A hall dedicated to Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco
in the All-Russia State Library of Foreign Literature “Rudomino” of Moscow
This is the first case of tangible implemetation of the theory and practice of Life Beyond Tourism abroad
In Moscow, an area dedicated to the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation and to the teaching of the best practices of Life Beyond Tourism is now open. It is an important moment for the Florentine Foundation and for the Life Beyond Tourism Movement: this is the first case of tangible implementation of the theory and practice of LBT abroad. The hall, inside the prestigious Russian State Library of Foreign Literature “Margherita Rudomino” in Moscow, which owns over 40 thousand volumes and coordinates a network of 4 thousand libraries throughout Russia, will also be formally entitled to the Foundation, which is based in Florence but operates worldwide. The library is the first institution to which, years ago, the Foundation donated a white Carrara marble bust depicting Leonardo Da Vinci, that today is positioned in the external courtyard, together with various other figures who have dedicated their lives to research, to science and to culture.
The initiative was presented in Palazzo del Pegaso by the president of the Tuscan Regional Council, Eugenio Giani and by the president of the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation, Paolo Del Bianco, with the secretary of the Foundation, Simone Giometti and by Caterina Del Bianco, councilor of the Foundation.
The intitolation event was held on April 18 in Moscow at the presence of Vadim Duda, director of the Library, and for the Foundation, the president Paolo Del Bianco and the secretary general Simone Giometti, together with some representatives of Icomos Russia. The dedication of a hall to the Del Bianco Foundation within the Library is a consequence of the rapprochement between the Florentine and Russian reality, which took place many years ago thanks to Ekaterina Genieva, director of the Moscow institution, who died in 2015 and to whom the Foundation, in June 2016, has dedicated a hall to pay tribute to her intense work in favor of knowledge, dialogue and respect between cultures.
“This is a reason to be proud not only for our Florentine and Tuscan territory; this is a milestone on an international level – commented the President of the Tuscan Regional Council, Eugenio Giani – I was able to visit the immense heritage of this huge library. Today, in this context, a hall dedicated to the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation, which is based in Florence but operates all over the world, is a prestige and a real opportunity for us to cultivate peace”.
“Life Beyond Tourism is a cultural and commercial revolution for the growth of the international community in peaceful coexistence and the health of planet Earth – said president Paolo Del Bianco. – It is an altruistic journey, it is to give time and money to ‘travel for dialogue’, to “travel to know and respect the differences between us and other people like us”. It’s a revolution that has been cultivated by the Foundation’s network, that embraces over 500 institutions and universities in 83 countries in 5 continents. Through Life Beyond Tourism, the synergy of the three UNESCO conventions of 1972, 2003 and 2005 is highlighted. If the opportunities that emerge from the synergy of these three agreements became an object of interest for travel and operators of global services, for a new commercial offer, then it would become fashionable to travel to contribute to the growth of the international community in peaceful coexistence and for the health of our planet. There would be a great competition between tour operators and territories to become leaders in innovative programs, based on the principles of Life Beyond Tourism; the current hit-and-run tourist will be led to becoming a ‘temporary resident’, anxious to discover the spirit of the place.
The new director of the Library, Vadim Duda, immediately showed a deep appreciation for the philosophy of Life Beyond Tourism and the commitment to promote the local cultures of the various countries of the world, so much so that two of the Library’s collaborators took part in the first course for Life Beyond Tourism trainers in Florence. Since then the decision to apply good LBT practices and establish an Academy in Moscow, in the library hall dedicated to the Foundation: here the Life Beyond Tourism orientation will be taught with its Model of practical application, and a series of initiatives will be promoted, which refer to the philosophy by the Del Bianco Foundation.
The decision to dedicate a hall to the activities of the Fondazione Del Bianco was announced by Vadim Duda during the Assembly of the Foundation, held in early March in Florence, and focused on the fundamental objectives of this Florentine entity: moving from the idea of a tourism of services and consumption to the idea of travel as a tool for dialogue, with the awareness that now more than ever the international community should promote knowledge and respect for diversity for the development of peaceful coexistence and the protection of the planet, giving new meaning to tourism and looking for opportunities given, far beyond tourism, by travel and over a billion and two hundred million travelers.
“We owe so much to the mision of the Fondazione in contributing to the development of peace in the world- said Vladimir Duda during his speech in Florence at the General Assembly of the Foundation – We believe that the strength of our communities can do a lot. Libraries, as centers of local communities, could be one of the best channels to promote the LBT concept and methodology. The result could be astonishing – continued Duda -: there are about 40,000 public libraries in the Russian Federation alone and about 1.5 million in the world. For example, the number of readers and visitors, who visited our library, has grown from around 180,000 in 2016 to around 300,000 in 2017. It means that people consider the library as a source of good ideas, information, education programs and many others. services, but above all a place you can trust. We are taking the ideas and concepts of the Foundation very seriously. Launching a special space in our library, entitled Romualdo Del Bianco Auditorium, is a starting point for the implementation of educational certification programs for LBT in the Russian Federation, to educate students and train the trainers and we hope that other libraries will adhere to our initiative to improve our planet “.
The 20th General Assembly of the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco welcomed more than 200 experts, local administrators and rpresentative from international institutions. On this occasion, the Certification for “Dialogue among Cultures Life Beyond Tourism DTC-LBT: 2018” was presented in its three parts: Standards, Regulation and Guidelines, and was illustrated by Mounir Bouchenaki as special advisor to the Director General of UNESCO and board member of the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage: a common commitment to protect and promote local cultural expressions and the use of heritage sites for the purpose of respect and intercultural dialogue.
At the conclusion of the Assembly the Life Beyond Tourism Manifesto was therefore updated:
the updated text was delivered in a press conference to the president of the Tuscan Regional Council, Eugenio Giani. The document is also being published in the proceedings of the 20th Assembly and Symposium.