Last week Europe and Africa met in Florence for the “Interdependence Days“, an event promoted by a bunch of associations (among the others Legambiente) and supported by Regione Toscana.

A two-days workshop about poverty, media, environment and cooperation with the African states. An opportunity to dig into the political, economical and social reality of Africa so unknown and misunderstanded by the old country.

Italian and African speakers have focused on the necessity to establish a new way to read the relationship between the two continents in order to fight poverty and set the basis for development. The world of information turned out to be the first responsible in this process. Too often European media present Africa only as the land of civil wars and poor-feeding, the heart of tragedies and natural disasters.

Where is the other face of Africa?

European citizens, Italians in particular, have a very poor knowledge about what Africa represents in term of human relations and ancient traditions: a crossroads of populations, cultures and dialects that enriches the heritage of the world giving us the opportunity to look at the future. Some African journalists, present at the event, tried to underline the importance of new international policies in Africa in order to protect its environment, so rich in natural resources, and restore a society exhausted by corruption and civil struggles.The Italian President of FNSI (National Federation of Journalists) attended the meeting to request more professionalism in our journalism.

All the representatives have agreed that only an Afro-European sinergy for a global governance could face the challenges of the future acting for equality and cooperation. Starting with a correct information of the African issues into the European media.

Image credit: by Jaci Barkopec in Flickr under Creative Commons

I know, in order to improve the quality of our lives the first step to do is to respect our cities, our neighbourhood and people around us. While we run up and down to full every empty space of our days, the Italian cultural heritage takes a rest to tell us about ancient families and artists, old palaces and frescos. Rome, Florence, Venice and other historical cities that today have to face many social challenges: urban blight, social degradation and abandoning of public spaces. Italy spends hundreds of thousands of Euros every year cleaning up historical monuments that have been defaced by writing or graffiti art.

To face urban blight and raise a common sense of respect Florence launches today a new idea: ten black angels passing through the city centre in order to guarantee decorum and educate people. Starting tomorrow, the group will go around the city talking with citizens and tourists, seeing that they respect the cultural heritage and don’t leave their garbage everywhere. The ten angels are citizens from Senegal living in Florence for a long time; they have been chosen and trained for this project by the consulate of Senegal and the council administration of Florence.

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Bicycling as a sport, whether it is for participants or spectators, has always held a special place in the hearts of Italians. Professional bike races, including Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France are followed passionately by the Italian people. This mass interest in cycling as sport helps to make Italians among the world’s most knowledgeable consumers of bicycles. Everything you have ever heard about bicycling in Italy is true. The weather, roads and cities are all perfectly suited for bike touring. Each of bicycling and walking itineraries throughout Italy is carefully crafted to blend the best that our country has to offer by taking the active traveler off the beaten track.

A growing number of Italian citizens look today at alternative mobility as the solution to a stressful way of life.

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Last week I was in Florence to visit the fifth edition of Terra Futura, the national meeting-exhibition of the “good practices” of sustainability. The goal of this event is to bring the whole society towards a process of global sensitization. 500 expositive areas and more than 4000 companies showed visitors a lot of products and services, which have been made according to the sustainability’s principles. A free exhibition with a calendar of cultural events including conferences, seminars, workshops and laboratories focused on many themes: energy, water, pollution, recycling, architecture, and economics.

Among others, interior design and fashion departments were on show in Terra Futura.
Where better than in Florence? Fashion and clothing have been representing a must for centuries here and the city hosts the world`s biggest men`s fashion event: Pitti Immagine Uomo. Every year in January and June, many Italian and foreign designers arrive in Florence to participate to this cool show, calling a very big attention on the city.

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