Representatives of the signatory countries and institutions decided to take the lead and revamp the global campaign ” Leaders for Peace “, created and promoted by Rondine’s international students and launched for the first time at the UN headquarters in New York in 2018. The campaign has found the support of Italy, Costa Rica, and the President of the European Economic and Social Committee. On 9 October in Rondine, on the sidelines of the historic event ‘Grazie Liliana’, which saw the last public testimony of the Senator for life as a witness to the Shoah, an event of international importance was held: ‘Leaders for Peace a signature to train the young leaders of tomorrow’, with about ten different diplomatic representations. Elisabetta Belloni, General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representing Italy, as the first signatory country, Ronald Flores Vega, the Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica to Italy, and Luca Jahier President of the European Economic and Social Committee brought the voices of the supporting institutions.
The global campaign Leaders for Peace. An appeal to the 193 Member States of the United Nations that advocates for the training of young leaders of peace, to include the teaching of human rights in national education programs through the support of an innovative approach for creative conflict resolution, the “Rondine Method”, and to earmark a sum from the defense budget to convert it into scholarships for young people involved in promoting peace.
The event ‘Leaders for Peace a signature to train the leaders of tomorrow’. “An application of de-escalation, mutual recognition, respect, and a return to dialogue must be strongly requested. I believe it is time to unfold again the Rondine Method”. These are the words of Elisabetta Belloni, General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, inviting diplomatic representatives to endorse the Leaders for Peace campaign, strengthened by the call of the Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica in Italy, Ronald Flores Vega who said: “Costa Rica supports the campaign with conviction and calls upon all other States to do so .” Last in chronological order to support the campaign, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee Luca Jahier, who desired to visit the Citadel in person before the end of his mandate as President, after signing the campaign Appeal during a live-streamed event from Brussels last 8 September. “15 years ago – he said – we lived in a situation of greater peace. Today, countries that are part of NATO are experiencing crises, the Mediterranean is an area of great tension and there is a sour wind in many other places in the world. There is a great need for peace leaders “.
However, the strongest appeal comes from the young people of Rondine, who have lived through the armed conflict and ask for the commitment of the States to invest in new leadership for peace. Maurine, young Palestinian, and Aleksandre, Georgian, represented the two hundred young people of Rondine, of over 25 different nationalities. “We have chosen to be here – they declared at the beginning of their speech- because Rondine creates the opportunity for change and transformation. We start every time from a small step, a possible step. We are here and we are ready. ”
They were echoed by the founder and president of Rondine, Franco Vaccari: “There is a direct link between this morning’s event and this afternoon’s meeting: Liliana Segre has given young people a torch, the same young people ask you as States to give them a hand by signing the appeal and so by adhering to their campaign. ”
The day welcomed a wide representation of the Italian constitutional bodies and Government who attended to pay homage to the thirty-year commitment of Liliana Segre, a witness of the Shoah, who on this day decided to pass the torch of memory to young people, starting with the students of Rondine who chose to refuse hatred by living with their enemy and to train as peace leaders to intervene in the conflicts of their countries. On the sidelines of the day, many statements to support Rondine’s work and the campaign, including that of Giuseppe Conte, President of the Council of Ministers: “I have already spoken of you, in an international scenario on the occasion of the 74th Assembly of United Nations, because I am truly convinced, having known you, that this is a tested experiment, which offers a concrete model that even political decision-makers with the utmost responsibility and governments can take as a reference and therefore can absolutely contribute to promoting its effectiveness. Today – President Conte continues – there is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs in its highest representation to give full support to this project. Here there are ambassadors of peace who then return to their countries, the standard-bearers of what we want to pursue at all levels, a message of peace, a perspective of solidarity. You can count on our support. ”
Furthermore, Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation: “I would like to say as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that we support, we have supported and will always support this project. Rondine represents an investment by leaders for the leaders of the future. You are doing something that will allow the ruling classes around the world to be inspired by values that are also in our Constitution and also in the values of our European Union. Training young people from all over the world together, encouraging them to become leaders of peace, solidarity, freedom – concludes Minister Di Maio – something that cannot be taken for granted. I am sure that Italian foreign policy will reap many fruits of the work you do here“.
In addition to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, we acknowledge the presence of the Presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati and Roberto Fico; Luciana Lamorgese, Minister of the Interior; Lucia Azzolina, Minister of Education; Gaetano Manfredi, Minister of University and Research; Stefania Giannini, Deputy Director of UNESCO with responsibility for education; Noemi Di Segni, President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities; Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, President of the Italian Conference of Bishops. A video message from the European institutions through the words of David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament was also streamed.
