Farnesina, 15 June, 2017
(The authentic text is only the one actually delivered)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to express my heartfelt welcome to the Farnesina and thank all those people who have collaborated with us to organise this beautiful event, and in particular I wish to thank:
– Dr. Paolo Marchesini
– Dr. Renato Fontana
– Dr. Giovanna Talocci
– Minister Massimo Bray. Any individual who served as a Minister, will always be a Minister to me.
I wish to express my warm greetings above all to the new young talents of Italian design to whom today we will “give the floor”.
As the title of the event suggests, we intend to use our creativity to explore the relation between our language and the world of planners and designers. Thirty works , selected by the Italianism Jury, has addressed it. They offer an interpretation of 10 words of the Italian language related to the world of culture and design, and namely ethics, form, future, idea, innovation, interaction, intuition, project, research, vision.
As you may recall, in March we launched the “First Italian Design Day in the World” -an ‘absolute premiere’ that featured 100 events in as many cities in the world. On that occasion, I said that design teaches us to be open to innovation, with neither fear, nor prejudice.
Today’s event is yet another concrete example of this idea. I believe that design should be based on the freedom of taking risks. I often remind young men and women that there cannot be innovation without a willingness to go through a trial and error process. Luigi Einaudi used to say, “trial and error are the identifying features of free regimes.”
Hence, the government -as I have always maintained- has the task to ensure that investments in innovation allow also for risks to be taken. This will further promote the growth process we have started, as recent GDP data have highlighted.
Somehow design can also be seen as a growth model, thanks to its unique and extraordinary capability of blending culture and creativity, beauty and functionalism, while at the same time generating wealth.
It is not a coincidence that design is well-established in Italy, because it permeates culture, art, thinking processes and the Italian way of life. Its success rests on the wisdom of craftsmanship, on the spirit of experimentation and, above all, on the beauty of objects. The utility of design.
