“It is with great pleasure that I announce the birth of a new science outreach program.” With these words Alberto Angela, in a long post published on Facebook, answered a question that many have been asking themselves for months: who will try to fill the great void left in Italian television by Piero Angela? A new name, an updated format but respectful of the glories of the past. This is the formula with which the popularizer, starting next summerwill collect the television legacy of his father, who passed away last August, and of SuperQuark.
«After my father’s disappearance – says Angela -, I often thought about what he had left for all of us. I decided to pick up that torch left on the ground and to continue on the path of dissemination – said Angela -. It wasn’t an easy decision. The weight of responsibility for such a delicate task, inevitable comparisons and an increasingly difficult television landscape for such important topics must be taken into account. But I also thought that, in my more than thirty years of television, I have almost always faced very difficult, sometimes prohibitive challenges. And I have always faced them with serenity, putting into play concentration, humility, top quality, ideas and a group of extraordinary collaborators. Adding then, in the end, optimism, that is, throwing the heart over the obstacle, regardless of fears ».
The name
The new program will not be called SuperQuark
. A choice dictated by the conviction that this name is (and will always be) inextricably linked to the name and face of the father: «It was his dress, the splendid vessel that he ruled for decades in the seas of knowledge. It is right that it remains of him forever. I asked Rai to withdraw this name, as is done with the shirts of a team’s most loved players. However, as you will see, the tradition of the program remains, we will not betray its many languages. The intent is to always make you feel at home.
The format
However, as with the name, the format will also be slightly different, while maintaining many of the characteristics that have built the success of SuperQuark: «Of course, there will be some changes: to the ability to tell the science of the crew of that vessel, the experience of the prime time seas acquired by those who with me make Ulysses, Tonight at, Wonders and also the North-West Passage will be added. We will expand the themes of the broadcast, talking more about archeology, geopolitics, anthropology, psychology, while keeping the typical SuperQuark topics related to scientific dissemination alive and strong, for those who loved that program. I think a formidable and wonderful team has thus been created which will give its best to talk to you about science. And most importantly, for spread scientific thought which is his real goal.
A thoughtful choice
The decision to gather such a thinking witness, Alberto Angela points out, was not taken lightly, but was the result of long reflection: «There are at least three reasons that prompted me to create this project. First, why I didn’t want the course that Piero has traced to be interrupted for so many years. A route, a vision, which is based on the fundamental intuition of using television, which has been, and still is in many ways, one of the most powerful means of communication to explain science and culture. Secondly, because the flagship network of public television cannot fail to have a popular science program in prime time».
Thought for young people
Il most important reasonBut,Alberto Angela keeps it for last: «Over the years, both my father and I have met many people almost daily, from ordinary ones to archaeologists, researchers, engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, pilots and even astronauts who have told us: “I do this job because as a child I saw the programs disclosure of Piero”. It was those programs that showed them the path that they then decided to follow. And often it is the world of research or innovations, like that crucial for our country and our future. The new program does not want to abandon all those girls and boys, girls and boys who are now in school and who, seeing this program, who knows, maybe, will decide to make choices, to take up a profession, to go in one direction in the life. Whatever it is. Not only with regard to school or university, but to be able to make a choice in everyday life with knowledge, using the intellect».
“At this moment – he continued -, the new generations need help to understand how to direct their life, their knowledge, their passions. Here you are, we want to do our part. Giving useful tools for reasoning, then leaving the freedom to choose the paths you want to take in life. I pick up the torch on the ground and carry it forward. Because that’s right. For the new generations. Because the journey of knowledge never stops – concluded Angela -. I hope you will join us on this new journey».