Waves of legality, waves of citizenship

Waves

Waves of c

an European project su

promoted by of legality

citizenship

supported

by

~ 1

~ W

aves o

f le

galit

y

Promoting citizenship, preventing crime

Different international events to foster cooperation among civil society organizations and promote culture of legality as

tool to prevent and fight organized crime took place in 2011 in the cities of Paris and Palermo, involving about 140

representative of NGOs from all over Europe, in the frame of the project “Waves of legality, waves of citizenship”.

The project was promoted by the Foundation “Giovanni e Francesca Falcone” in co-operation with several NGOs and

was supported by the “Europe for Citizens” Programme of the European Union.

Aim of the project was to make the participants, representing different organizations with a variety of backgrounds and

working methods, aware of the possible role of organized civil society, in co-operation with relevant institutions, in

countering crime, in particular international organized crime and mafias. The project offered also tools and hints to

develop further co-operation on the specific field, opening the possibility to actual future actions.

In Paris and Palermo, some workshops and debates were organized with experts, representatives of the law

enforcement system and EuroJust, antimafia movement stakeholder; visits to places representing milestones of the

antimafia movement were run. The whole list of activities has shown to all participants the importance of networking

between different bodies to promote a long lasting commitment for legality and how civil society organizations can take a

leading role in the process.

The events taking place in Palermo and on board the “Boat of legality” were further important moments for the

participants: they were involved in meetings with OCSE representatives, judges, members of the Antimafia prosecution

Office and with local antimafia NGOs and finally they took part in the march which gathered together more than 10.000

citizens, mainly students and young people from all over Italy, on the 23rd of May, anniversary of the killing of Giovanni

and Francesca Falcone and their bodyguards.

For first time this year, the presence of a rich international delegation, made the event even more relevant and with a

wider impact, cause it showed the possibility to build a real social antimafia network with European grassroots.

M

aria F

alc

one

Pre

sid

ent of th

e F

oundation

“Gio

vanni e F

rancesca F

alc

one”

Waves o

f citiz

enship

~ 2

~

Every

civ

ilized E

uro

pean s

ocie

ty - a

nd n

one m

ore

than those o

f im

portant Fre

nch c

itie

s

and their s

uburb

s - is u

nder th

reat from

mafia o

rganiz

ations a

nd their c

rim

inal off-s

hoots

. This

is w

hy it is

im

portant to

mobilize the r

ele

vant fo

rces a

nd to s

park

off those e

thic

al

reflexes that are

necessary

to c

ounte

r such n

egative im

plic

ations –

as the p

roje

ct ‘W

aves

of Legalit

y, W

aves o

f C

itiz

enship

’ has u

ndertaken to d

o.

Indeed,

from

lo

ng tim

e now

, ensuring th

ose in

stitu

tional

mis

sio

ns of

pre

vention and

repre

ssio

n w

ould

not suffic

e if th

ese m

issio

ns w

ere

not supported b

y a

n incre

ase in the

involv

em

ent

of

mem

bers

of

the C

ivil

socie

ty;

this

would

giv

e r

ise t

o b

eneficia

l attitudes,

reje

cting th

e accepta

nce of

vio

lence,

partic

ipation in

plu

ndering and re

spect

for

the

om

ertà, th

at is

to s

ay the v

ery

conditio

ns for th

e d

evelo

pm

ent of th

ese m

afias.

Michel Debacq

Prosecutor

It is w

idely

recogniz

ed that a s

erious fig

ht again

st org

aniz

ed c

rim

e c

annot be a

nym

ore

dele

gate

d o

nly

to the J

udic

iary

or Law

enfo

rcem

ent Agencie

s, but it requires a

full

involv

em

ent and c

om

mitm

ent of all

the

com

ponents

of th

e s

ocie

ty: at polit

ical, s

ocia

l, e

ducational le

vel, a

t firs

t. M

any s

teps h

ave b

een m

ade in this

fig

ht during

the last

years

; m

any o

thers

still

have t

o b

e m

ade.

