R. n° 1700 of 27/12/1948 n. 1700 and regulated by D.P.R. n° 948 of 28/12/1982), operates under the supervision of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Its institutional aim is to promote knowledge about international policy issues with the aim of contributing to a just and peaceful arrangement of the international community, to progress in European unification and to the diffusion of the awareness of human rights.
SIOI carries out its activities at its Head Office housed in the Palazzetto di Venezia in Rome, and it also operates through its branch offices in various Italian cities (Turin, Milan,Naples).
The SIOI President is Ambassador Umberto La Rocca, former Head of the Italian Mission to the United Nations in New York. The vice-Presidents are Prof. Giovanni Conso, emeritus President of the Constitutional Court and President of the SIOI Committee for Human Rights, Prof. Luigi Ferrari Bravo, Director of the SIOI’s Quarterly Review “La Comunità Internazionale” and Ambassador Mario Alessi, former Head of the Italian Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna. The Secretary General is Ambassador Fabio Migliorini. The Director General is Dr. Sara Cavelli.Since its foundation SIOI has counted among its Presidents such eminent personalities as Dionisio Anzilotti (1944-1947), Niccolò Carandini (1948-1962) and Roberto Ago (1963-1992).

Origins and Statutory Aims

Pursuant to article 2 of its Statute, with a view to achieve its own aims the Society:
a) promotes and publishes studies on international political, legal, economic and social issues, with a view to contributing to a just and stable peace;
b) sees to the documentation and the discussion of the international organizations’ activities – also by means of periodical publications; spreads in Italy the official and private thinking and viewpoints which emerge in the other Nations as to international problems; largely disseminates abroad the contribution of the Italian thinking on these matters;
c) organizes congresses, workshops, conferences and public discussions to foster the knowledge of international problems and disseminate among the public the ideals and objectives of the international organization and of the European integration process;
d) promotes the vocational training and updating of the Italian and foreign people – young people, in particular – who work or desire to work in the different spheres of international activity;
e) prepares and carries out programs for study and research and also takes care of scientific research and the delving into the international organization knowledge by Italian and foreign scholars and young people, by also granting awards, scholarships and subsidies;
f) provides its own support in terms of consultancy, study and documentation to the private and public bodies in charge of international relations;
g) cooperates with national and international organizations having similar objectives and takes part in international federations, committees and other associations.

Its structure
The SIOI bodies are the following:
- the Assembly, composed of ordinary Members (individuals who, thanks to their competence and activity, are capable of providing a real contribution to the reaching of its goals), collective Members (associations, public or private bodies, Italian or foreign institutions) and honorary Members;
- the steering Board, composed of 24-36 members elected by the General Assembly;
- the scientific Board, composed of personalities from the academic and the economic world;
- the Committee for Human Rights, composed of authoritative legal experts on this topic.

Its role on the international scene
As an international non profit organization subjected to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs supervision, the Society encourages cooperation relations with the leading international Organizations.
- As the United Nations Association (UNA), together with the United Nations International Crime Research Institute (UNICRI) Liason Office in Rome, since 2004 it has performed part of the tasks previously performed by the now dissolved United Nations Information Centre (UNIC).
Therefore, pursuant to an agreement between the General Secretariat and the WFUNA, it cooperates with the U.N. Regional Information Centre in Brussels to promote the activities and celebrate particular events of the world organization.
- Fruitful relations are also traditionally held with the European Union, the Council of Europe and the other European regional Organizations.
- Besides the already-mentioned WFUNA, SIOI is also an active member of the International Union of Diplomatic Academies, located in Vienna, which gathers in a yearly Forum the major public and private world Institutes operating in the field of diplomatic and international training.

Lectures and Conferences

By means of conferences, workshops and other events SIOI aims at keeping the public interest alive on current issues related to the international organization and cooperation, with a multi-disciplinary approach including the legal-institutional, historical, economic and social-political aspects. Since the very beginning of its activity, authoritative personalities of the political, diplomatic and cultural circles have come from all over the world to gather in its conference room.
Its main debates and results are published and disseminated as contributions to possible developments or initiatives in the various sectors.

Studies and Publication Office

Research is focused on current international policy problems, with specific reference to multilateral aspects.
. It is mainly carried out:
- as an autonomous activity, mostly in the preparatory phase of the main conferences or in other occasions;
- upon the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or of other public and private bodies;
- as a contribution to the SIOI publications.
La Comunità internazionale” (The International Community), quarterly review of politics, history, economics and international law was founded in 1946.

