Verona, 18 thousand scouts meet for the 50th anniversary of Agesci
From August 22nd to 25th, the National Route 2024 will be held, the gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Association of Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts. Over 60 meetings and illustrious guests. The theme of this edition is "Generation of Happiness", looking at the environment and sustainability such as vegetarian meals, biodegradable tableware.
Verona, 18 thousand scouts meet for the 50th anniversary of Agesci
18 thousand leaders of the Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts Association ready to meet in Verona from 22 to 25 August for the National Route 2024. Over 60 meetings, insights and debates to analyze the reality of today's young people and define the challenges and path of the Association for the coming years
There are more than 18 thousand leaders of AGESCI (Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts Association) registered for the National Route 2024, path designed for community leaders which will culminate in a national meeting in Villa Buri – Verona from 22 to 25 August 2024.
The meeting was presented yesterday in Verona by Roberta Vincini and Francesco Scoppola, Presidents of the AGESCI National Committee, by the Councilor for Youth and Participation Policies of the Municipality of Verona Jacopo Buffolo, by the Councilor for Security Stefania Zivelonghi and by Claudio Marai – Deputy Commander of the Local Police.
A meeting that takes place in the 50th year since the foundation of AGESCI in 1974. Since fifty years the leaders are passionate about the beauty of service and accompany the new generations to self-realization as men and women, through play, adventure and the road.
It will be a great moment of collective reflection: four days to participate in over 60 meetings, insights, training sessions and debates, with the aim of analyzing the reality of today's young people and defining the challenges and path of the Association for the coming years.
Among the guests who will participate: Friar Paolo Benanti – president of the Commission on artificial intelligence of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers; Enrico Giovannini – economist and statistician, former Minister of Labor and Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility; Elena Bonetti – parliamentarian, former Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family; Graziano Delrio – former Minister of Infrastructure and Transport and Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council; Rosie Bindi – former Minister for family policies; Roberta Pinotti – former Minister of Defense; John Bachelet – former parliamentarian; Simonetta Gola – journalist, Emergency Communications Director; Don Luigi Ciotti – President of Libera; Marco damilano - journalist; Claudio Sardo – journalist; In the Excavation – special correspondent of “Avvenire”; Emilio Casalini – journalist and writer; Luciano Scalettari – journalist; Miriam Giovanzana – founder of “Terre di mezzo”; Luisa Impastato – journalist, nephew of Peppino Impastato; Francesca Ambrosoli – journalist, daughter of Giorgio Ambrosoli; Rosario Maria Gianluca Valastro – President of the Italian Red Cross; Mario Giro – Community of Sant'Egidio; Don Mattia Ferrari – chaplain of Mediterranea Saving Humans; Lidia Maggi – theologian; Sabino Chialà – prior of the Bose community; Sabina Nuti – rector of the Sant'Anna School of Pisa; Ernesto Maria Ruffini – director of the Revenue Agency; Andrea Piccaluga – economist; Johnny Dotti – pedagogist and entrepreneur; Fabio Geda – Italian writer and educator; Henry Brizzi - writer; Alice Rohrwacher – director and screenwriter; martoz – cartoonist, illustrator, cartoonist; Luca Mercalli – climatologist and science communicator; Zakia Seddiki Attanasio – wife of Ambassador Attanasio, Mama Sofia Foundation.
The meeting in Verona will be an important moment, not yesonly for the numbers of people who will be involved, but also for the exceptional nature of the event: the Previous national routes were held in 1979 in Bedonia (Parma) and in 1997 at Piani di Verteglia (Avellino) and they represented key moments for the Association, which today has more than 180 thousand members, including leaders and children.
