The Festa dei Popoli returns to Villa Buri di San Michele Extra in Verona on Sunday 26 May. The event, co-organised by the Municipality of Verona, occurs annually with different themes and aims to promote friendship and brotherhood between people belonging to different peoples, cultures and religions. Not an “exhibition of diversity”, but a laboratory of that multiculturalism of which the city and the province of Verona are made up.
This 33rd edition, which will have the title “On the way to peace”, will propose the usual event of music, songs, dances, also leveraging the proposals of young musicians. And then the traditional dishes of the people, the craftsmanship, the workshops aimed at children to encourage meeting and the ability to recognize oneself in an increasingly multi-ethnic and multicultural society.
Food and music are the essential ingredients of the party, because they always have the great ability to generate encounters and, in the encounter, to break stereotypes, often fears, towards the different, the unknown, giving life to that climate of joy and brotherhood that distinguishes the Festa di Popoli.
The event will begin at 12.30 with the opening of the food stands; The show will start at 3pm with dances, music, workshops, crafts and shows for children, which will last until 7pm. The party will be alcohol free and the organizers invite you to participate by using public transport or bicycles as much as possible to reach Villa Buri.
«Times change, and the Festival with them – explains Don Giuseppe Mirandola, director of the Immigrant Pastoral Center, which coordinates the group of associations that organize the event -. Today we have second and in some cases third generations. Young people born in Verona with a migratory background, children of immigrants who arrived from various countries around the world. It is the new generations that are part of our society that the party wants to bring its attention to. They represent important numbers that we find in school and at work. There is a need to take their expectations and aspirations seriously. All this is a celebration of the People.”
The theme, “On the way to peace” clearly refers to the recent visit of Pope Francis to Verona and in particular to Arena di Pace, whose preparation process lasted more than a year. «The path of the Peace Arena has touched on various areas – explains Don Giuseppe – we talked about justice and peace not only in reference to wars, disarmament and non-violence, but as fields that affect the economy, work, rights, the theme of migration, which is often a conflictual element within society.”
«If we want to develop contexts of peace – continues the priest – we must pay attention to the reception and paths of integration of migrants into society. We must develop equal opportunities, an aspect that is often overlooked but which is instead a key element where we stake our future. Equal opportunities means access without particular obstacles to healthcare, education, rights in the world of work and we all know the plague of gangmastering, undeclared or underpaid work which is particularly fueled in the world of migration. Equal opportunities also for having a house, rent… In essence we must recognize the dignity of migrants, bearers of rights not the result of our good will but deriving from the constitution, which is the foundation of our civil and peaceful life.”
«The 33rd edition of the People’s Day is an important edition, which comes following an overwhelming week for Verona with the Pope’s visit, with beautiful effects that still resonate – remarks Luisa Ceni, Councilor for Social and Housing Policies of the Municipality of Verona -. A phrase from Pope Francis at the Arena di Pace particularly struck me, that “I am because we are”. We talk about peace in this People’s Day following the Peace Arena, we talk about the value of the “I” which exists only if there is an “us”. In the People’s Day this can be seen first hand. A second aspect: it is an extremely green party, where you are asked to arrive by bicycle, not to drink in order to have fun in the right way, without getting high. In short: an important celebration to create more and more inclusive communities, where peace comes from the bottom.”
Jean-Pierre Piessou, member of the organizing committee, comments: «This event allows us to celebrate every year while maintaining a sense of gratitude for those who prophetically conceived this meeting and built it over the years. I think of the bishops, priests, religious and lay volunteers who have contributed to shaping this collective embrace of the city of Verona in its plurality, which also gives us the future perspective on which to walk.”
«In 1991, the year in which the first People’s Festival was organised, there were less than 10,000 foreigners present in the province of Verona. At the beginning of 2023, there were just over 110,000 foreigners residing in the 98 municipalities of the Veronese area (12% of the population), but there are at least 130,000 people with a migratory background if we also consider the immigrants who have acquired Italian citizenship in the calculation. An important portion of this population is made up of minors (25,291), most of whom were born in Italy (second or third generation) – underlines Matteo Danese, director of Cestim (Immigration Studies Centre) -. If in 1991 the city was taking its first steps towards discovering cultural diversity, today Verona is in fact a multicultural reality. But if multiculturalism is an established fact, intercultural relations are not part of the daily life of many Veronese people. In this sense, the Festa dei Popoli, as was the intention of the founders, wants to continue to be a “bridge” to encourage dialogue and exchange between Veronese people who come from different cultural contexts”.
In the photo a moment of the presentation of the Festa dei Popoli
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