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Hanging white sheets to signal participation in the fight against mafia: on Saturday, May 23, Sant’Anna, CRUS and CRUI commemorate victims of the Capaci assassination

Publication date: 11.05.2020
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On Saturday, May 23, the Sant’Anna School in Pisa participates in the online events to commemorate the victims of the Capaci massacre promoted by the Conference of the Sicilian University Rectors (CRUS) together with their students  and the Conference of the Italian University Rectors (CRUI). Hanging white sheets from the windows as a symbol of opposition to the mafia marks the anniversary of the assassination of Giovanni FalconeFrancesca Morvillo and law enforcement agents. To nurture a new civic awareness, Sant’Anna School stands up to the mafia making its own banner in the Martiri della Libertà square.

On Saturday, May 23, at 10.30 am, the Conference of the Sicilian University Rectors will hold an online open meeting as a contribution to participatory democracy where students can publicly express solidarity and demand civil rights to be respected.

This online open meeting is the occasion of the first initiative in which the Conference of the Sicilian University Rectors shakes, locally and nationally, the conscience of the Sicilian and the Italian people as a whole of society approach is needed to tackle the mafia and organized crime in Italy.

“Sooner or later, mafias and criminal organizations will end” - once said Giovanni Falcone. “I believe we should maintain the authenticity and contemporary relevance of this statement, says Giovanni Puglisi, the President of CRUS and the Rector of the University of Enna – in highlighting the universities’ role in fostering students’ development of ethical and social responsibility. This initiative focuses national renewed commitment to revitalize the importance of learning environments in which students engage in the fight against mafia or other forms of crime.”

The meeting will be an opportunity to spread anti-mafia culture among the young. Students, young people and community groups will hear from Minister Gaetano Manfredi (University and Research), Pietro Grasso (a former President of the Italian Senate), Nello Musumeci (President of  Sicily Region Authority), Giovanni Grasso (as the Speaker of President Mattarella), Salvatore Gristina (President of the  Conferenza Episcopale in Sicily and the Archbishop of Catania), Salvatore Di Vitale (President of the Court of Palermo), Franco Lo Voi (Chief Prosecutor in Palermo), Giusi Scaduto (Prefect of  Siracusa), Teo Luzi  (Commander General of  Arma dei Carabinieri), Massimo Bray (a former Minister of Cultural Heritage and the Director of  Treccani), Renato Cortese (Palermo’s Chief Magistrate), Salvatore Cardinale (President Emeritus of the Court of Caltanissetta), Ferruccio Resta (President of CRUI and the Rector of Politecnico di Milano), Domenico Surdi (Mayor of Alcamo), Maria Falcone (President of Giovanni Falcone Foundation), Marcello Sorgi (journalist - La Stampa), rectors Salvatore CuzzocreaFabrizio Micari and Francesco Priolo, and members of the student representative council.  

Click here to watch the event on livestream