To act as a glue for the four days, the theme of happiness, which represents today a strong political choice, against the tide of negativism and signs of crisis and mistrust, And that it also returns in the title of this appointment: “Generations of happiness”. They will be There are 8 perspectives from which we will look at happiness, each with its own specific path:
Happy to receive
Happy to live a good life
Happy to take care and cherish
Happy to generate hope
Happy to experience God
Happy to be passionate
Happy to work for peace
Happy to be prophets of a new world
"Verona is proud to host an event of such importance, both in terms of the number of participants and the content and topics covered. - says the councilor for Security Stefania Zivelonghi – It will be an opportunity to share with the city the theme of happiness, at the heart of the national AGESCI gathering. It will be a complex event that will bring over 18.000 scout leaders to Verona and we are working daily to organize it with the utmost precision. Verona, already known for hosting numerous international events, cannot but be proud of this new event for which we will deploy all our professional skills. Finally, it is a great opportunity for the city: as Councilor for Security I often deal with critical situations involving young people. It is almost always a question of having or not having had opportunities. Young scouts have opportunities! My personal wish is that the city of Verona and all of us experience this event as a sort of collective reflection on the opportunities that we can and must give to our young people”.
"From the beginning, together with Mayor Tommasi, we strongly wanted to host the National Scout Leaders Route because it represents a great opportunity for Verona. - adds the youth policy councilor Jacopo Buffolo - Welcoming tens of thousands of scout leaders to our city means recognizing the free and voluntary educational commitment of thousands of girls and boys in our city and in our country. The event will be an important opportunity to be at the center of an educational and value debate that from growth and care for the common good leads to the generation of happiness. Scouting has a deep history in our territory that allowed it to overcome the dictatorship and celebrate its centenary last year. The spirit of leaving the places visited better than how they were found marries perfectly with the care of the city that we want to have as an Administration. The scope of the event is certainly challenging but it will be a great opportunity for Verona to reflect on the well-being of our community”.
"There are numerous objectives of this meeting - declared Roberta Vincini and Francesco Scoppola, Presidents of the AGESCI National Committee -: by involving the leaders of the Association in a highly motivating experience that can offer quality time, new energy, new words, new contents for education; to offering a unique opportunity to discuss current educational and social trends; from valorising the contribution of AGESCI's 50 years of history and positioning the Association in society and in the Church as an important actor of change in the present; to the identification of new responses, new balances and new structures in the face of current educational challenges".
“The Local Police will be involved in this event in light of the considerable turnout expected, to ensure the safety of all participants. – concludes the Deputy Commander of the Local Police Claudio Marai – We will be present in the area with numerous patrols and we will activate dynamic monitoring of all the locations involved in the event, to promptly respond to every need”.
Organize a 4-day event for over 18 thousand people leads very important logistical and organizational challenges, which will all be carried out in the name of sustainability, both from an economic point of view - thanks to specific fundraising and crowdfunding campaigns - both from an environmental point of view, through careful planning of every single choice, Mostly in terms of mobility of people and transport of materials: l'85% of the garments will in fact reach Verona by travelling by train, with a saving in CO2 emissions of the Approximately 70% compared to other means of transport; and also the choice of meals served, coming from a Vegetarian diet, together with the use of biodegradable tableware, will help contain the carbon footprint that will be generated by the event. it is then planned to support projects for the protection and care of forests which will help generate a positive impact in terms of offsetting residual emissions.
In addition to the 18 thousand participants, are expected also over 500 volunteers, the so-called Tangram Team, leaders still in service and former members who will make their time and talents available to make the experience unique.
The 2024 National Route is organized with the contribution of the Main Partner Federcasse, the Fondazione Cattolica Partners, Angelini Foundation, Coldiretti Verona and Altromercato and Sponsors AGSM, Coop and Officina Naturae.
AGESCI thanks the CEI (Italian Episcopal Conference) e the historical partners of the Association Banca Etica, Marsh, Coop Scout and Fiordaliso.
A special thank you goes also to Trenitalia, Perin Srl, Etifor, V&D, Essentials, SEKKEI, Barilla, Italsilva, Cooperativa SocialeCERCATI and Volkswagen for their essential support in the logistical organization of the event.
La National Route has the patronage of the Veneto Regionand Province of Verona, of ASVIS, of Rai for Sustainability - ESG and is in Media Partnership with Rai Cultura.
More information on National Route 2024 and Arena 24 is available on the site https://rn24.agesci.it/ and on Instagram @agesci.routenazionale2024.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright La Milano