The twentieth anniversary awards ceremony was held on Saturday in the great hall of the Pius There were also many young people present, who had the opportunity to get to know the figure of Leonardo Azzarita, through a competition dedicated to high schools with freedom of the press as its theme.
An award that was born quietly, as the president said Giuseppe Pansini, but which has grown over the years. Today it is no longer just an award dedicated to journalists, but is also intended to be an opportunity to get to know other figures from Molfetta and beyond who have distinguished themselves in the most disparate fields and sectors.
The winners of the twentieth anniversary were: for the journalism section, Leonardo Sgura; for the communications section, Sergio Spaccavento; for the institutions section, Carlo Salvemini; for the entertainment section, Molly Salvemini.
The Azzarita award is an opportunity not only to get to know these precious gems, it is a moment in which we get to know other aspects of these personalities, experiencing with them the emotions that they carry inside as men.
From the story of Leonardo Sgura, currently RAI correspondent from Cairo, it clearly emerged that the word “brotherhood” in that land takes on a very strong meaning, it is understood precisely as helping others. Or even how the word “thank you” still matters. But he explained well that something else is the “Muslim brotherhood”, the extremist one, the one linked to ISIS.
Equally loud and clear was the message from the mayor of Lecce, Carlo Salvemini, he is from Lecce dok, but his surname clearly speaks Molfetta, in fact, his great-grandfather had Molfetta origins. Salvemini focused his speech on the importance of being a community, underlining that cities are not changed by the mayors, or the councils, but by the mayors with the citizens, we must not live for the tourist obsession, but for the mayor of Lecce: “we need to make people feel good about living in their own city 365 days a year”.
Witty, lively, cheerful and unconventional was the speech by Sergio Spaccavento, the executive creative director of Conversion Agency, but it couldn’t be different from a creative person, even if he ironically focused attention on courage. Courage to leave your city, while maintaining a strong bond with your roots, to believe in your dreams. Courage to communicate important messages even with irony.
The youngest winner of these 20 years was the eighteen-year-old violinist, Molly Salvemini, but already with a curriculum of excellence. Her words were of thanks, but she made those present experience her emotions through her violin, accompanied by a video with aerial views of our city, created by Franco Pansini. Images and sounds that allowed those present to see Molfetta from a different, more golden, more romantic point of view.
For the twentieth anniversary, a special award was given to Gianni Massariroller hockey legend, who recalled his strong and still active commitment to the sport.
Great commitment and passion were put in by the high school students in developing their works for the competition announced by the Azzarita Study Centre, on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, which had as president of the jury the well-known Apulian journalist of “Chi l’ he saw?”, Gianvito Cafaro. The winners of the competition were: first and second place for the “Leonardo da Vinci” Classical High School, Simonpietro La Groia And Licia Minunnothird place Maria Palombella of the Fornari High School.
Special mention for Alessia de Vanna of the Don Tonino Bello Institute, Michelangelo Bologna of the Osa Rita Levi Montalcini High School and Marco Tridente of the Fornari High School.
An evening full of emotions which allowed many to get to know other prominent personalities of our city and beyond, their humanity, their desire to talk about themselves, their desire to have believed in their dreams and to have made them come true.
Nice little scene with one of the prize’s friends, the lieutenant colonel, well-known Rai Tre meteorologist, Raffaele Laricchia, already winner of the award in past editions, who commented: “Sunny days await us”. And if Laricchia says it, you can trust it.
Thus the curtain on the twentieth anniversary also closes, a few days’ break and the Study Center will already be at work for the twenty-first edition.
