The Festival kicks off

Piazza IV Novembre, Sala dei Notari, 9am, hubbub and excitement amongst the seats, where a bunch of young people is looking forward to starting working. Francesco Rigatelli walks on the stage and the chats become whispers and finally there’s silence in the monumental room. Rigatelli, a journalist of La Stampa, starts making the introduction speech to the very first event of the festival, the Welcome to Volunteers. The festival has officially kicked off.

Rigatelli is very young and so are the volunteers and many of the journalists who are coming to speak. “The idea”, Rigatelli says, “is to be different to the usual festivals. This is the most important one open to young people, we want to connect young people and journalism”.

Volunteer Valeria Gentile then reads the telegram that Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic, has sent to the festival; and Ali Al-Sumayin, a Saudi volunteer who’s come from Dubai, describes his experience being for the first time in Italy. After them Alessandro Di Maio, coordinator of foreign volunteers, talks about the great atmosphere that reigns amongst them, having already spent the former night at the pub.

Silvano Rometti, head of culture deparment of the Umbria Regional Council, follows and describes the youth and openness of Perugia; and Maurizio Oliviero, director of ADISU, encourages the young volunteers to step up and claim their place in journalism: “We live in a gerontocratic society, young people need to be protagonists.”

Finally Enzo Iacopino, secretary-general of the Ordine dei Giornalisti, the official journalistic body in Italy, gives the main and longest speech. He is critical with the current situation of journalism and complains about the present sensationalistic trend. Iacopino also remembers some Italian journalists who gave their lifes while doing their duty and calls for honest and brave journalism. “You may lose many battles, but at least win the most important one, the everyday one when you can look at yourself on the mirror because you haven’t lost your integrity,” he says.

After the talks the hustle and the excitement come back while the volunteers rush to attend other events and to their different work positions. The International Journalism Festival of Perugia is on.

Jose M. Calatayud