Ever since its foundation the SRI has carried out an
intense research and documentation activity on the ongoing process of
civic renewal in Sicily, and has subsequently disseminated worldwide
its findings about the principles that have inspired the initiatives
undertaken in this field by the various components of Sicily’s
civil society, as well as their effective practices and the results
obtained.
This
knowledge-spreading effort was made first of all by means of two
publications that the SRI prepared, printed and distributed on a
worldwide scale to international organizations; government agencies;
public bodies; foundations; civic, religious and educational
associations; newspapers and journals; as well as to individual
politicians, educators, trade unionists and other civic leaders in
many countries interested in the promotion of a culture of lawfulness
as an effective complementary strategy to
prevent and reduce the effects of crime and corruption..
The
first of these, originally published and distributed in February
2000, was printed in two 34-page versions (one, in Italian, entitled
“Il Rinascimento di Palermo: Fatti e opinioni”;
the other, in English, entitled “The Palermo Renaissance: A
Real-life Civics Course”). This publication was
subsequently updated and reprinted in October 2000, with a total run
of 16,000 copies for each version.
The
second was a 70-page publication, likewise printed in two versions
(in Italian,“Per un cultura di legalità: il
Rinascimento di Palermo”; in English, “Creating a
Culture of Lawfulness: The Palermo, Sicily Renaissance”),.
distributed since December 2000 in more than 5000 copies.
The
contents of the latter publication, together with other information,
were also inserted in the SRI Internet site,
www.sicilianrenaissance.info.
In
addition to the above, the Sicilian experience in the promotion of a
culture of lawfulness was also illustrated and discussed by SRI
representatives at numerous high-level international conferences,
seminars and meetings. Among these mention might here be made
of the following:
the
Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime held in
Vienna in April 2000;
the
biannual Convention of the American Federation of Teachers, held in
Philadelphia in July 2000, in the course of which the SRI President,
Leoluca Orlando, received the AFT Human Rights Award “Bayard
Rustin”;
the
Georgetown University’s Executive Leadership Seminar on the
theme “Strategic Approaches to Transnational Crime and Civil
Society”, held in Washington, DC, in July 2000;
the
International Leaders Forum of the National Democratic Institute of
the United States, held in Los Angeles in August 2000;
the
First National Conference on “Building Sound Communities in
the Transition of Mexico” held in Mexico City in January 2001;
the
meeting of the Young President’s Organization International
held in Venice in June 2001;
the
eighth edition of the “Rencontres Internationales du
Mémorial pour la Prévention des Conflits”, on
the theme “Trafics et mafias: les Etats impuissant?”,
held in Caen, France, in October 2001 ;
the
ceremony held at St. Petersburg, Russia, in October 2001, during
which the SRI President was awarded with the Puskin Prize 2001;
the
symposium on the theme “Fostering a Culture of Lawfulness on
the Island of Ireland” held at Gleneagles, Scotland, in
November 2001;
the
participation to the United Nations experts meeting on crime
prevention, held in Vancouver, Canada, January 2002;
the
participation to the series of seminars and conferences on “Culture
of lawfulness: the Sicilian model” organized by the German
Universities in February 2002;
the
participation to the conference “Europe: a cure against the
mafia”, held in Antibes, France, in March 2002;
the
participation to the memorial ceremonies of the six months
anniversary of the tragic events of September the 11th:
“Response, Rebuilding and Reconciliation”, organized by
Columbia University, New York on the 11th -12th
of March 2002;
the
participation to the international conference “Building Sound
Communities- Security: a commitment for everybody” organized
by the cultural Institute “Ludwig von Mises”, Mexico
City, 14th-18th of March 2002;
the
participation to the Eurasian-American Seminar on crime and terrorism
prevention: “the spaces of crime, corruption and terrorism”
organized by the magazine Limes, Rome, May 2002;
the participation to the seminar “Enhancing
Democracy: Transatlantic Perspectives of the Role of Educators”,
a joint initiative by The National Union of Teachers of England and
Wales an The American Federation of Teachers, Stokerochford, UK,
July 2002;
the participation to the European Conference on
“Tackling Terrorism- the Role and the Responsibilities of Local
Authorities”, organized by the Chamber of Local Authorities of
the Council of Europe, Luxembourg, September 2002;
the lecture on “Culture of Lawfulness and Crime
Prevention: The Role of Public Administration” held at the
Faculty of Economy of the Havana University in the framework of the
training course for public managers, Cuba, September 2002;
the
participation to the II Euromoney Conference, organized by Euromoney
Institutional Investor, Dubrovnik, October 2002;
the
participation to a series of seminars on “Human
Rights and Lawfulness – Crime Prevention and The Fight against
Terrorism” at the National Police School of Algeria, organized
by the Department for National Security, Algeria, October 2002;
the participation
to “ The Crime Prevention Colloquim – the Role of School”
organized by the International Centre for Prevention of Crime (ICPC),
Bruxelles, November 2002;
the participation
to a series of lectures on “ Culture of Lawfulness: a
Fundamental Strategy for the Prevention of Crime and the Fight of
Terrorism” organized by Fordham University and West Point
Academy, December 2002;
the participation
to the international conference on the future of European integration
“Realizing Europe”, organized by Einstein Forum and
Alfred Herrhausen Society for International Dialogue (cultural
Institution of the Deutsche Bank), Potsdam, January 2003.
