The next Conference of Justice Ministers of the Council of Europe member states will take place in Italy. It is one of the first high-level events organized by the Italian presidency of the Council that our country took on last November 17th and which it will hold until May 20th. A semester full of objectives, with Italy's awareness of the important opportunities but also of the great challenges that Europe will have to face in this period. There Conference will be held on 13-14 December in Venice in the prestigious seat of the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista. At the center of the work, which will be attended by our minister Marta Cartabia with his counterparts from the other member countries, the problem of restorative justice and its role in European criminal justice. Restorative justice means asking the question of how to recover those who have made a mistake. Italy considers the reaffirmation of the function of the punishment to be fundamental both as a moment of rehabilitation of the offender and of restoration for the victim.
The Italian headquarters of the Council of Europe in Venice
"Society must recover those who made mistakes - comments Luisella Pavan Woolfe, director of the only Council of Europe office in Italy - And since we are talking about human rights, this Conference fits into the Council of Europe. Human rights, rule of law, equality between men and women, exploitation of children, violence against women, cultural heritage, ... these are the competences of the Council of Europe". The Italian office was opened in 2011 in Venice and the director Pavan Woolfe took office in 2015. "They are very few - explains - the countries of old democracy that have a seat of the Council in their own territory. Some offices have been opened in recent years, especially in Central-Eastern Europe. As these are recently entered states, our local offices mainly have assistance and consultancy functions. In the case of the only Italian office in Venice, the city that had proposed to host this office, the Council recognized its importance for its representative role but also for its effective functions in the cultural sphere and beyond".
The primacy of Italy, where the highest number of European cultural itineraries passes
"This office - keep it going - plays a role in raising awareness and information in the rest of Italy on the activities of the Council of Europe. Furthermore, Venice, thanks to its natural vocation for culture, is one of the four laboratory cities of the Faro Convention that deals with the value of cultural heritage for society. We are committed, in particular, to the enhancement of cultural itineraries, which are fundamental for fostering dialogue between the countries and peoples they pass through. A very important program. It was born in 1987 with the first Santiago de Compostela itinerary, as part of a project that seeks the common thread of heritage in the various European countries. Spanning various themes: historical figures, artistic ones, cultural movements, religious ones, architecture, ... ".
"In this project, Italy has a primacy. It is the only country among those of the Council of Europe to be crossed by the highest number of itineraries, as many as 29 out of 45. From the Via Francigena to the Historic Thermal Towns, to the Itinerary of Aeneas, to that of the Jewish Heritage, ... eight of these have their secretariat in Italy. Our country has a primacy because it has an important cultural heritage and because with its culture it has influenced many other countries". With its culture and its language, the fourth most studied in the world. President Sergio Mattarella also recently recalled this on the occasion of the General States of the Italian language. I 29 cultural itineraries that cross our country are the subject of an exhibition recently inaugurated in Strasbourg at the headquarters of the Council of Europe. In January the exhibition will move to the local Italian cultural institute to then touch on other stages. Among these, also the office of the Council in Venice.
The topics of the Italian semester: women's emancipation, children's rights, the importance of the person in the face of the new challenges of technology
The main objectives of the Italian semester at the Council of Europe are the strengthening of women's emancipation, the rights of children and adolescents, the need to place the role of people at the center of the future. An Italian presidency that promises to be inclusive and participatory, preceded by important international events for our country. A G20 successful, a bilateral Italy-France that ended with an important treaty, a COP 26 co-chaired by Italy together with Great Britain. "Italy - concludes the director Pavan Woolfe - on the international scene it is active, committed, present, visible. Our country is doing well, with results that require important preparation upstream. The semester of presidency in which she is currently engaged is part of the automatic rotations, but an excellent job has been done to the recent international participations which has given results and opportunities. Anchoring ourselves to other states in international forums was a guarantee for our country". It should be remembered that theItaly is one of the founders of the European Union and the Council of Europe. And it is present in all international organizations based in Europe.
