Honoring Ilaria Alpi: A Student Award Ceremony Emphasizing Freedom, Truth, and Democracy

The event took place on Thursday, March 21, at the municipal theater named after Ilaria Alpi, the Student Award dedicated to the journalist, our fellow citizen, who was killed exactly thirty years ago in Mogadishu along with her cameraman Miran Hrovatin. The event, organized by the Municipality of Sacrofano in collaboration with the Lazio Journalists' Order and Rete NoBavaglio and held in the theater dedicated to her, saw the participation of students from the 3rd and 4th grade middle school classes of the Padre Pio Comprehensive Institute, awarded for their work. All students produced works on the theme that were evaluated by a jury of teachers and journalists. The four most significant themes were read. From the works, the values of freedom, democracy, information, truth, and sacrifice strongly emerged. Present were the Mayor Patrizia Nicolini, journalists Sandro Ruotolo and Marino Bisso, Professors Anna Maria Guarrera and Giulia Scarpellino, and Aldo Galli from ANPI. The meeting was moderated by the Councilor with School Delegation and President of the Municipal Council, Gabriella Gandellini. There were many points of reflection and shared messages, starting from the sacrifice of Ilaria Alpi. Among these, the precious and risky role of informants carried out by journalists, especially those engaged in war zones, the importance of Article 21 of the Constitution that claims the right of everyone to freely express their thoughts with speech, writing, and any other means of dissemination, and the necessity to always work having as the sole objective the search for truth. Before the delivery of the certificates, those present stood up and loudly pronounced three simple and current words: freedom, truth, and peace. The value of truth and information for democracy was reiterated by many interventions, as well as truth and information as values that inspire behaviors up to the sacrifice of life, as Ilaria Alpi and many other journalists who were mentioned did.