The creation of an orchard - which is called Giffoni - and a certainty: Verde Giffoni will have a second edition. This was the outcome of the final day of the event, which was attended by Undersecretary of State for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, who greeted the 400 young people in the Sala Blu of the Multimedia Valley.

This is the end of the first edition of Verde Giffoni - Youth for the Present, an event aimed at the protection of the planet and intended for Generation Z, the most sensitive and committed to this issue.

"Giffoni is a story that still has a lot to tell," commented Undersecretary of State for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni. "You could have just stopped at the results achieved so far - she added - instead you have moved forward with new ideas and new goals. What you have addressed in these days is a very important issue, because the awareness on sustainability has to start from the new generations to be effective. This is a key issue for the Ministry of Culture, for the government and for Europe. For example, calls for proposals dedicated to cultural and creative companies - including audiovisual companies - will soon be issued, allocating funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the digital and ecological transition of companies. This is a subject that is also closely related to our cultural heritage, which is strongly affected by climate change".

During these days Verde Giffoni has given itself a code of ethics and a moral code, spreading good practices among those who participated. "We are investing so that festivals become more and more eco-friendly, but also to reward those who are at the forefront on this issue," continued Undersecretary Borgonzoni.

Borgonzoni recalled that Giffoni also means audiovisuals. Talking about film and audiovisual language, the senator added: "We have allocated 54 million Euros for the third National Plan for Cinema and Images for Schools, because we are aware that images are the fastest and most empathetic means of communication. As a Ministry, we have supported Verde Giffoni and we will do it again next year. I feel I have to thank you for the ideas you will give us because we need them to change the world. The future is yours and it is up to you to build it".

Borgonzoni also paid her respects to Claudio Gubitosi, founder and director of Giffoni: "You are the proof - said the Undersecretary - that we must never stop dreaming and that we can make our dreams come true". On the other hand, Gubitosi said: “She is a true friend of Giffoni. I'm really happy about this event because I am sure that once again Giffoni's young people will be able to make a difference".

The event was organized by the Ente Autonomo Giffoni Experience, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture - General Direction for Cinema and by the Campania Region, with the support of the Municipality of Giffoni Valle Piana, Conai (National Packaging Consortium) and the seven Chain Consortiums for the collection, recovery and recycling of packaging in steel (Ricrea), aluminum (Cial), paper and cardboard (Comieco), wood (Rilegno), plastic (Corepla), biodegradable and compostable plastic (Biorepack) and glass (Coreve).

The figures of this first edition were really significant: 400 young men and women aged 14 to 25, 350 feature films in pre-selection from Italy, Israel, Canada, Bolivia and France, which were evaluated by the Giffoni team in order to identify the best ones and present them to the public. The titles were presented in 2 sections, "In&Out Society" and "Futura", which tried to provide a clear picture on ecology, environment, the preservation of the ecosystem and animals. More than 60 guests including personalities from the world of culture and entertainment, representatives of national and regional institutions, scientists, corporate CEOs, artists and actors committed to the preservation of the planet, 5 showcases with the most popular artists among young people, a panel dedicated to innovation applied to sustainability featuring 22 speakers.

The effects of Verde Giffoni are destined to be felt again: the thoughts of the young people, their proposals and ideas will become part of an Emotional Manifesto that will be drawn up soon and will be presented next July on the occasion of the 2022 edition of the Giffoni Film Festival.

Finally, there was an exciting moment dedicated to the creation of the Giffoni Orchard in front of the Multimedia Valley. Indeed, ten orange trees donated by Biorfarm, a benefit company and the first digital farming community, were planted. In addition to that, other trees will be planted in the near future with the aim of establishing a real orchard, a symbol of greenery, cleanness and growth.

This moment was introduced by Gianvincenzo Nastasi, director of Verde Giffoni, who then passed the floor to Jacopo Gubitosi, general manager of Giffoni: "We have spent four days of happiness. We are proud of this project. I wish that everyone could take with them an ounce of the excitement that we experienced during these days. This is a necessary project and it will have to be done again and again. We had a breath of fresh air during what was truly a springtime of ideas. Thanks to all those who contributed to making Verde Giffoni the beautiful moment it was".

Following this, Osvaldo De Falco, CEO and Co-founder of Biorfarm, took the floor: "It's nice and exciting to be here among such passionate young people," he said. "I represent over a hundred farmers and a team that was created to support agriculture and sustainability in this field. Today marks the beginning of the Giffoni orchard. I hope there can be an increasingly shared path related specifically to ecology and sustainability".

Mayor of Giffoni Valle Piana Antonio Giuliano greeted those in attendance: "My goal - he said - is to create opportunities for development and build facilities without damaging the environment. We have done it and we will keep doing it. We often talk about the future but it is essential to work in the present in order to build it and this is what we always do in Giffoni. After two years of pandemic, we had no choice but to restart from our green areas". 

Singer-songwriter Giovanni Caccamo was a testimonial for the event. "I'm carrying out a project called Parola ai giovani," he said. " Giffoni is a concrete and important milestone in this project because words of change come from here. I would suggest that we replace the term sustainability with the word care because sustainability assumes that the earth must somehow bear our presence, while instead we should be the ones to support the earth as a healthy cradle of humanity."

Ten orange trees were planted, each of which was named after a movie character. These were chosen by the young people and were accompanied by a quote that was tied to the plant so that words of awareness can grow with the tree. The chosen characters were Hermione Granger, Cesia from La Ciociara, Forrest Gump, Ponyo, Auggie from Wonder, Jordan Belfort, Amelie Poulain, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Antoine Doinel and, finally, Oscar Schindler, who was chosen by Giovanni Caccamo himself. He symbolically planted the tenth tree of this newly started orchard called Giffoni, an orchard from which ideas destined to change the world will arise.