At

a E

uro

pean level, m

any a

ctions h

ave b

een t

aken t

o e

ncoura

ge,

facilita

te a

nd p

rom

ote

the f

ight

again

st

org

aniz

ed c

rim

e:

the c

reation o

f Euro

just, th

e E

uro

pean ju

dic

ial

body fo

r coord

ination of

transnational

investigation,

is o

nly

one o

f th

em

. But

the n

ecessary

involv

em

ent

of

the

entire

socie

ty still

requires m

ore

actions,

to ra

ise aw

are

ness about

the

importance of

that

fight. In

th

is pers

pective,

this

in

itia

tive is

of

cru

cia

l im

portance, bein

g a

ddre

ssed to c

itiz

ens o

f diffe

rent countrie

s, w

ho a

re the

real acto

rs o

f E

uro

pe. The s

em

inar

held

in P

aris c

onfirm

ed the r

ele

vance

of its s

cope, als

o thanks to its

multi-dis

cip

linary

appro

ach a

nd c

ontrib

ute

d

to cre

ate

a com

mon fe

elin

g of

“Euro

pean citiz

enship

” am

ong all

the

partic

ipants

. Francesco Lo Voi

Member of EuroJust

~ 3

~ W

aves o

f le

galit

y

Nobody ignore

that org

aniz

ed c

rim

e h

as r

eached s

ince long tim

e

a w

orldw

ide dim

ensio

n and as such th

e phenom

enon is

to

be

counte

red.

Aw

are

of

such

situation

and

recogniz

ing

that

national

and

auta

rchic

polic

ies o

n c

rim

inalit

y issues a

re n

ot anym

ore

justifiable

, U

nited N

ations a

re g

ettin

g a

lways m

ore

pro

moting inte

rnational co-

opera

tion

and

tools

. The

sym

bol

of

such

appro

ach

is

the

Convention sig

ned in

D

ecem

ber

2000 in

Pale

rmo,

whit w

hic

h

Govern

ments

recogniz

e the s

everity

of org

aniz

ed c

rim

e thre

ats

for

diffe

rent aspect of civ

il socie

ty a

nd d

em

ocra

cy.

Hum

an bein

g traffic

kin

g,

money la

undering,

terr

orism

, m

afias,

dru

g a

nd w

eapons m

ark

et are

all

aspects

of in

tern

ational crim

e a

nd

as s

uch c

an b

e c

ounte

red o

nly

with a

n inte

rnational effort.

Anoth

er

rele

vant

sig

n

of

this

appro

ach

was

giv

en

by

the

Euro

pean C

ouncil

in 1999 w

hen,

in Tam

pere

, it w

as decid

ed to

cre

ate

an E

uro

pean A

gency, calle

d E

uro

Just, w

ith the s

pecific

aim

to

fa

cilita

te and stim

ula

te co-o

pera

tion and opera

tive in

tegra

tion

betw

een N

ational

auth

orities dealin

g w

ith penal

action again

st

crim

e.

We d

id m

any t

hin

gs b

ut

many a

re t

o b

e d

one

yet

in ord

er

to

make Sta

tes and G

overn

ment

speak a com

mon la

nguage and

have c

om

mon a

ctions in c

ounte

ring o

rganiz

ed c

rim

e.

Role

of

Civ

il socie

ty is in t

his

pro

cess f

undam

enta

l sin

ce it

can

cre

ate

a s

tim

ula

ting e

nvironm

ent to

bring a

real change.

Leonardo Guarnotta

President of the Tribunal of Palermo

Waves o

f citiz

enship

~ 4

~

During my stay in Palermo I was impressed by the strength of all the

local people that continue fighting against the mafia no matter what

happens to them, to their relatives and friends. I feel confident about the

future after having seen thousands of students that participate every year

in the Boat of Legality. They represent the young people that believe

that the universal ideas of Giovanni Falcone will continue walking on

their feet and that they can change their own future.

I feel that after the event I understand the inner workings of certain

structures in Sicily a little bit better (…) Even though people pass

away, I am convinced that their ideas and values live in the hearts and

deeds of other people.

