THE MARKET AND DEMOCRACY: THE THIRD FESTIVAL KICKS OFF AT BUONCONSIGLIO CASTLE

Under starter’s orders

The ceremony took place in the afternoon in the presence of the Prime Minister of Mozambique, Luisa Diogo and many other authoritative figures on the economic, cultural, social and political scene

In the magnificent and crowded reception hall of Buonconsiglio Castle the “players” in the Festival of Economics launched the third edition. The first to welcome the participants was the Mayor of Trento, Alberto Pacher, who insisted on the importance of the Festival as a place where considerations, intentions and expectations interweave. “A Festival which provides answers, opening up to ideas and creativity in order to drive away fears”. Innocenzo Cipolletta, President of the University of Trento and co-promoter of the Festival spoke about how “unfortunately, the choice of the theme for this year, the market and democracy, could not be more topical. It comes at a time in which our country, but also the world which surrounds us, would appear to have its deepest convictions shaken. National and international events would almost appear to contradict many of the convictions that have accompanied us in the last sixty years, after the Second World War, in a period in which Europe has constructed a culture of peace, tolerance, curiosity about others, openness of the markets and sharing of economic growth”. Tito Boeri, the scientific coordinator from the first festival, spoke about the many facets which will be dealt with in the context of the this year’s theme “The Market and Democracy”. For the third time the Festival is confirmed as a space for exchanging ideas, open to different points of view and a place for discussion of a theme from different perspectives. Giuseppe Laterza, organiser of the Festival of Economics, together with the Sole 24 Ore newspaper, spoke of the privilege of working on an intellectual and professional challenge such as the Festival of Economics, which puts “different communities” in society in touch with one another. Ferruccio De Bortoli, Editor of “Il Sole 24 Ore” underlined the characteristics of the Festival of Economics: “plural, competent and accessible, without presuming to be right at all costs. “We can obtain different messages from the theme of this third edition” – the Editor De Bortoli underlined – “one is certainly that we must not be afraid of globalisation, the second is that economics is a science which is neither sad nor arid and the third is that there is no contradiction between being a citizen of the world and the local identity to which we belong. If we close up, we neither defend nor promote our identity”, Corrado Passera, Managing Director of Intesa SanPaolo, a partner of the Festival, highlighted how the Festival is “a phenomenon widely known throughout the world” and speaking about this year’s theme – “particularly fascinating” – emphasised two different interpretations of this year’s theme: “the market and democracy or democracy and the market? Two concepts which combine naturally, although it is not always the case and will not necessarily always be the case. Different types of market and models are challenging each other”. According to Corrado Passera “there cannot be a strong market without a strong democracy”. “Politics” – according to the Managing Director of Intesa San Paolo – “cannot succeed in dealing with problems in a global sense and in a local sense”. Lorenzo Dellai, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, the promoter of “this extraordinary experience” together with the University and Municipality of Trento, concluded the ceremony of inauguration, thanking first of all the Prime Minister of Mozambique, Luisa Diogo for having accepted the invitation and explaining why the Province wished to participate in this important opportunity for exchanging ideas. “Offering everyone an extraordinary opportunity to increase their commitment and awareness” – President Dellai stated – “reinforces relationships at national and international level, allowing Trentino to participate in the “global” context, because we are increasingly convinced that investment in knowledge is an asset for the future and this” continued Dellai – “is an antidote for fear. Fear is decline and answer to decline can only be investment in knowledge”.