The new International Book Fair focuses on young people, between Turin and Parma

A new festival of the Turin event was launched in Milan with the Municipality of Parma, the only Italian city candidate for European Youth Capital 2027, and the support of the Cariparma Foundation. Is called “I take the world – In dialogue with the new generations” and wants to speak to young people with young people, involving them in the construction of the program and in the events that will be held from 25 to 28 January 2024 at the Paganini Congress Center in Parma and in various city spaces.

The preview of the exhibition took place in the presence of the director of the Salon Annalena BeniniOf Silvio Vialepresident of the Turin Association, the City of Books, of the mayor of Parma Michele Guerra and the councilor for the Youth Community of Parma Beatrice Aimeestarting from this data: 51% of visitors to the 2023 Show are under 36, 33% under 25.

On the program are “inspirational” lessons for girls, boys and adults on the challenges of contemporary life: how to learn from one’s mistakes and how to rely on scientific instruments, with Chiara Valerio; how to have a sustainable society, with Telmo Pievani; how to orient yourself among the information, how to understand which sources to trust, with Francesco Costa; how to love physics, with the influencer teacher Vincenzo Schettini. And many other ideas, from Benedetta Tobagi to Marco Malvaldi, Jonathan Bazzi, Chiara Tagliaferri, Alessandro D’Avenia.
A program that reflects the vision of “Direzione Futura”, an editorial committee made up of more than fifty girls and boys aged from fourteen to twenty-two, students from Parma and the Parma area, coordinated by Andrea Falcone. The two girls who spoke at the launch of the festival, aged nineteen and twenty-one, underlined, in particular, the importance of talking about one’s failures – in the era of fake social perfection – and of opening up to all the themes and new languages .

“The festival is called I take the world and we will take it” said the speakers, also anticipating that there will be an Instagram page of the event and that they would like to create podcasts. The same event will reflect on the social world with, for example, a content creation workshop on TikTok on the topic of work. Always at work, there are nice orientation desks for young people and meetings that will put them in dialogue with companies. Among the speakers there will also be the entrepreneur Federico Marchetti.

The mayor of Parma recalled the work that the city is doing for young people with these days, with the candidacy for European Youth Capital and with the Youth Check, an indicator that allows the impact of each decision/measure/initiative to be assessed on the new generations. Silvio Viale defined Mi prendo il mondo as “a unique opportunity to grow and get involved”. The girls and boys of Direzione Futura are ready to get involved, to be protagonists of a necessary cultural revolution. “Each and every one of us is looking for her own path. What we share is a trend, a direction: future” they said.

Among the most awaited moments is the letter from Liliana Segre, which will be read by Direzione Futura. The Senator’s words will arrive for the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust on January 27, she who knew the horror from an early age, who survived that horror and who she reminds us not to forget .