Today, Monday, June 26, at the Luiss Campus on Viale Romania, Massimo Ciociola, Founder and CEO of Musixmatch, Alberto Dalmasso, Founder and CEO of Satispay, Ibrahim al-Koni, a Libyan writer, and Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, will receive the Luiss Global Fellowship. This prestigious award, now in its second year, is presented by the University named after Guido Carli to individuals who have made significant contributions internationally in the cultural, artistic, economic, social, or technical-scientific fields. 

“The Luiss Global Fellowship celebrates the career paths of individuals who have distinguished themselves through their commitment and achievements across various fields. The Global Fellows serve as role models and guiding lights, navigating the present and shaping the future through innovative, diverse, and interconnected perspectives. The 2023 edition of the Luiss Global Fellowship celebrates the creativity of two internationally renowned entrepreneurs and two writers: while Ciociola and Dalmasso have explored and acted on opportunities offered by digital technologies, al-Koni and Lahiri have opened up new perspectives on the theme of cultural identity. “The intersection of business and literature reinforces Luiss’s identity as a place where cultures, perspectives, fields, and disciplines converge and engage,” stated Rector Andrea Prencipe. He continued, “The Luiss Global Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for students and the university community to interact with truly outstanding global figures, benefiting from their experience and knowledge. This, in turn, contributes to a high-quality academic education and enriches future perspectives.”

The reasons for the award are tied to the ideas and projects of the four Fellows: Massimo Ciociola has revolutionized the global music-sharing landscape by creating the largest digital library of song lyrics; Alberto Dalmasso has transformed the daily lives of millions of people by creating a European digital payment network independent of debit and credit cards; Ibrahim al-Koni, an international writer, has brought contemporary Arabic literature to a global audience, sharing the sharing the culture and narratives of desert communities; Jhumpa Lahiri has embraced Italian, which is not her native language, to create stories that address the themes of immigration and cultural transformation, describing the process of blending traditional models from countries of origin with the realities of new host environments.