The Library and Documentation Service

The Library, open to the public for free from Monday to Friday, hosts a large number of books on international relations, international law and history. Upon request it provides many services such as specific studies, information processing or preparation of specific documentation dossiers.
It also hosts the publications of the international organizations linked to the United Nations, as well as many others of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Nato, etc.
The newspaper and periodical library has about 800 items, mostly coming from the International Organizations.
The Library adheres to the National Library Service (SBN), the network of the Italian libraries managed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. The computerization of the book and documentary heritage provides a rapid and complete service to the users, who can gain access to it round-the-clock also through Internet.
The international documentation Centre has a significant collection of documents of the United Nations and the League of Nations as early as their origins. It is both in English and French and it is filed according to the U.N. classification system.
Since 1958 SIOI has also been a Centre of European Documentation. Therefore it allows the public consultation of all the E. U. institutions’ publications.
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Specialized Training Courses

SIOI meets the growing demand for training on the different international subjects by means of high quality courses designed to enable the participants to acquire useful skills for the integration or progression in the various careers connected with international relations. Therefore, the framework has been enlarged progressively to consider both the most recent teaching methods and the new needs of today’s society, also other than the diplomatic activity.
- The Preparatory Course to the diplomatic career, which has a long-standing tradition (the first course dates back to 1945), is organized every year under the auspices and the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- the Master Course for international careers is targeted to graduates and final-year students interested in working for the International Organizations and the non-governmental Organizations which operate in the field of international and development cooperation;
- the International Training Course for officials and civil servants and the Master in international studies for officials and civil servants meet the need for lifelong learning by state and local Administrations;
- the Master Course on International Relations and International Protection of Human Rights is targeted to young graduates interested in the diplomatic career, in working for international organizations and for companies operating abroad.
- the Course targeted to Agents for the internationalization of companies is designed to train experts capable to assist companies with specific skills on E.U. programs and financial tools to support the internationalization process;
- the Course for experts in EU affairs is targeted to managers, officials and civil servants, to corporate executives and graduates, who wish to work for the E.U. organizations or in the international business sector: they aim at spreading knowledge on the ways and means to gain access to the E.U. funds and the mechanisms to manage the structural funds, as well as develop skills in the design and planning fields;
- the Rome Summer School of European Law is targeted to graduates, managers, officials and civil servants who wish to improve the understanding of EU Law in a truly European environment;
- the II level inter-university Master on International Jurisdictions (Universal and European ones) is targeted to the law graduates interested in working in the field of international jurisdictions and international cooperation and to the legal professionals who intend to further specialize in the international law of procedure;
- the Master Course on Environmental Law: rules, institutions, implementation techniques is designed to providing both legal-institutional and practical-professional training in the field of the transposition into national legislation of the international and E.U. rules on environment and sustainable development;
- the Master Course on Geopolitcs: the New World is targeted to those who intend to delve into the issues related to international relations, particularly geo-political set-ups and global security;
the Master Course on International Economy, Institutions and Business in the Globalization Era – jointly organised with the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) - is designed to training experts in International Economy, Marketing and New Economy;
- the Course for experts of national and international Protocol is targeted to managers, officials and civil servants working for the Public Administration and the other private bodies involved in the organization of national and international events, as well as to young people interested in starting a career in this sector.
- the Master Course on Spatial Institutions and Policies is designed to providing both institutional and practical-professional training in the field of the spatial governance and policies with a particular but not exclusive attention to legal, politics and economics branches related to the exploitation of the extra –atmospheric space.

Many other initiatives are being launched on behalf of the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other State Administrations with specific refreshers’ courses (management of the European documentation, European Union and schools, preparation for the E.U. competitions, etc.). In this regard, specific importance must be attached to the international and E.U. training courses for diplomats, managers, officials and civil servants of the various foreign countries’ administrations and companies .

The traineeships
At the end of its courses SIOI provides participants with an opportunity to carry out traineeships in public and private bodies operating in Italy and abroad and at International Organizations.

SIOI Branches

With a view to promoting its own activities also outside its main headquarters, SIOI also operates at national level through its sections in Turin, Milan and Naples:
- Turin: it has a rich library open to the public and it organizes training courses, conferences and workshops;
- Milan: it organizes post-graduate specialization courses, conferences and workshops;
- Naples: it organizes a yearly course to prepare for the diplomatic career, as well as conferences and workshops. Its library, which is open to the public, is also a European Documentation Centre.
In Assisi SIOI has also associated with the municipal authorities in order to create an Office to support the United Nations, thanks to the support provided by the Italian government and the United Nations. This office is located in Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo – in the monumental part of the town - and since March 12, 1999 it has been performing international organizations-related activities by:
- organizing conferences and events on international issues of specific relevance to the United Nations;
- organizing training courses on the United Nations, including a yearly course on human rights targeted to secondary modern and higher schools all over Italy;
- creating an international documentation Centre, which has been granted the status of U.N. Library

SIOI Student Movement

SIOI is particularly sensitive to the youth world. In fact, the Movimento Studentesco per l’Organizzazione Internazionale (MSOI) (Students’ Movement for International Organization) joins the students who intend to work in the various international relations’ sectors and performs its activities in many Italian universities. It organizes conferences, workshops, simulations on the United Nations or the European Union. The MSOI is associated with the WFUNA-Youth (World Federation of UN Associations-Youth).

The Alumni Association

The Alumni Association SIOI has created an alumni Association to preserve its historical memory and act as a factor of aggregation and solidarity among all those who since 1947 have been trained there. A two-monthly newsletter sent to all the Association members aims at providing updated information on SIOI life and keeping alive the cultural ties between it and its alumni .