“Left in common will be, in a very broad coalition, the most unbalanced list to the left and will always support a fair and welcoming Reggio, to avoid a victory for Tarquini and the right-wing parties which would destroy the welfare system of our Municipality” . It is with this general framework that Cosimo Pederzoli, provincial secretary of the ‘Italian Left’, presented the first four candidates of the list he led for the June elections: “New energies for the city, students, young workers, people involved in social work , which appear in the newspapers for the first time”. Federico Cavazzoni is 34 years old, originally from Guastalla, he is a therapist and collaborates with various cooperatives: “Also through experiences as a volunteer or humanitarian projects and cultural promotions, I have learned about the dimensions of sociality and fragility and I want to use my skills to improve the city. Reggio must be proudly open and anti-fascist, its inhabitants helped to fight serious problems such as the cost of living and housing.” Martina Pugliese, a 20-year-old from Reggio Emilia, studies political science at the University of Bologna: “Peace and social justice are the fundamental issues for me. I will dedicate myself to a city suited to young people: they are talked about almost only for the negative aspects such as the baby gangs, but there is much more, positive and important, to bring to light. An idea for peace, for example, could be summer reconciliation camps for Israeli and Palestinian children.”
Martina Iori is also 20 years old and studies diplomatic sciences, again with UniBo but in the Forlì department. She is a member of Sinistra Italiana: “I graduated a year ago from the Scaruffi Levi Tricolore, but human rights have always been a passion of mine. I would like to help disadvantaged people, fight the prejudices that still exist and make Reggio more university-based, with places of knowledge that combat indifference”. Last to introduce himself was Nadeem Chaudhry, a 33-year-old originally from Pakistan who has been in Reggio for more than twenty years, a cultural mediator: “This city has given me so much, both in terms of experiences and training, I love it. I work as a cultural mediator in a cooperative in contact with political asylum seekers. In them, in their linguistic and social difficulties, I reflect myself a little and this allows me to understand their needs. Reggio is one of the first if not the first city for reception and I would like to be even more inclusive, with more mutual knowledge and dialogue, so that everyone can integrate.”
Tommaso Vezzani
