Edition approved by the Expert during the third Round Table of the 23rd February 2001
THE MISSION OF THE ROMUALDO DEL BIANCO FOUNDATION
is to contribute to International Integration.
The Foundation organises international meetings and activities in Florence for young people, through which persons from different Countries and Cultures may meet, get acquainted and understand each other in order to favour mutual knowledge and friendship and, hence, contribute to promoting world peace.
2 PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS
2.1 - LIFE AS A SOCIAL COMMITMENT
Life is a constant commitment towards human relationships. The Foundation considers such a commitment as a contribution to the development of an international network of understanding and true friendship, especially within the present particular historical period, which is often characterised by migratory waves and by the opening borders of previously isolated countries.
2.2 - FREEDOM AND VALUES
We are reminded of those who, after living under a non-democratic regime for a long period of time, are now enjoying freedom, that is freedom of thought, vote and religion, i.e. freedom to act out liberally.
All of this allows those to increase their wealth, to become more aware of their potential and to be more self-confident..
All of this is extremely positive, yet what could or would be lost by gaining it?
2.3 - SELFISHESSNESS and CONSUMERISM
It is possible to lose the capability of valuing the spontaneity and enthusiastic pleasure about from small things, thoughts as well as small presents given out of true love.
This loss is not positive because it favours disposable consumerism beyond its logic needs.
This kind of culture leads to the triumph of selfishness with disruptive effects on social relationships, hence within families, which are , in many ways, the foundations of our society.
2.4 - TECHNOLOGY and COMMUNICATION - INDIVIDUALISM and LONELINESS
The development of Technology and Information allows communications to grow in our Society, yet at the same time it involves the risk of an increasing individualism, hence loneliness.
2.5 - HUMAN VALUES
Human values risk being lost. We feel as if being carried away by a delirious crowd. Which direction should we follow? Where is the cultural and social progress? A useless, methodical, myopic impoverishment of natural resources is spreading outward, without taking into account sustainable development.
Individuals living in countries governed by totalitarian regimes often close themselves up, trying to defend their personality and values.
We wonder whether the lack of democracy in those countries may have preserved some of the ancient values.
If such is the case, we also wonder whether those countries which have suffered from such a lack of democracy for a long time and which are currently rediscovering their ancient values, could help other countries to re-establish their own them again.
3 -HISTORICAL HERITAGE and INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION
Cultural heritage could be a powerful engine for initiating meetings, exchanges, interpersonal knowledge, understanding and friendship. Thus, tourism could be considered as a peace-spreading strategy. Traditional tourism generally is pursued out of Individual needs, thus becoming Selfish Tourism. Usually tourists do not integrate much with the people of the Country they are visiting.
Traditional Tourism, or "fast Tourism" of the second half of the 20th century, risks contributing to the growing increase of individualism which is often a direct consequence of it.
Historical cities which attract tourism change as much as possible in order to offer the appropriate services necessary for international tourists and only for business reasons. Hasty tourists usually are not interested in befriending the inhabitants of the city they are visiting. Exchanges such as words, looks, etc. occur only for business reasons (buying and selling), thus making integration impossible, like trying to mix oil and water.
In addition, cities receiving visitors work in order to offer services to tourists. Thus, they are in their most compelling work phase, which is business oriented and often times only business minded.
Actually there is more to it. Due to the spontaneity of such a phenomenon, cities neglect the planning of increasing tourist flows, risking to suffer and undergo the bad effects of such uncontrolled richness.
On the contrary, planning should be focused on the limits and conditions of a sustainable development because cities are not able to steadily increase their tourist flow without making their citizens suffer. In other words, if sustainable development is not strived for, citizens risk deeming tourists as a negative element for them and their city, rather than as a richness.
In pursuing citizens' and visitors interests as well as those future ones of historical cities, the mission of each urban system must be defined in order to show the limits of possible development. By doing so, cities shall no longer slowly become large Museums for Visitors, cities which cease to exist because they do not belong to their citizens anymore!
The paragraph about Management within the document resulting from the international conference held in Krakow on October 26th 2000 ("Krakow 2000"), clearly states that unmanaged tourism means suffering.
4 - PROPOSAL: INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION LABORATORIES
For the PRESERVATION and RECOVERY
Of ANCIENT HUMAN VALUES of SOCIALISATION
4.1 RESEARCH FOR INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION LABORATORIES
The Foundation believes that people coming from different countries and cultures meeting together fostering direct socialisation among them and contribute to the development of a "Culture of International Integration", while at the same time respecting diversities.
For this reason, the Foundation believes in a type of organisation which shall ensure gatherings among people and mutual knowledge in order to understand each others values, thereby exalting the differences as cultural points to be known and understood. It is a type of organisation which shall ensure concrete meetings to occur to occur among people, a richness that can really contribute in making a better world.
Consequently, we can define two main kinds of meetings.
1st - Tourism:
2nd - Activities of the research centres for International Integration .
In order to face growing individualism and current superficiality, the Foundation wishes to soon organise a different kind of meeting to rediscover oneself, thanks to the Activities of the Research Centres for International Integration.
We strongly believe that our society, not only needs financial and economic resources deriving from traditional tourism, but also it needs the activities of the Research Centres to guarantee its own growth at the beginning of the third Millennium where money, power, prestige and pleasure for pleasure's sake, prevail, such commodities must be limited to a strategy rather than considered as a goal. In the third millennium "to be" must be absolutely more important than "to have."
The result of the research of these International Integration Laboratories shall become part of normal daily life, through osmosis.
The activity of the Research Centres for International Integration shall be oriented to exalt meetings, mutual understanding and friendship among people, thus contributing to world peace, starting with young people of different cultures and countries. This activity can be realised by resorting to free initiative in order to exalt challenges with imagination and individual ability, dynamism, enthusiasm and commitment of the people involved.
5 - IN CONCLUSION
IN the LABORATORIES FOR INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION,
The Foundation shall confirm the importance of Life as a Commitment beyond Peace, in order to contribute to the restoration of our life style. Such a lifestyle is often excessively influenced by our daily life which is increasingly oriented towards unlimited disposable consumerism. It is a lifestyle which deeply contrasts with the concepts of preservation and restoration particularly appreciated nowadays.
Life is seen as a commitment which negatively affect the way we look at the past, or at our historical heritage and at our social values.
Free countries must decide to heavily invest on the international socialisation process, considering it as a strategy for a balanced growth of their society. Control of individualism and selfishness shall be ensured, thanks to the contribution of research, preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the ancient values of socialisation in order to better appreciate friendship among countries rather than a world of loneliness.