Elena Carnevali is the first mayor of Bergamo. Her election represents an element of guarantee regarding what has been achieved in the two mandates of the Gori council and, at the same time, a sign of change in the city’s administration.
Elena Carnevali’s is a story of professional, civic and political commitment at a local level and in the institutions of the Republic. As president of the Bergamaschi Disabled Association, in 1999, you approached the political and administrative life of the city; until 2009, she first held the role of municipal councilor and group leader in the budget commission, and then that of councilor for social policies and personal services and international cooperation. From 2004 to 2009, you were a member of the board of directors and vice-president of the Education department of Anci Lombardia. In 2013 she was elected twice consecutively to the Chamber of Deputies on the Democratic Party lists, becoming a member of the Presidential Office of the Democratic Party and group leader of the XII Commission for Social Affairs and Health. In recent years, you have carried out numerous specific tasks on matters relating to health and welfare and, thanks to the close collaboration with the Gori administration, you continue to work for the Bergamo area.
“My candidacy for mayor, which arrived at the end of 2023, represented a challenge undertaken with courage, passion and above all with the desire to put commitment and competence at the service of the people of Bergamo”, states Carnevali.
“Bergamo – he continues – has experienced great transformations in many areas in recent years, from urban regeneration to Bergamo Brescia Capital of Culture 2023, from the environmental challenge to new demands for welfare; but, more than anything, the change concerned the opening of the city to an international and innovative vision interpreted with a spirit of enterprise and determination by the previous administration”.
The new mayor has chosen to make this energy her own, setting herself the objective of reconciling growth, inclusion, sustainability, quality of life and the fight against climate change.
“With the “Climate City Contract” agreement – he says – the city has become one of the 112 cities in Europe, and of the 9 Italian ones, committed to leading the challenge of decarbonisation by 2030”.
An objective that can be achieved through 216 actions in 5 different areas, from the energy requalification of buildings to the district heating network, from renewable energy to sustainable mobility infrastructures. In this sense, “in the coming years the city will see the creation of important infrastructures financed with Pnrr funds: the fully electrified road transport line e-BRT; the city’s second tram line, which will streamline traffic in the north-west part of the city, saving up to 3000 tonnes of CO2 per year; the European Station, a real hub for intermodality. To combat climate change, the creation of green islands along the roads is planned and work will be done with the aim of having at least 25 m2/inhabitant of usable public greenery”.
“In recent years – continues Carnevali – the city has made an important step forward in terms of innovation and easing of bureaucracy, and my goal is to further implement the online services available to citizens”.
Even on the welfare side, “the Pnrr funding is particularly strategic – he specifies – since it will support the creation of a community house and an innovative project called “Community Village”, as well as co-housing and light residential experiments dedicated to people more fragile”.
A significant overall commitment, which Mayor Carnevali will achieve by cultivating a constant relationship with institutions and associations, such as Anci, which represent a point of reference, comparison, dialogue and proposals that are fundamental for the quality of administrative work.
