LONDRA (UKREGNO) (ITALPRESS) – In the British capital, on 26 November Philip Baglini was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy, one of the highest awards for international compatriots who distinguish themselves for their contribution to the promotion of Italy and its values. CEO of ICBS – International Communication Broadcasting and Services and founder of LondonONE Radio, the first and only official Italian radio in the United Kingdom, Baglini received the award in the presence of friends, colleagues, journalists of the Rai and of Repubblica, entrepreneurs and representatives of the Italian community: all witnesses of his long human and professional path.
A journey started thirty years ago, when Baglini, (nuclear physics and journalist) was born in Pietrasanta in 1974 and raised between Versilia and Pontasserchio, on the banks of the Serchio ù left Tuscany to seek new challenges in the United Kingdom. As a child fascinated by journalism, communication and physics, he graduated in nuclear physics at the University of Pisa, cultivating parallel music and writing. After an important experience at CERN, he chose to reinvent himself in the UK: he left the restaurant and, step by step, founded ICBS, giving rise to the first online magazine dedicated to Italians overseas, Italoeuropeo, today a historical magazine very followed, and in the last a pioneering project: LondonONE radio.
In 2014, after three years of research and study of the market, LondonONE Radio was born, now the most listened Italian radio in the UK. A dynamic publishing reality, pop and deeply connected to the territory, able to daily inform the Italian community, collaborating with the Embassy, Consulate and the main cultural institutions. A contemporary public service, accessible, always next to listeners, twenty-four hours on twenty-four. Among the most appreciated projects, beloved, from all the Italian community and not only, even beyond sleeves, are the radio-documentaries “Passi Oltremanica”, which first, since 2017 tell the historical viggio of Italian migrations to the United Kingdom: stories of those who built bridges, brought talents, rooted hopes. A series that further consolidated the role of LondonONE Radio as a live archive of Italian memory in the UK.
During the ceremony, visibly moved, Baglini said: “This Knight honors me deeply. I thank the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, Consul General Domenico Bellantone for the appointment, and the Italian community of London that has always supported me. It is an acknowledgement that makes me proud of the sacrifices made, but that empowers me: from today I have to do even better for this Star, to better represent Italy. I give honour to my parents: without their values, without their example, I would not have resisted so long nor built what I have built.”.
The community has narrowed around “Phil”, as everyone now calls it, in an evening defined by many “magic and unforgettable”: a collective embrace to a professional, serious, honest, who, with tenacity and vision, gave voice to Italians in the UK, transforming a dream into a reality that continues to grow.
– photo LondonONEradio –
(ITALPRESS).
