Milan Mayor Gabriele Albertini, who conferred the citizenship on the Queen in an official ceremony yesterday, praised all her efforts, particularly those “demonstrated towards universal themes, which have always taken up the plight of the most vulnerable people, including the protection of children's rights, education and policies in favour of the young, support to children whose lives have been damaged by war and conflict.”

He went on to say that Queen Rania's “personal and direct engagement, within the framework of the promotion of women's rights, freedom, growth and prosperity and through initiatives aimed at spreading economic development, culture, art and other human endeavours” are all deemed “milestones in the progress of all nations.”

Jordanian Ambassador to Italy Ramez Qoussous, as well as Middle Eastern ambassadors to Italy and other officials attended the event.

Upon receiving the award, and in her capacity as the only Arab and Muslim woman to receive the award, Queen Rania praised “Milan's willingness to embrace different cultures and perspectives.”

Her Majesty also commended Italy for hosting the 30th Ambrosetti Conference, entitled Intelligence 2005 on the World, on Europe, on Italy.

“At a time when we are dealing with turbulence in the Middle East, discord between East and West, and an impending energy crisis, institutions like Ambrosetti are invaluable,” she said. “We need more people to follow Italy's example... seek solutions and drive positive change.”

Referring to Jordan's efforts in fostering dialogue and countering the “ignorance and division” threatening today's world, Queen Rania spoke of the Amman Message, issued last year during the Holy Month of Ramadan. The message was “intended to remind the world's Muslims of the true tenets of our faith” and emphasises “the Islamic values of tolerance, social equality and, above all else, respect for human life.”

Such values, the Queen added, are the reason why Jordan and Italy share a long-standing partnership and friendship.

Citing examples of such collaborations, Queen Rania highlighted joint initiatives in the field of education.

“I am especially proud of how we have worked together in the field of education... promoting exchanges, making our universities the very best they can be and establishing networks of excellence among our scholars and administrators,” she said.

Jordanian-Italian educational cooperation was also the focus of another event the Queen attended earlier on Saturday, where she met with representatives from the University of Pavia.

At the meeting, Queen Rania welcomed the idea of setting up a network of Centres for Advanced Studies in the Middle East linked to the university and discussed the prospect of establishing one in Jordan specialising in human rights.

She noted that this would complement the Kingdom's efforts in this field, adding that the Ministry of Education would look into the issue of which Jordanian university would be housing this centre.

During the event, Queen Rania also met with a group of five Arab students currently benefiting from the Queen Rania Scholarship Fund at the university. She commended their efforts in promoting cross-cultural understanding and relationship-building across regions.

Meanwhile, speaking during the plenary session of the Ambrosetti Conference on Friday, the Queen underlined that it is through human contact and interaction and through building bridges of understanding that we can actually really get to know one another and increase the level of tolerance, thereby realising that there is much more that unites us rather than separates us.

Queen Rania called on the international community to utilise `human understanding' and `personal intelligence' to overcome the challenges of today's world.

The three-day event, held at the Villa d'Este at Lake Como, Italy, aims to ensure unique and effective professional solutions in strategic and operational management consultancy, as well as continual professional updating and research in this age of acceleration and global competition.

Addressing heads of state, government officials, business leaders, Nobel laureates and other influential personalities from the region and around the world, the Queen's remarks focused on three simple yet powerful ideas, beginning with the “universality of human nature.”

“Human nature is everywhere and through all eras the same,” said Queen Rania. “That,” she added, “may seem an odd thing to suggest in a world where scholars, politicians and the media all seem preoccupied with our differences, and where social, religious and economic differences do indeed appear to be profound.”

Intelligence, she said, is of no good, if it is not based on an understanding of “basic humanity,” adding that without such understanding, “intelligence has, at best, limited use.”

The second idea the Queen laid out is the “universality of fundamental religious beliefs.” Religions, she noted, may describe ideas differently, but have the same core ideas. She also emphasised that “morality is a matter of human understanding and respect.”

The need for understanding such beliefs, Queen Rania stressed further, has never before been so great.

Queen Rania also pointed out that the “technological miracles” such as the Internet and global media, created with the intention of bringing people closer together, are having an adverse effect, saying: “...we are at risk of ever-increasing numbers of people having information without context, contact without communication.”

Therefore, information obtained from such mediums, must be utilised to “understand our cultural and religious differences,” she added.

“We cannot use intelligence to its fullest potential if it increases — rather than decreases — the surface divisions that characterise different nations,” she continued.

The third idea put forth by Queen Rania was that of the universality of intelligence.

“Intelligence, at least in the forms we typically measure, can, in other words, be taught,” she said.

Such a notion, Queen Rania reiterated, provides the basis of several questions, including why some people strive to acquire learning when others do not; why some are motivated to learn and others are not; how social policies and systems can better serve people and how societies can perceive human understanding in the same manner and with the same significance they do technological, scientific, literary and historical understanding.

The answers to the above can be found in using “personal intelligence to strengthen our mutual understanding,” the Queen asserted.

Without such understanding, she affirmed, the numerous advances people make to solve the world's problems could instead be used to “sow hatred and even to inspire ever-increasing violence.”

Concluding her remarks, Queen Rania urged the audience to “focus on the role intelligence plays in allowing us to converge,” at the day-to-day level, as it is this “convergence,” she says, which will form the basis of a future filled with hope, and indeed, much needed security.

A yearly forum, the conference, was founded by Alfredo Ambrosetti in 1975.

The conference agenda tackles a variety of subjects dominating the international arena, including the world's economic outlook, scientific and technological developments as well as the `energy challenge.' It also includes a specific session on India and one on the European Union's institutional developments.

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