I am really happy that I participated in this project. For me, as a

pedagogist, it was a great chance to get inspiration on how to educate

children and to show them real heroes and positive role models that

should be followed. It´s also a really good way to promote active and

participative citizenship, a kind of citizenship that will encourage citizens

to stand up straight and be visible, and above all, be ready to say NO to

all that´s wrong in society.

I´m so fascinated with all this brave people who gave their life to fight

mafia, so I feel it is my duty to spread their ideas, at least. Thank you

for giving me this lifetime experience!

~ 5

~ W

aves o

f le

galit

y

I was especially touched by the visit to the “Garden of M

emory” and

the tragic story of the family of G

iuseppe Di Matteo.

This is a strong emotional memory for me that will keep my drive

to fight against mafia as an active citizen in my country, because today

the mafia and the organized crime is no longer an Italian problem only,

but it is spread world-wide and as such is to be countered.

The urge for action is needed! European Union for Legality!

This experience made me aware of how far mafia can go…

For me this project was not just some volunteer work. It was something

that gave me a lot of experience. I was horrified at the story and the place

of Giuseppe Di Matteo but I had the opportunity to meet people working

in this area and I gained interesting and useful information and I got

hints on how to implement their working method and techniques in my

country.

Waves o

f citiz

enship

~ 6

~

Being there, very closed to Palermo citizens, their everyday life and work, taking part in very interesting meetings with professionals dealing

with justice issues, has created a very deep feeling and awareness, for “the other side” of Palermo society. Yes, the mafia exists, but there is a

strong anti-mafia movement in this country, which fights everyday very big challenges. “Things can change …

and we can start this change”

~ 7

~ W

aves o

f le

galit

y

The events in Paris and in

Palermo represented for me

an unique piece of experience.

They

helped

me

to

understand in a concrete way

the importance and the role of

civil society in the fight for

legality

and

against

organized crime. I could also

appreciate the opportunity I

was

offered

to

become

acquainted with the figure of

Giovanni Falcone and his

efforts of combating mafia,

through the stories of those

who knew him best.

It was interesting to see how a company can be run legally. At every time there is a way to make it legally. This is the proof that mafia-free

companies can exist.

They were explaining how changes take place, touching core values that are built in family life of young offenders. It is such a fulfilling

moment. You see how changes happen, that’s very grassroots. This bottom-up approach is very, very important. I felt it very inspiring.

It is quite different from in Holland… how people act against such a phenomenon that afflict the whole society.

Waves o

f citiz

enship

~ 8

~

I’ve never seen something

like the “Boat of legality”.

It’s very unique and

inspiring to me.

It is really interesting to

see how they raise

awareness against mafia

and organized crime.

To bring thousand students on a boat to Palermo is really like an icona.

~ 9

~ W

aves o

f le

galit

y

A global perspective over

the mafia phenomenon

through various seminars

and visits together with my

involvement in a process of

a continuous intercultural

exchange were some of the

main achievements of my

participation in ' Waves

of legality, waves of

citizenship 2011'.

I am happy to know that all of young people have some opinion and are passionate about the fight against organized crimes. The experience

I gained will be useful and I will show with some presentations what I have learnt.

Waves o

f citiz

enship

~ 1

0 ~

The project gave us information from every field related to the

antimafia movements and also about the antimafia work since the ‘80s.

It was really strong testimonies on the ground work on the anti-mafia

movements in Sicily, which helps us to realize the right situation with

the Sicilian mafia and the strong anti-mafia movements and initiatives

against the mafia.

We had the opportunity to get direct information from those responsible for

leading the antimafia movement: a lesson we’ll bring back to our countries

and will have the opportunity to share with our colleagues to foster

participation of citizens in fighting organized crime.

Being on the first international “Boat of Legality” was an inspiring

moment. This is something unique to me.

~ 1

1 ~

Waves o

f le

galit

y

Having participated in both

events, I feel rather grateful for

this opportunity to get to know

how mafia works and what

people, like the ones we met in

Palermo and Paris, do to inform

and prevent the youth from anti-

social behavior.

