CICAP
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| Abbreviation | CICAP |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1989 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | Scientific skepticism |
| Location |
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Region served
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Italy |
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Official language
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Italian |
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Executive Director
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Massimo Polidoro |
| Affiliations | European Council of Skeptical Organisations |
| Website | www.cicap.org |
CICAP (Comitato Italiano per il Controllo delle Affermazioni sulle Pseudoscienze; in English Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Pseudosciences) is an Italian, non-profit, skeptic educational organization, founded in 1989. CICAP's main goals are the promotion of the scientific analysis of alleged paranormal and pseudoscientific phenomena. It is a member of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations.
CICAP was started by the Italian science journalist Piero Angela together with a group of scientists including Luigi Garlaschelli. The first attempt at creating an organization that investigates alleged paranormal phenomena in Italy dates back to 1978, only two years after the founding of CSICOP (today CFI), when following Piero Angela’s television show Indagine sulla parapsicologia (Inquiry on Parapsychology), 22 scientists and researchers of various disciplines released a common declaration calling for the establishment of a committee for the examination of alleged paranormal phenomena.
The initiative didn't come into being until 1987-1988, when Piero Angela organized numerous meetings amongst the Italian subscribers of Skeptical Inquirer magazine that terminated with a meeting in Turin on October 9, 1988. During the meeting, the association’s goals and objectives were defined along with the name for the committee: Comitato italiano per il controllo delle affermazioni sul paranormale (Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal), chosen because the acronym “CICAP” resembled “check-up” in English.
The Committee was formalized on June 12, 1989. Lorenzo Montali was appointed executive director and Massimo Polidoro the director of the association’s magazine. Two Nobel Prize laureates are or have been members: Carlo Rubbia and Rita Levi Montalcini. Other notable members include the philosopher, semiotician and novelist Umberto Eco. As of 2009[update], the executive director is Italian skeptic investigator and writer Massimo Polidoro.
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