Author: Dir-Gen

Hi!

I'm Fabio, the Director-General of DG MEME. I single-handedly created DG MEME in June 2018 to show that a different approach to EU communication was possible. Some time later I was joined by a few friends that supported me with their insights and I could finally stop to use the royal we.

I have more than 15 years expertise in IT, Photography and Communication and I work as consultant for different companies. I'm currently set in Milan, but when there are no pandemics I'm known for traveling as much as I can. That's how I learned to love Europe, languages and cultural differences.

Categories
EU narrative EUREKA

The nitrogen reVolt, decarbonizing ammonia production in the EU

At DG MEME we keep hearing that the EU does not invest in research and that we lose our best minds to other continents. So I decided to go out and check if this is really the case; and what we could do to improve the situation. I will collect these articles in EUREKA (European Union’s Research, Enterprise, and Knowledge Aces), a new section of the website. For this first article, I was looking for a start-up that is:

  • EU-based, with an international team
  • contributing to the green transition
  • run by scientists who studied abroad but came back to Europe

And that’s how I met Suzanne and Mattia, the two co-founders of NitroVolt, a Danish start-up that is revolutionizing the ammonia production.

CEO Suzanne Zamany Andersen (Denmark/Iran) and CTO Mattia Saccoccio (Italy) holding the Nitrolyzer, a lithium-mediated ammonia synthesis reactor (patent pending)
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Categories
EU narrative

The EU Atomic Bomb

Have you ever had that feeling of living in a continent that is not entirely ruled by insane people? Cool, then you’re probably in Europe, in Australia or in Antarctica.

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EU narrative

Elections on thin ice – a Journey to Greenland, the Outpost of Democracy

I started reading about Greenland after it made the headlines a few months ago, and I found it very fascinating: it is one of the biggest countries in the world, but it has less than 57,000 inhabitants; Greenlanders are EU citizens through their Danish nationality, even if Greenland left the European Economic Community in 1985, partly because of concerns over fishing rights; Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and it is on its way to independence since 1979, even though only a few of the political and legal competences have been taken over by the Greenlandic government from Denmark.

The icebergs by the Old Harbor of Nuuk
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interview

From Rags to Fishes – A conversation with MEP Virginijus Sinkevičius

In my continuous effort to maintain a certain inter-institutional balance, I had the pleasure to interview the former (and youngest) European Commissioner, and now Member of the European Parliament, Virginijus Sinkevičius. What came out is a long, yet very inspiring, net zero to hero story.

MEP Virginijus Sinkevičius and DG Fabio Mauri
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interview

The Rīga’s mayor who brewed change: a coffee with Mārtiņš Staķis

It is the first time I venture out of my Commission comfort zone, interviewing a truly elected politician from the European Parliament. In these difficult times, when popular support is needed to take important decisions, a good Director-General knows he must get closer to those who are close to the people.

And I am glad to start with Mārtiņš Staķis, manager, coffee expert, TV host, church treasurer, mayor of Riga and Member of the European Parliament.

MEP Mārtiņš Staķis and DG Fabio Mauri in Mārtiņš’s office in Brussels. In the background, the Ukrainian flag, signed by the members of the Ukrainian basketball team.
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EU narrative interview

Inside Kafka’s Castle: a conversation with Martin Dvořák, Czech Minister of EU Affairs

At Colours of Ostrava, one of Czechia’s biggest culture and music festivals, I had the pleasure to meet and interview Martin Dvořák, the Czech Minister of EU affairs over a Czech beer and Belgian fries. As a passionate traveler, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask him about his life and his many missions abroad.

The Czech Minister of EU affairs Martin Dvořák and DG Fabio Mauri at Europa Square at Colours of Ostrava
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EU narrative movies

The Day I published a Seven-million-views Reel

Among the many things I don’t understand of social media there is the need of people to comment on anything. Why engaging in virtual written fights with strangers that will surely misunderstand you? Which pleasure does it give you to insult the author of a post? And, most importantly, where do you find the time to do all that?

I recently published a reel featuring the not-so-sweet encounter between the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and France’s President Emmanuel Macron. This video was played more than 7M times, reaching more than 3M accounts, for a total view time of 11K hours (500 days). It received 98K likes and more than 3K comments.

Now, you would think this is great news, right? Wrong, my phone was constantly buzzing with notifications and I had to read all the idiotic comments, trying to remove the most racist ones. Here a summary of what people have said, just to show how disappointing mankind can be:

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Categories
interview

Mr. Schmit goes to Europe – a beer with the Socialists’ lead candidate

The Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights and European Socialists’ lead candidate Nicolas Schmit and DG Fabio Mauri. In the background, the Brussels Canal.

“I’m thirty-four and I am exhausted”, said Robin, who has been following the seventy-year-old Commissioner and lead candidate Nicolas Schmit in his campaign. “Yesterday we were in Portugal, today we are in Belgium, tomorrow we will be in Luxembourg, then Italy, Spain and Croatia”. I am happy Schmit found some time in his busy agenda to answer a few questions and listen to my meme speech.

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Categories
interview

When Fabio met Uschi – Coffee & memes with Ursula von der Leyen

Commission President and EPP lead candidate Ursula von der Leyen and Director-General Fabio Mauri
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interview

A Family between War and Peace – A conversation with Gabrielius Landsbergis

Of the many politicians I follow online, no one communicates as clearly and effectively as the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Gabrielius Landsbergis. I started following him with interest during the diplomatic tensions between Lithuania and China in 2021; the appreciation was mutual, as he also retweeted some of my memes; this fact particularly impressed my Lithuanian friends, even those that didn’t vote for his party: “He is cool, his whole family is cool”.

DG Fabio Mauri, Eglė Šeputytė – Tarchanovė and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis
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