The seminars, the visits and the whole programme overall was an unforgettable experience that we should all share with people in our

countries and spread the word to everyone, so that crime can be eliminated.

Waves o

f citiz

enship

~ 1

2 ~

It was not just a project...

It was an experience which I will never forget.

We all together said a sentence of Giovanni Falcone in all our 15

languages.

It was in front of… I think 10.000 people

~ 1

3 ~

Waves o

f le

galit

y

“Gli uomini passano,

le idee restano.

Restano le loro

tensioni morali e

continueranno a

camminare sulle gam

be

di altri uomini”

“Men pass by, their

ideas remain, as well as

their moral inclinations.

They keep on walking

on legs of other men.”

Giovanni Falcone

Waves o

f citiz

enship

~ 1

4 ~

List of participating organizations

DVD

Aegee-S

ofia, B

G

R

ehabilita

tion C

. fo

r Tra

um

a a

nd T

orture

, A

L

Antigone, G

R

Ascor Ia

si, R

O

A

socia

tion P

andora

, FR

C

arita

s V

ienna, A

T

Com

itato

Addio

piz

zo, IT

D

él-A

lföld

i R

egio

nális

Társ

adalo

mtu

dom

ányi K

uta

tási

Egyesüle

t, H

U

Elix

, G

R

Associa

tion for E

xperience, Learn

ing a

nd T

rain

ing in

Youth

work

, A

T

Fla

re, M

K

Fondazio

ne "G

iovanni e F

rancesca F

alc

one", IT

Centre for E

uro

pean Initia

tives, BG

G

ender Education, R

esearc

h a

nd T

echnolo

gie

s

Foundation, B

G

Glo

bal R

om

ania

n S

tudents

and Y

oung P

rofe

ssio

nals

S

ocie

ty, R

O

Gra

danski odbro

za lju

dska p

rava, H

R

Regio

nal Y

outh

Council,

BG

In

form

aG

iovani, IT

La R

otlla

na, ES

Lex C

oncord

ia M

TU

, E

E

Meddle

TV

, IT

M

issio

n L

ocale

de V

illeurb

anne, FR

Y

oung V

olu

nte

ers

Firefighte

rs –

Sfe

ra, M

K

Aenao, G

R

OS

B B

ucare

sti, R

O

Quattro

gatti.in

fo- onlin

e m

agazin

e, U

K

Serv

ei C

ivil

Inte

rnacio

nal, E

S

The B

lack S

ea U

niv

ers

ity F

oundation, R

O

Tru

e &

Lite C

reations, B

E

U

rban S

afe

ty E

uro

pean F

oru

m, FR

Valm

iera

s F

oundation's

pro

gra

m, LV

Vark

iza P

rim

ary

School, G

R

V

izio

n Inte

gru

es &

Alb

ania

n Y

outh

Council,

AL

Vsi, J

aunim

o Inic

iaty

va, LT

Y

eah!, A

L

This

public

ation a

nd the v

ideo reflect th

e v

iew

s a

nd o

pin

ion o

nly

of th

e a

uth

ors

and the p

artic

ipants

in the p

roje

ct.

Nor th

e E

uro

pean C

om

mis

sio

n n

or any o

f its A

gencie

s c

an b

e c

onsid

ere

d responsib

le for th

e c

onte

nt of th

e p

ublic

ation.

Waves of legality

Waves of citizenship

an European project supported

promoted by by

http://www.fondazionefalcone.it

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship

A s

pecia

l th

anks for th

e im

ple

menta

tion o

f th

e p

roje

ct goes to: Italia

n M

inis

try o

f E

ducation, Local and n

ational auth

orities involv

ed in the im

ple

menta

tion o

f th

e “B

oat of le

galit

y”,

Pre

sid

ency o

f th

e T

ribunal of P

ale

rmo, IT

I C

affè, A

socia

ció

La R

otlla

na, A

ssocia

zio

ne Info

rmaG

iovani.