Non the heart of Perugia, among the ancient stones and squares that smack of history, a collective voice rises. It is that of International Festival for Gender Equalitywhich from today until October 18th will transform the historic center of the Umbrian city into a crossroads of ideas, experiences and desires for change. In fact, it is not just an event, it is rather an invitation. To be there, to talk, to listen. To question yourself.
The Festival for Gender Equality lights up Perugia
The first day opens with a moment that touches deep chords: the connection with the Giulia Cecchettin Foundation and the intervention of Gino Cecchettinfather of Giulia, a very young girl killed by her ex-boyfriend, in dialogue with Tommaso Bori, vice president of the Umbria region. Words that are not slogans, but wounds that seek meaning. And precisely, from that wound, the proposal was born: a protocol to build a culture of equalitywhich is not just an aspiration but a daily practice.
Six panels, a thousand questions
The theme of work runs through the entire day. We talk about equality certifications, of stereotypes that also creep into complimentsof women who struggle to enter sectors that are still too male-dominated. But also of businesses that change, of generational transitions experienced with awareness, of fashion that reimagines the masculine, of agriculture that opens up new spaces. Among the names, well-known and lesser-known faces: by Carolina Cucinellivice president of the fashion house of the same name, to Mattea Fowhich carries forward the cultural and civil legacy of the two great artists and grandparents Dario Fo and Franca Rame; to Serena Logozzostylist and professor of Fashion Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia. But to talk and intertwine, above all it will be the many stories and the many voices that will be told. Equality, after all, is not a conference topic, but is an issue that concerns everyone’s life.
From 16 to 18 October, Perugia hosts the International Festival for Gender Equality (Photo Umbria Region)
Not just words though: theatre, cinema, memory
The Festival will not be static, but will also move outside the theaters. At the Loggia dei Lanari, the exhibition “The Constituent Mothers” talks about the women who wrote our democracy. At the Chamber Service Center, the “Genre Shorts” they will scroll on the screen in a cycle of non-stop projections. And in the evening, at the Teatro del Pavone, it will be staged “Spaiderman” by Giacomo di Mase: a show that plays with stereotypes to dismantle them with irony. At 6pm, space also for the written word: Anna Maria Pacciarini presents her book “Finis Terrae”, in dialogue with Elena Bistocchi and Rita Zampolini. Another way to question ourselves, to search for meaning, to imagine alternatives.
The Festival for Gender Equality: a call to action
«We received an extraordinary participation – says Giuseppina Bonerba, creator and soul of the Festival –. Now the invitation is to be there. To bring your own experience, to contribute to the dialogue. Because only in this way can we really take care of the critical issues and imagine solutions.” The Festival for Gender Equality is a festival, certainly. But it is also much more. It is a collective gesture, an act of responsibilityan opportunity to look each other in the eye and say: we can do better. Together.