To all  groups  participating
in the 2008 edition of The International Youth Festival
and all futureparticipants

Dear friends - present and future,


I am writing to you to thank you for the trust you have had in us for so many years.  Not only do you take part in our Festival but you also do us the honour of sharing your artistic talents and good
company with us.  The reason I spend so much of my time and energy organising the Festival is my belief  in  the mission we have been given:  encouraging young people to meet together and share their knowledge of the world with the aim of  improving understanding and  encouraging reciprocal respect in a climate of fun and friendship.  I aim to create a positive model of youthful togetherness: this is extremely useful to growing youngsters and offers them an alternative to all those transgressive, negative activities that seem to attract so many young people today.
The years of collaboration with you have convinced me of the value of our work, so, I would like to draw  your attention to three fundamental aspects of our programme, which we all seem to enjoy:
1  the sports programme
2  the arts and cultural exchange programme
3  the programme of outings (trips to well-known local places)

This mix of events is very precious to us, especially when you add in the joys of communal living, the excursions, the National Days, the evening entertainment.  All of these provide opportunities for us to get to know each other and share  the best of ourselves – things which should not be undervalued in these times of chaos, when nothing seems to be permanent.  However, from time to time  misunderstanding accur.
In my opinion, these are caused by:
1  our differing expectations
2  our different points of view of the organisation of events
3  sometimes, a lack of experience of communal living
4  our differing cultures

Nevertheless, at the end of every summer, like the one that has just finished,  when I draw up the balance sheet – not only the financial one – I can say that this year can be considered another miracle  that has been given to us.  My starting point is always an evaluation of the things I consider to be fundamental and which always leads us back to physical and moral safety.  I believe we should always make these our primary objectives.
Anyone who has anything to do with young people, especially those living in our contemporary western society, knows what is happening around them.  They are also aware of how much some people are earning by tempting  youngsters to go astray, how many people close their eyes to the exploitation of youth and how few people do anything to fight back and give young people valid alternatives  which they can enjoy and share.
I, indeed we, think that this is something our Festival does.  However, we can only do this and continue to do this  if everybody believes in our goals  works together to achieve them.  This is even more important for  eastern Europeans, who, until a short time ago, lived in enclosed communities  but who can now see and experience the western world and all its wealth.  They see many tempting products and many superficial trends, which are particularly attractive to the eyes of gullible, young, people.

Through our long experience, we know what happens and what can happen.  Therefore, we try to take precautionary steps to prevent the youngsters giving in to such dangerous temptations.  We do our best to ensure that our visitors from eastern Europe find ways to show us the best of themselves  rather than adopting our stupid life-style.
I would like to add something for you to  reflect on:   I hope my thoughts will improve us all so that we can offer the youngsters from all over the world an experience that embodies our mission and the VIVAS project, that is:  ‘living with the values of art and sport.’
There are a number of statements that support our mission:  Jacques Delors, former President of the European Commission, maintains that:  ‘education does not fulfil its aims unless it creates citizens rooted in their own culture, but at the same time open to the cultures of others.  In this way, society can progress.’  Mahatma Gandi said that education consists in’ revealing the best in every person so that it can then be shared with others.’  Finally, Edgar Morin, one of the most enlightened sociologists of our times, states in his book:’  The Seven Areas of Knowledge Necessary for the Education of the Future’ that understanding is one of the most important things a person can learn.
Understanding means making an effort to understand the reasons that lead other people to think  and behave in a different was from us.
If our Festival, our gathering in Italy of youngsters from all over the world, didn’t follow these aims, for me personally, it would mean that I had lost the motivation that underlies my efforts.
On a practical level and as a way of expressing my beliefs in a concrete way, I’d like to confirm that the rules of our Festival have been dictated by good reasons and  my own personal experience of communal living:  first, as a student and then as an athlete in Rome.
As well as the physical and moral aspects of education, there some other important points that concern us:  the economics of our enterprise, which are fundamental to our survival.
As you know, the financial contribution that you make does not meet our running costs.  This is the reason  I have been forced in the past and why I find myself in the same situation now, to make a request for help.
Very often these invitations for help are ignored and undervalued by some groups.  As far as we are concerned, they are fundamental for a number of reasons.
I’m referring to the long-running lack of understanding about the consumption and use of electricity, hot and cold water and food.  There are precise rules concerning these three items which have been written out clearly in block capital letters and all Festival visitors are expected to follow.  As you are well aware, electricity and food in Italy are very expensive.  All our water – which is a very precious resource -  is drinkable and is essential for  the whole locality, not just for us.  I will now attempt to highlight some of the organisational problems and  rules which govern the use of these resources and two other causes for complaint: hygiene and sleep.
Every country in the world is trying to make its population aware of  the environmental issues facing our planet,  starting with young children in schools ( although , in my experience, it is often the adults who are most at fault).  In schools throughout the world, starting at primary school, campaigns are being organised to encourage people to save energy and use precious resources carefully.  For example, in England, following the motto.’ We are what we do’, school children of all ages are encouraged to do small things to help save the planet.

