Paolo Petrocelli (PhD-EMBA) is a senior cultural manager, university professor and journalist
Driven by the belief that culture, arts and education are a major force for growth, development and change globally.
A passionate, innovative and dynamic manager with an extensive experience in leadership positions in a wide range of institutions and organizations, he is an international relations and global cultural affairs expert.
He is the founding Director General of the Stauffer Center for Strings of Cremona, the first international music center dedicated entirely to stringed instruments, and Director General of the Accademia Stauffer, one of Italy’s most prestigious music institutions.
In order to serve as an active citizen and support non-profit activity, he has become a leading member of some of the most prestigious international organizations, including United Nations, UNESCO, World Economic Forum.
As a cultural and music diplomacy ambassador, he serves in institutional roles to forge bonds through music and arts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the US.
He is the Founder and President of EMMA for Peace (Euro-Mediterranean Music Academy), international non-governmental organization for the promotion of music diplomacy between Europe and the Middle East, Co-Founder and Honorary President of the Italian Youth Association for UNESCO, the largest youth organization in the UNESCO system, of which he served as President from 2014 to 2019.
He is the Cultural and Music Diplomacy Officer of the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates and Cultural Advisor to Coldplay.
To help shape the next generation, Petrocelli lectures at leading universities, including Yale University, MIT, New York University, Université Paris-Sorbonne. He is a Research Affiliate at metaLAB at Harvard University.
In 2022, he has been selected by the think tank Friends of Europe among the 40 most influential young personalities in Europe and nominated European Young Leader.
In the same year, the prestigious magazine Fortune named him among the 40 most influential young personalities in Italy, as the first cultural manager ever selected.
