There is an Italy that grows in silence, which does not make news in the talk shows and does not go crazy on social media, but which every year receives the highest tribute of the Republic: recognition to active citizenship, generosity, the ability to change the world starting from one’s own small way. It is that of the 29 young and very young people to whom President Sergio Mattarella conferred theCertificate of honor of “Alfiere della Repubblica”alongside 4 collective plates to particularly significant group initiatives.
“New routes for solidarity»It is the theme that inspired this year’s choices: a modern, technological, creative, sustainable solidarity. The protagonists are girls and boys who have faced diseases, mourning, discrimination, yet they did not give up. Indeed, they have transformed the pain into force, the obstacle into opportunities, the experience as a gift for others.
There is Maddalenawhich with poetry gives voice to the emotions of teenagers; Thomaswhich designed a device for early diagnosis of Parkinson’s; Niccolòinventor of a software that facilitates musical reading for dyslexics; Franciswho saved an elderly couple from the waves; Jadesmiling mascot of the research on imperfect osteogenesis; Camillawhich trains in prison to give them a possibility of redemption. And again Whitewhich despite blindness illuminates the network with its “magic”; Diegowhich fights the disease with the strength of music; Angelawho was not folded by the evidence of life.
Among the stories, the commitment to the environment stands out, such as that of Riccardoa small sea sponge expert, and the social one, like Martinachampion of legality in difficult neighborhoods. Or the concrete action, such as that of Serenewhich brings comfort to the homeless, or of Edoardoplaying Baskin to include his teammate.
Next to the individual prizes, the plates assigned to groups They tell Italy about the relationships that work: Sara, Emma and Azzurra who, thanks to a first aid school course, saved a lifetime; The children of the VB of the “Parini” of Turinwho made friendship towards a disabled partner a daily mission; The Scout Squadron “Aquile” of Bariwhich mapped an urban park to enhance the territory; the group Sottosopra of Genoawhich gives battle to gender violence among young people, starting from the school.
Mattarella, in conferring the awards, wanted to underline how these young people represent “a symbolic, but significant part of an Italy that believes in the values of the Constitution and embodies them in everyday life». They are living examples of how altruism is not a utopia, but a possible choice, contagious. I am proof that, even in the era of likes and filters, The substance of being counts even more than appearing.
In a time when social fragmentation seems to prevail, their stories speak a universal language: that of solidarity that unites, of the inclusion that builds, of the responsibility that generates future. A young Italy that does not wait to become an adult to make a difference.
