ROME (ITALPRESS) – After the success of the Milan and Monza stages in 2022 and the Turin stage in 2023, the Festival of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces “The Italy of Regions” returns and this year will be held in Bari from October 19 to 22 with an important involvement of the country’s institutions, starting with the opening ceremony to be held in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and the closing ceremony with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. This year’s theme, “The Region of the Future between digital and green: what skills to zero the distances?” reflects the awareness and willingness to face the challenges and opportunities that will characterize our future. Bari, a crossroads of innovation and development, was selected to host the event because of its extraordinary combination of tradition and modernity, as well as its role as an important economic and university center in southern Italy. “The task of politics is to mediate on the most appropriate solutions to engage the inescapable challenges of green and digital: it means ensuring the gradualness of changes and making progress on a human scale, accessible to all and economically and socially sustainable.” Says the president of the Conference of Regions and Friuli Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Fedriga during the presentation of the Festival.
“From this point of view, institutions are called to promote meeting occasions in which to compare skills and best practices, always keeping the citizen as the polar star to prevent the new development references from becoming abstractions such as to cause unease or hostility. Regions have a fundamental function in this path: they are closer to the needs of the population and its sensitivities, attitudes and proactive capacities and can become a great glue that moves from the bottom. The idea of producing a Green Book to capitalize on all the insights that will come from formal and informal meetings is excellent, always remembering that even seemingly lateral or marginal issues can turn out to be valuable insights or open new paths,” he concludes. According to the vice-president of the Conference of Regions and the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano, “this festival was created with the aim of making the regions closer and more accessible to citizens. For four days, the presidents of the Italian regions and autonomous provinces, together with the highest officials of the Italian Republic, will be in Puglia, in Bari, to animate a debate that will involve young people, universities, and institutions on major issues. Each initiative is designed to be participated in by the citizenry,” he points out, “to let people know how present and active the regions are in all areas of daily life. Therefore, I invite everyone to consult the program of events and, above all, to visit us during these days of constructive confrontation between Regions, in which each territory will highlight its strengths, best practices, and opportunities to be known.”
The Festival, organized by the Apulia Region in collaboration with Teatro Pubblico Pugliese – Regional Consortium for Arts and Culture, will take place in the prestigious Piccinni, Petruzzelli and Margherita Theaters and will embrace the whole of Bari Vecchia, transforming it into a real widespread stage. Numerous iconic spaces, including Piazza del Ferrarese, the Muraglia, the Fortino, the Kursaal Santalucia Theater and the Zonno Hall, will be enlivened by initiatives in the theater mile, integrating history and culture into a unique experience for all participants. This year’s format includes alternating institutional appointments, with the presence of top-level exponents: from Region Talks, characterized by more formal interventions, to Vision Meetings, informal meetings in which stakeholders and institutions will dialogue with young people. Central, in fact, will be the involvement of youth associations, including the National Youth Council, Aware, Officine Italia, Agesci, Legambiente and Save the Children, who will play an active role in the debates and meetings, a concrete way to give voice to their demands. The claim, Azzeriamo le Distanze (Let’s Reset the Distances), underscores precisely the goal of initiating a dialogue that will enable regions to bridge generational gaps and achieve an equal and plural balance in all contexts.
This year, the themes addressed during the Festival will be the starting point for future political and social reflections of the System of Regions. At the end of the Festival, a paper will be published summarizing the results of the work, integrating the themes of the paper and providing a valuable outline for future policy choices of the Regions. Very much the government representatives, will be the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies, Roberto Calderoli; the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci; of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin; of Civil Protection and Sea Policies, Nello Musumeci; and the Minister of Sports, Andrea Abodi; the deputy prime minister and minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani; the minister for European Affairs, the South, Cohesion Policies and the NRP, Raffaele Fitto; Marina Elvira Calderone, minister of Labor; Giuseppe Valditara, minister of Education and Merit; and the minister for Public Administration, Paolo Zangrillo. For the second year, the Village of the Regions will be set up between Piazza Ferrarese and the Walls of Bari, hosting promotional stands of the Regions and the Conference with a rich schedule of entertainment involving the Citizenship and all participants.
photo: xb1/Italpress
(ITALPRESS).
