CATANZARO «I believe that the the balance is certainly positive. Often we focus only on New Year’s Eve, which is undoubtedly a very important moment because Calabria enters the homes of millions of Italians: it is the most followed New Year’s Eve on television networks. However, we tend to overlook a fundamental aspect: in these three years we have ensured that Calabria entered the homes of Italians 187 million times”. The said it president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiutowith reference to the Rai New Year’s Eve which will be broadcast from Catanzaro tomorrow, the third and final appointment after the two previous ones in Crotone and Reggio Calabria under the agreement between the Region and Rai.
«Major promotional operation»
«We are talking – continued Occhiuto – of 187 million viewers reached through programs that talked about the mountains, the sea, the villages and the Calabrian culture. There were around 50 broadcasts a year for three years in the Rai schedule, without interventions by politicians, the president or councillors. This represented a great promotional operation for Calabria. I would also like to clarify that these are resources that necessarily had to be allocated to the promotion of the region. Every year we witness controversies over the fact that many other things are missing in Calabria: I am fully aware of this, governing this region. I don’t have the presumption of making it the best region in the world in a few years, but I am convinced that it is one of the most beautiful in the world and it is right that Italians know this. We have chosen to use these resources for strategic promotion, instead of wasting them on local festivals or celebrations, focusing on structured initiatives such as the agreement with Rai, which is a state company.” Occhiuto then specified: «Calabria is spoken well of, especially outside Calabria. The Calabrians, however, have yet to free themselves from a sort of “spring syndrome”, and perhaps also the Calabrian press, which sometimes gives an image even worse than the real one. I hope this attitude can gradually change. It is clear that in a complex region, with many problems, there are many reasons for complaint, but I am sorry when the extraordinary things, beauties and excellences of Calabria are not valued and recognized as they deserve.” (approx)
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