TWO DAYS IN THE CITY OF THE STRAIT FOR THE FIRST SUD E FUTURI FOCUS, AN EVENT HELD BY THE MAGNA GRECIA FOUNDATION TO FIGURE OUT THE POSSIBLE FUTURES OF THE SOUTH. AMONG THE ESTEEMED SPEAKERS AND GUESTS WERE THE PRESIDENT OF RFI LO BOSCO, THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUPERIOR COUNCIL OF PUBLIC WORKS SESSA, THE PRESIDENT OF CALABRIA REGION OCCHIUTO AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE MARINE PARKS AUTHORITY GRECO

The event was held on July 10-11 at Scilla Castle. The main topic at hand was the future, or rather futures, as the Magna Grecia Foundation, which has been organizing the SUD e FUTURI events since 2019, likes to put it. An opportunity to discuss and reflect on the South and its potential for development and, as always, a parterre of exceptional guests. In anticipation of the Annual International Meeting that will be held in Paestum and Castellabate in September, the first Focus was born, which in time is bound to become a permanent appointment in Scilla: A "Green & Blue" South, Resources, Obstacles and Opportunities. What are the possible futures? Can the South go green? How do you tell the story of a territory to make tourism a driver of growth and development?

These and other strategic suggestions for the relaunch of the South were discussed by moderators Fabrizio Frullani, deputy director of Tg2, Alessandro Russo, editorial director of LaC Network and Paola Bottero, strategic director of Pubbliemme-ViaCondotti21.

The first event took place at 10.30 a.m. on Monday, July 10, with a welcome speech delivered by Antonia Maria Grazia Surace, deputy prefect and commissioner of Scilla and opening remarks by Nino Foti, president of the Magna Grecia Foundation. The added value of research was discussed by Fiammetta Pilozzi, head of the research center of the Magna Grecia Foundation and Simona Totaforti, professor of Sociology of the Environment and the Territory at Dante Alighieri University for Foreigners in Reggio Calabria.

The panel “The Great Thirst of the South and Hydrogeological Instability” opened at 12 p.m. Among the speakers were Salvatore Barbagallo, professor of Agricultural Hydraulics at the University of Catania, Cataldo Calabretta, administrator of Sorical, Antonello Colosimo, judge of the Italian Supreme Audit Institution and founding member of the Magna Grecia Foundation, Erasmo D'Angelis, president of the Earth and Water Agenda EWA Foundation and Massimo Sessa, President of the Superior Council of Public Works.

Pietro Busetta, professor of Economic Statistics at the University of Palermo, Giusy Caminiti, mayor of Villa S. Giovanni, Francesco Saverio Coppola, secretary general of the Guido Dorso International Association, Paolo Di Giannantonio, Rai journalist, Dario Lo Bosco, president of RFI, Saverio Romano, deputy and vice-president of the Magna Grecia Foundation, discussed the infrastructures needed to change Southern Italy. In attendance were Roberto Occhiuto, president of Calabria Region, Silvio Greco, vice president of the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, Francesco Russo, professor of Sustainable Mobility Systems Engineering at the University of Reggio Calabria, Luciano Pollichieni, analyst for the Med-Or Foundation and collaborator of Limes, Carmelo Versace, president of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and Antonio Viscomi, labour lawyer, director of Digit Lab Law at the University of Magna Grecia in Catanzaro.

The issue of Tourism was discussed on the second day, Tuesday, July 11. How can the riches of the South become a real driving force for development? How do you narrate the territory in a strategic way so that the beautiful villages of the South might thrive, also by making the most of the great opportunity represented by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)?

At 10.30 a.m. the discussion on how to narrate “The territory from a tourist standpoint: the value of culture and communication” took place. Among the speakers were Pierpaolo Bombardieri, national secretary of Uil, Pietro Busetta, professor of Economic Statistics at the University of Palermo, Giancarlo Dell'Orco, destination manager and expert in local networks, Roberta Garibaldi, president of the Italian Food and Wine Tourism Association, Raffaele Greco, extraordinary commissioner of the Marine Parks Authority of Calabria, Giuseppe Zimbalatti, dean of the Mediterranean University, Giorgia Bettaccini, manager of Community, Francesco Cicione, president of Entopan, Nino Foti, president of the Magna Grecia Foundation, Raffaele Rio, president of Demoskopica and Ninni Tramontana, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Reggio Calabria.

At 3.30 p.m., Nicole Conte, subsidized finance consultant at Sercam Advisory, Giancarlo Dell'Orco, president of Coopera, Maria Cristina Leardini, Cofounder of Sharryland, Elena Militello, president of South Working, Giuseppe Ribuffo, vice president of the Calabria Wild Wine Association and Franco Sensi, Head of Projects of the Magna Grecia Foundation, discussed the opportunities of the NRRP Bando Borghi incentives.