08-03-2023 | di COOPI

ITALY. Campaign 070. Bishop Zucchi speaks

On 4 March in Bologna the seminar 'Si deve. Si può" was held for the promotion of the national 070 campaign and was also attended by the President of COOPI-Cooperazione Internazionale, Claudio Ceravolo. The 070 campaign is committed to asking the government and parliament to give more importance to development cooperation and reach the target set by the United Nations of 0.70% per year of gross national income in development aid. At the seminar, organised under the patronage of Caritas, Missio, the Third Sector Forum and ASVIS (Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development), H.E. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, spoke with a strong admonition:

"This is a time when we are letting children die in the middle of the sea. In a vision deformed by well-being, we think that everything is fine and will be fine, now we must realise that it is not true'.                                       

Zuppi continued his speech by emphasiasing the importance of moving on to precise commitments:

'If there is no development there is no peace and there is no justice. We are equals and brothers: working for development means laying the foundations for the well-being of all; thinking of others and of Africa, in particular, works."

Cardinal Zuppi's support for the 070 campaign "The world is hungry. Of development", promoted by the associations AOI (Association of Italian NGOs), Cini (Italian Coordination of International Ngo's), Link 2007 (Cooperation in the network to which COOPI adheres) and Focsiv. The campaign represents a strong encouragement to give centrality once again to international cooperation as a foreign policy tool, fighting for a fairer world. In addition to the associations sponsoring the campaign, the seminar was also attended by Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Matteo Lepore, Mayor of Bologna, and Don Giuseppe Pizzoli, Director General of the Missio Foundation.