“You and I on the same platform” was officially presented this morning in Viterbo, scheduled from 24 to 28 June, an event organized in conjunction with the collegiate retreat in the Lazio municipality of the Italian national paralympic fencing team preparing for the Paris 2024 Games .
All sporting events in the event focus on the importance of inclusiveness and accessibility.
The events also include the one on 26 June at 9.15pm in Piazza della Repubblica with the Italian national paralympic fencing team.
The second edition of the “You and I on the same platform” project, launched last year by the Municipality of Viterbo – department of sport, this year is presented alongside two important local entrepreneurial realities such as Hotel Salus Terme and WeCom, which, together with the Municipality, will contribute to strengthening the purpose with which the project itself was born: to support the path to standardize Olympic fencing with Paralympic fencing, the workhorse of the Italian Fencing Federation. This morning, the FIS was represented by the Federal President Paolo Azzi, connected from Basel, where he is following the Olympic national teams involved in the 2024 European Championships.
All the events were presented today at Palazzo dei Priori by the mayor Chiara Frontini and by the councilor for sport, the removal of architectural barriers and accessibility of cultural heritage Emanuele Aronne together with Tiziana Governatori, owner of Hotel Salus Terme and Luca Provvedi, sole administrator WeCom. At the table, in addition to the city councilors Francesca Pietrangeli and Maria Rita De Alexandris, involved in organizing the event, also the president of the Ombre association and artistic director of Ombre Festival Alessandro Maurizi, Andrea Genovese, Unitus full professor, delegate for the right to study and services to the student community, the vice president of the provincial section Aism Viterbo Franco Argiento and the president Angsa Viterbo Alessandro Alfonsini.
“When last year we launched the first edition of You and Me on the same platform – explains councilor Aronne – we already had very clear ideas: it should have become an annual event, to be structured and consolidated over time. This year we aimed high. We have arrived at a real review of events, spread over four days. Talking about accessibility and inclusion is easy. Even more talk about resilience. But these words take shape and concreteness only if they are given substance. And the substance also comes thanks to the involvement of third sector associations and the support of our entrepreneurial realities, such as in this case the Hotel Salus Terme and WeCom, who have decided to support an ambitious sporting and above all social project. A heartfelt thanks to the Italian Fencing Federation which chose the city of Viterbo for the pre-Olympic collegiate and whose president Paolo Azzi, this morning, wanted to honor us with his connection despite his commitments in Basel. Last year we had Valentina Vezzali as a guest; this year, on the occasion of Me and you on the same platform, we are hosting the Italian national paralympic fencing team, with a symbolic athlete like Bebe Vio and her companions for the opening evening of the Ombre Festival. Something truly exceptional”.
“It is a truly important moment for our Paralympic national team, fresh from the extraordinary news of the 10 qualified for the Paris Games – underlined the Federal President Paolo Azzi -. We welcomed with immense pleasure the possibility of a retreat in Viterbo to prepare in ideal conditions for the Warsaw World Cup in preparation for the Paralympics, and for this I want to thank, on behalf of all Italian fencing, the Municipality and the entire Viterbo area for organizing this event. They have chosen to embrace our national team with authentic enthusiasm, we are honoured. Already last November, with the “You and I on the same platform” initiative, the city showed sensitivity and interest towards our movement and we are really happy that that moment, of testimony from some of our athletes, represented the beginning of a collaboration along the route to Paris”.
“A new adventure for us – confides Tiziana Governatori, owner of the Hotel Salus Terme -. All our teams have been working to welcome the athletes for several weeks. We are happy to participate in this project, in synergy with WeCom and the Municipality of Viterbo. We have tried to create a situation as congenial as possible to the needs of our guests, both from a technical point of view for training, but also to offer them moments of well-being and relaxation. A new adventure but also an incentive to continue investing in sustainable and accessible tourism”.
“It is essential for a territory to intercept the initiatives promoted by the public administration – stated Luca Provvedi, sole director of WeCom – especially those that demonstrate sensitivity towards important issues such as sport and inclusion. As an entrepreneur, I feel a deep moral commitment towards my city and I strongly support initiatives that enhance it. Sport, in particular, represents a universal element of inclusion and equality, which allows everyone to express themselves freely”.
“A wide-ranging project that embraces the territory, in the name of inclusion and in the name of sport – underlines the mayor Chiara Frontini – public administration, third sector associations and entrepreneurial realities. These days Viterbo is at the center of important events, which although different from each other, project our city well outside our walls: the architecture seminar which will begin tomorrow at Palazzo dei Priori and which will host professionals from four different continents , Ombre Festival, with guests of national level and You and me on the same platform, which sees Viterbo welcoming the Italian national paralympic fencing team on a collegiate retreat to prepare for the Paralympic Games in the French capital from 3 to 7 September. A chain of initiatives that all have a cultural substratum and vision of the city’s strategy”.
In detail, these are the appointments: they begin on June 24th at 4 pm at the Lazio Innova active space with the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Municipality of Viterbo and the national Aism. It continues the following day, June 25, with a meeting dedicated entirely to the young people of Viterbo from the municipal council of girls and boys, girls and boys who will be able to attend the training sessions of the national fencing team. On 26 June, in the Sala Regia of Palazzo dei Priori, the event on the accessibility of accommodation facilities and the impact of sporting events of athletes with disabilities on cities will be held, the aim of which is to raise awareness among public opinion and professionals of the sector on the importance of accessibility and inclusion, while promoting sport as a tool for integration and urban development.
Great anticipation for the evening event at 9.15pm, Zero Alibi, in Piazza della Repubblica which will see the Paralympic national team as protagonists on the opening evening of the Ombre Festival.
On 27 June, in the great hall of the University of Tuscia, it will be the turn of the meeting Beyond barriers: Sport as a bridge for social inclusion. A particularly important event for which the possibility of using the AccessibleEU logo is foreseen. Final event on 28 June at 4pm, at the Active Space Lazio Innova, Let’s include ourselves sportingly, organized by Angsa Viterbo aps (association of parents of people with autism) with the presentation of the experiences and activities offered by the amateur sports associations of the area for the people with disabilities.
