On October 3, during the international conference Refugees & Migrations in Our Common Home, the Director of SIMI, Fr. Aldo Skoda, delivered a speech following the presentation of the work carried out by the research working group, offering his reflections on the resulting Action Plan. The conference successfully concluded opening new perspectives for the next three years.

These days of dialogue, exchange, and shared commitment highlighted the importance of research as a driving force for understanding, collaboration, and social transformation.

The power of research is not limited to the simple acquisition of new knowledge but represents a fundamental driver of social transformation and change. Through rigorous investigation and critical analysis, research provides tools for a deeper understanding of reality, identifying new perspectives and innovative solutions. This process of knowledge production helps to change established practices, overcome prejudices and stimulate critical thinking that can guide collective choices. Furthermore, research work can become an active voice in advocacy, supporting causes of public interest, raising public awareness and influencing political and social decisions. In this sense, research is not only an intellectual process, but also a concrete service to the community, capable of generating positive and lasting impacts on the lives of people and institutions.

Research must be conducted with the greatest possible freedom, maintaining constant open dialogue with a dynamic and complex reality that constantly poses new challenges. In a constantly evolving world, it is essential that research remains independent of external pressures and ideological or political influences, so that it can make a genuine contribution to the advancement of knowledge and society. However, today we are witnessing with growing concern attempts to influence, restrict or even censor certain research activities that do not conform to the dominant views or interests of certain groups or institutions. Such interference risks impoverishing scientific debate, hindering the discovery of new perspectives and innovative solutions.

For these reasons, I believe that embarking on a career in research today requires a great deal of courage: the courage to go against the grain, to uphold freedom of thought and to express findings that may sometimes be uncomfortable or counterintuitive. Being a researcher means not only pursuing truth with rigour and integrity but also defending the value of research as a common good, at the service of society. Only in this way can research continue to be a driver of change, contributing to human, cultural and social growth, and offering a virtuous example of civic and christian intellectual commitment.

Although research can also be carried out individually, it is intrinsically based on a community dimension. Every researcher, in fact, engages in continuous dialogue with a vast community of scholars and thinkers, both past and present. This link with those who came before us and those who are following similar paths today is the connective tissue of scientific production: no discovery comes out of nowhere, but is the result of constant discussion, exchange and intellectual cross-fertilisation. Furthermore, researchers always operate within a concrete community, made up of colleagues, institutions, students and social realities that influence, enrich and sometimes challenge their work. In this sense, research is never a solitary exercise, but is nourished by the exchange of ideas, the sharing of experiences and collaboration. It is precisely this community dimension that gives research its driving force, capable of generating innovation, promoting collective growth and fostering a sense of shared responsibility towards knowledge and society.

Finally, research represents an authentic form of service to the community. From a Christian perspective, it can be interpreted as a concrete manifestation of the charitas, or love: the researcher puts himself at the service of others, giving his time, energy and knowledge to contribute to the common good. This commitment is not limited to personal enrichment or the production of academic results but translates into a true act of love that aims to improve lives, promote social justice and support those who find themselves in situations of difficulty or marginalisation. Research thus becomes a vehicle for solidarity, an instrument of dialogue and a bridge between different human experiences, embodying the Christian principle of “serving with love”. In this way, scientific work is transformed into a deeply human and spiritual experience, capable of leaving a positive and lasting mark on society.