# Sofia Corradi

Sofia Corradi (Rome, 5 September 1934) is an Italian pedagogist. She is nicknamed "mamma Erasmus (Mother Erasmus)" because she conceived and built the Erasmus Programme for the exchange of students between European universities.

## Biography

Born in Rome in 1934, she studied law at the Sapineza University of Rome. In 1957 she went to study in the United States thanks to a Fulbright scholarship. Even though she had only a few exams and a thesis to complete, she still obtained a master's degree in comparative university legislation at Columbia University. She conceived the idea of Erasmus upon her return to Rome, as the university did not recognize the master's degree she had obtained abroad and asked her to complete the regular course of studies.
After graduating, in parallel with her university career, she became a scientific consultant for the Association of Rectors of Italian Universities and this role allowed her to make her idea known in the academic and international sphere. In 1969, she prepared the following memorandum, which contained the first idea of the Erasmus project: "The student, even if not belonging to a family resident abroad, can ask to carry out part of his study plan at foreign universities, presenting it to the Faculty Council for approval in advance. The Faculty Council can declare the equivalence, which will become effective after the student has produced documentation of the studies completed abroad" This memorandum was promoted to the Italian Minister of Education by Alessandro Faedo, President of the Permanent Conference of Rectors of Italian Universities. This was followed, again in 1969, by an Italian-French meeting in Pisa, on which Corradi prepared a broad press release published on 9 December 1969 by numerous Italian newspapers with the title "The Italian-French conference of rectors: agreements for the recognition of studies undertaken abroad".
In 1969, the minister of public education, Mario Ferrari Aggradi, adopted Corradi's memorandum as the basis for the bill 612/1969 for the reform of the Italian university, defined in the report to the Senate as follows: "With these provisions, Italy places itself in a position of great European and international openness, thus providing an example for future university legislation in other countries". However, this bill, after being approved by the Senate, after a process lasting three and a half years, was not approved by the Chamber due to the early end of the V legislature. In 1976, this principle was established at European level with the approval of the Resolution of 9 February 1976 of the European Economic Community which encouraged student exchanges between universities in different countries. This resolution allowed the experimentation (which lasted from 1976 to 1986, the decade of the "Joint Study Programs") of that model of "mobility with recognition of credits" which, after various delays and obstacles, would become the Erasmus Program in 1987. The entire process is narrated and documented in Corradi's 2015 book.

## Research

She has carried out research at the UN Commission on Human Rights, where she studied the issue of the right to education as a fundamental human right. She has also work for the Academy of International Law in The Hague, the London School of Economics in London, and for UNESCO in Paris. She taught Lifelong learning at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Roma Tre University from 1980 to 2004.

## Honours and awards

* 2016 - Charles V European Award, Fundación Yuste. On 9 May, Europe Day, she received the European Charles V Award from King Felipe VI of Spain and the president of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. On that occasion Stefania Giannini, Minister of Education, thanked her "for her extraordinary work. We owe her tenacity for a Program that has completely revolutionized the lives of our children, contributing to the construction of Europe". The ceremony was widely reported in the Italian and European press.
* 2016 - Appointed Commander of Merit of the Republic by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella.
* 2016 - Grand Cross of King Alfonso X the Wise, Decree of the Spanish Government, in the Official Journal of the Kingdom of Spain.
* 2016 - Humboldt-Newman Award from the AIDU (Italian Association of University Professors).
* 2016 - Capo Circeo European Award, Press Release Adn KroGos
* 2017 - Anna Lorenzetto International Award, UNLA, Via Milazzo, 11. Rome
* 2018 - "Alcide De Gasperi, Builders of Europe" Award, Presidency of the Province of Trento and Bolzano
* 2019 - Bellisario Award