We have been trying to do our part for years.  Not only do we have a list of daily duties  to encourage living together in harmony with one another, but we also try to teach our visitors to save energy and resources.  We must all make an effort so that we can leave younger generations a better future.
Within our practical experience, this means our attention and respect should turn towards:  food, water, energy, hygiene, the environment and other people.  I’d like to point out the following:
a  - In Italy, energy is extremely expensive and all our water is drinkable
b  - There are hot showers available three times a day:  7.30-9,30; 13,00-14,30;  16,30-21,30
c  - Electricity supplies for:  200 mobile phones, coffee and tea making machines, stereos, electric cookers, hair-dryers, computers to name but a few, are of secondary importance to us.  The energy available to us is for our primary use, that is for  the necessities of the community.  The use of other electrical equipment, in our eyes, is a luxury and as such superfluous and certainly does not add anything to the experience we are offering.:  a way of living based on basic values , which we believe that young people today really need in order to face the future that awaits them.
d  - Hygiene:  Participants are not allowed to take into their rooms:  oily, sweet/savoury food and large quantities of drinks because as well as making the rooms dirty, food encourages flies, mosquitoes and other insects.
e  - The cleaning staff find it very difficult to clean the bedrooms because of  general untidiness: suit-cases  kept under the beds and clothes and shoes left lying around the rooms instead of being put away are the main causes of complaint.
f  - The food that the youngsters eat between meals is what can be termed junk food.  This is the complete opposite of the principles of a Mediterranean Diet, which we base our menus on..  The result of this is that a lot of food is wasted and has to be thrown away.  The food we provide uses top quality ingredients and is  freshly prepared  by our cooks who produce tasty  meals of a high standard.
g  - As for the lack of respect for others when they are sleeping:  both students and their teachers have been making all sorts of noises until 3 o’clock in the morning keeping the whole building awake.  Obviously, if these people chose to sleep at night, they, themselves,  would benefit.  It is the staff, who spend all day working hard to make the visitors’ experience an enjoyable one, who suffer the most from  lack of sleep caused by other peoples’ thoughtlessness..
h  - I have always considered that the request for hot water late at night, on the return from evening shows, both excessive and  selfish:   the noise of the showers, hair-dryers, banging boors and shouting wakes everybody else up.
i  - It is perfectly understandable to all that communal living is based on a scale of values of varying degrees of importance.  For example, choosing between having a shower at night or early in the morning or having the staff well-rested and ready to cook, clean and perform their other duties.  I would always choose the second option.

I’d like to invite you to reflect that the International Youth Festival lasts for 5 months for the staff:  night-time arrivals, early morning departures so that you can perform in the programme of events, and especially so that you can go on the trips which you have asked me to organise and which I am completely in agreement with.  Groups arriving at our centre in the middle of the night and leaving for the return journey in the very early morning, disrupt our daily routine and limit our sleep.  I would ask you organise your journeys to and from our centre so that arrivals and departures are either in the morning or the evening .  The reason being that in this way, you won’t disturb us and our neighbours in the village and not only that, we will be able to greet you and say good-bye with the respect and friendship you all deserve.
All of this seems to me to show a lack of  familiarity with and  respect for  the rules of communal living.  It means that people are  putting their own personal considerations before those of the community.
It must not be forgotten that we are not offering a holiday in a hotel but in a community.  This fact is often misunderstood, partly  because it is easier to do so and because selfish behaviour does not require so much effort.

As for the economic considerations:  I’d like to inform you that the 150.00 euros that you have paid for your two-week stay are not enough to cover our costs for 12 months’ continuous work (for the three permanent members of staff).  It is therefore necessary, to ask you to pay 200.00 euros each.  The sum of money that you pay is balanced out by the sum of 580.00 euros which each Italian youngster pays for less ( they don’t go on the outings or take part in the shows).
I would be very pleased if the thoughts which I have brought to your attention provoked a similar reflection in you and produced some suggestions from you to remedy the situation.

In friendship

Carlo Devoti