The concrete results obtained in Palermo in the struggle
against organized crime were recognised by the Economic and Social
Council of the United Nations: in the last guidelines for the
prevention of crime (February 2002) it indicates the necessity of
actively promoting culture of lawfulness as a tool in this field.
Our method of intervention is both simple and
innovative: it is based on the “simple” communication of
an experience without any direct intervention in the countries
concerned: we rely on bilateral exchanges to enable social operators,
journalists, teachers and religious authorities to become familiar
with what has already been done in Palermo, assess these experiences
and study possible ways in which they could be autonomously applied
in their own reality.
The
sending out of our delegations or the presence of foreign delegations
in Palermo and Sicily, appropriate publications and debates and
seminars are the instruments for spreading knowledge of what has been
done in Palermo, are moment of confrontation, stimulus and mutual
enrichment, but always in the perspective of respect for and
valorisation of the different cultures, the different reference
values.
A
similar activity of illustrating the Sicilian experience in matters
of education for lawfulness has also been performed by SRI
representatives on numerous occasions when foreign leaders
(government representatives, politicians, educators, professionals,
businessmen, journalists, etc,) visited Palermo either in official
delegations or working groups.
The SRI also organized – either directly or in
collaboration with supporting institutions – the following
events intended to encourage the adoption of civic initiatives
against organized crime in countries particularly at risk:
a
five-day seminar on the theme of “The Cultural Approach in the
Fight Against Crime and Corruption” held in Palermo in May
2000 for an official delegation of the Republic of Georgia;
an
international three-day symposium on “The Role of Civil
Society in the Fight Against Organized Crime: Global Implications of
the Palermo Renaissance” held at Palermo in December 2000 as
part of the official program of the High-Level Signing Conference
for the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized
Crime. Detailed reports on this theme were presented not only by
leaders of the Sicilian renewal and the Deputy Secretary General of
the United Nations, but also by authoritative representatives of
such countries as Hong Kong, Botswana, Georgia, Mexico and the
United States;
a
five-day seminar on “Countering Crime Through Culture”
held in Palermo in September 2001 for an official delegation from
Mexico.
In particular, intense activities were undertaken in the
various cities of the United States of Mexico: indeed, in the light
of the Palermitan experience, the Mexican government, basing recently
decided to render the teaching of the culture of legality obligatory
in all the elementary and basic schools..
Lastly, the
Institute has carried out a series of activities intended to
encourage civic renewal in other parts of Sicily, and in January 2000
promoted – making also a considerable contribution to its
actual organization – a meeting in Palermo of representatives
of Italian civil society that sought to maintain a high level of
attention in the fight against the Mafia.
In the course of
2005, the Institute is intensifying its activities aimed at promoting
a culture of lawfulness in all parts of Sicily and, further, to
expand the dissemination abroad of the effective practices and
results of the cultural anticrime initiatives that have been, and
will be, undertaken in this island by means of publications,
audiovisual materials and other informational channels.
The SRI is also planning a series of educational
exchanges (in the form of seminars to be held in Sicily or
participation of representatives of Sicily’s civil society in
conferences held abroad) with countries particularly interested in
adopting a similar cultural approach in their struggle against
organized crime, terrorism and corruption, among them Peru, Nigeria,
El Salvador, Vietnam, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Albania.
Furthermore, the
Institute intends to collaborate with global institutions, as well as
with governmental agencies and NGO’s of other countries,
particularly in the European area, with a view to adopting joint
initiatives aimed at promoting civic education and a culture of
lawfulness in various regions of the world.
