Giorgio Ceragioli

Giorgio Ceragioli
Born	June 24, 1930 Torino, Italy
Died	July 17, 2008 Torino, Italy
Residence	Italy Italy
Nationality	Italy italian
Known for	Scholarship and publications
Scientific career
Fields	appropriate technology, international development, Third World, self-building
Institutions	Politecnico di Torino, Assefa
Doctoral advisor	Prof. Giuseppe Ciribini
Doctoral students	Nuccia Comoglio Maritano, Massimo Foti, Gianfranco Cavaglià

Giorgio Ceragioli (June 24, 1930 – July 17, 2008) was an Italian engineer, professor and a leader in the pro-Third World movement in Italy.

Giorgio Ceragioli was born in Torino the 24 June 1930. His grandfather was a well known Italian artist also named Giorgio and his father Mario worked as engineer for Torino's municipality.
He studied civil engineering at the local university where, after a period of independent professional work as engineer, he became professor of Technology of Architecture.
In his youth he volunteered for the local branch of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Later he became a leader of the Azione Cattolica where he supported his pro-Third-world vision establishing the Centro Cattolico Torinese contro la fame nel mondo and organising the first Quaresima di Fraternità. This meant that all money collected by the Catholic Church during the Lent, instead of being used locally, was devoted to projects in the developing countries.
His activity led him to travel a lot; he visited India several times getting in touch with the Sarvodaya movement established by Vinoba Bhave.
Back in Italy he launched with Giovanni Ermiglia Assefa (Association for Sarva Seva Farms), a still widespread NGO which economically supports Sarvodaya activities in India and also aims to promote Gandhi's principles across Italy. During the years Assefa provided thousands of lower class Indian farmers with the means necessary to start the cultivation of the land voluntarily given by landowners to Bhoodan movement (or Land Gift Movement). This kind of action has been particularly strong in the state of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh; Assefa also supports primary education and women's self-organisation. In December 1968 he also established Movimento Sviluppo e Pace, a humanitarian non-religious NGO implementing projects for sustainable development in poor countries

...
Wikipedia