As part of the Thematic Week “Co-creating Cultures for the Future” at the Osaka Expo 2025, last Saturday 4 May the Italian Pavilion hosted the panel entitled “Sport that leaves its Mark: the Future in the Territories”.
The institutional greetings of the Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka, Amb. Mario Vattani, and of the Consul in Osaka, Filippo Manara, provided an exceptional opportunity to reflect on the importance of sports diplomacy for the growth and international projection of our country, as demonstrated not only by historic events such as the Giro d’Italia, but also by major Olympic events such as the forthcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Afterwards, moderated by Francesco Betrò (ANSA), various voices representing CONI, CIP, the Milan-Cortina 2026 Foundation, as well as Assosport, RCS, and Banca Ifis, took turns, enriched by the speeches of athletes such as Alessandra Sensini, Giulia Righetti, and Ivan Basso, all called upon to reflect on the importance of sports disciplines and major competitive events for territorial development.
All the speeches confirmed the crucial importance of sports governance at the local level to ensure, on the one hand, environmental sustainability, gender equality and inclusion in major events, and, on the other, the best conduct of international competitions for the benefit of our companies and the entire Country System. These issues are essential to ensure the lasting impact of economic development and the sporting values it conveys, while at the same time ensuring inclusive policies to enhance Olympic and Paralympic sport and demonstrate our country’s excellence in this field as well.
The panel ended with a Q&A session and the possibility of a link with the Women’s Pavilion, in line with the gender equality strategies promoted by the Foreign Ministry, most recently with projects such as “Champions of Innovation”, aimed at promoting female entrepreneurship in sport.
