 “The only ones who can combat the risk of Italy going adrift are its regions, with their history and their identity that generate the excellence that makes this country of ours competitive: from this point of view, Umbria is a model, a model for all those who want to win the quality challenge”. This is what Ermete Realacci, President of "Symbola", the Foundation for Italian Quality said in Perugia on 8 July, at a press conference in Palazzo Donini, while presenting the third edition of the traditional Summer seminar of the Foundation dedicated to “Going adrift and how to react/The future of Italy is in the hands of our talents and our regions”, which will be held on 18 and 19 July next in Bevagna and Montefalco, with a “preview” on the 17th in the afternoon in Trevi, where a debate will be organized on the “Umbrian Soft Economy/working towards a network of Umbrian excellence" at the San Francesco museum.
Is “Italy scared”, has it lost its faith in the future, is “Italy going adrift”, as a bestselling book describes it? No – said Realacci -, if we consider our country’s strong ability to export, and above all, those “prototypes of the future” our regions that is, which marry history and research, identity and innovation, create networks of communities, businessmen and know-how and are able to create quality products that are competitive on the global market. This is what we will be discussing during the two-day seminar, and – the President of “Symbola” stressed – there will be a real debate".
“Our ‘prototypes of the future’ – said Fabio Renzi, Director of the Foundation – are the regional and business experiences that have placed quality at the centre of their ‘mission’, the ones where companies strike up alliances with the regions, and turn their regional roots into their strongpoint when it comes to competing on the global market”.
“Umbria is trying to be up to ‘Symbola’ – said Maria Rita Lorenzetti, President of the Region -, up to a strategy that is based on points of excellence and on well-rooted medium-sized local companies to construct a new region in which a production fabric based on research, innovation and human capital can develop. To combat the threat of ‘going adrift’ – added the President – there are businessmen and regions that want to reverse this trend: this is the real challenge that Umbria, a ‘bridge-region’, wants to help to win with a good economy, good work and good businesses, the real antidote to the excessive financialization of the world economy".
“We must be more ambitious, more courageous – said Marco Caprai (from the Cantine Caprai and founding member of “Symbola”) -, we must set up ever better networks of excellence and see to it that these networks become larger and improve the quality of their products”.
“As well as Umbria of Wine there is now also Umbria of Oil – Giuliano Nalli, mayor of Trevi joked, referring to the location of the seminar, while presenting the “preview” that will be held in the 17th on the subject of the Umbrian soft economy, which will be illustrated also through a new multimedia online format: “Artefacta Umbra”, a portal that starts with a map of the region, offers a menu of very short “shorts" that present “journeys" into the companies of excellence as well as interviews with the creators and the “testimonials" of these companies.
The press conference was attended by representatives of the Perugia Confindustria, the Chamber of Commerce, Confartigianato and the Lega delle cooperative.
(10-07-2008 07:15)
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