In the year of the restart, Luigi Di Maio returns to Giffoni for the tenth consecutive time. He is happy to be there, he wants to meet the young people, he listens with enthusiasm to Claudio Gubitosi, director of Giffoni, who tells him about the Festival's novelties, the progress of the infrastructural works now open, the future prospects that speak of new jobs, creativity, young people. The Foreign Minister took the opportunity, in the aftermath of the protests in the streets of eighty Italian cities, to make an appeal to everyone to get vaccinated because vaccination is the only weapon to overcome the health and economic crisis. In particular, he refers to young people and Giffoni is the right place to do it. "This is a special year - he said at the beginning of his speech - because it is the year of the restart thanks to vaccinations. We will certainly not lower our guard, but I believe that happiness, the concept of relaunch and hope can start from young people. This is my tenth year here, and it is an opportunity to draw conclusions here at Giffoni, which has always mirrored the country".
There is the health emergency that continues to worry, but this year there is a tool that is vaccines: "It is clear and evident - he continued - that the crisis is not over. At the moment we have exceeded 50% of Italians who have had two doses and 60% who have one. We are moving forward with important records. We do have the doses today. The initial criticalities have been overcome. It is up to the will of the citizens to help us by getting vaccinated. We will then get over the restrictions and see an even faster acceleration of our economy, which will result in jobs and business opportunities. When it comes to choosing between life and death, nobody chooses death. That is why we must all be vaccinated".
He then went on to meet the young people of the IMPACT! section in the Sala Blu of the Multimedia Valley. Pietro Rinaldi, president of the Ente Autonomo Giffoni Experience, and Antonio Giuliano, mayor of Giffoni Valle Piana, were also present. Director Claudio Gubitosi welcomed Luigi Di Maio to the stage: “I met Luigi ten years ago in Rome – he said – and it was a bit of a special meeting. I attended the presentation of the Independent Authority for Children and Adolescents’ Report. There was this young man there who was a young MP and I decided to meet him. I was fascinated by his intervention. I introduced myself and when I said the word Giffoni, he rushed to hug me. I was impressed. We have met several times and I have seen him grow and gradually take on the most important roles in the country. He has been coming here for ten consecutive years. Luigi has witnessed all the evolutions that Giffoni has been experiencing. Therefore, I want to thank him on my behalf and on behalf of Giffoni. We are proud of him”. Director Gubitosi gave Minister Di Maio a pen drive containing the documentary film “This is Giffoni”, consisting of 140 minutes of footage that show half a century of the festival's story: “I know – he concluded – that you will keep it in your heart”.
