The new 2016/17 academic year at the University of Gastronomic Sciences was inaugurated today with an event starting at 10am. The ceremony, held in the Aula Rossa of the Agenzia di Pollenzo, was opened by the university’s dean, Piercarlo Grimaldi, who took stock of his years at UNISG. He recalled the university’s early days and growth, as well as its contribution to both the rebirth of the Pollenzo community and the development of gastronomic sciences at an international level. Grimaldi also outlined the university’s teaching activities, its research fields and in particular the ideals that animate UNISG.
“The promise that our university makes to the young people from around the world who come to study here is based on a challenge inspired by authoritative, solid and honest words,” he said. “The good, clean and fair of the Slow Food movement are also the ultimate characteristics of our academic language, which in these categories of synthesis finds the founding concepts anchored to real assets with which it can contribute to the weaving of the warp and weft of the new language. The language on which we are working is new because on the one hand it is based on a concrete memory of the past, while on the other it intercepts and designs the innovative forces that arise from a new awareness of food, aimed at thinking about our existence and our behavior not as a selfish model,” explained the dean. Later, after greeting and thanking the lecturers, staff and students, Dean Grimaldi closed with a moving reference to the Italian student who was killed in Egypt last year. “I have to mention the young man who paid for his thirst for knowledge and justice with his life. I want to dedicate these pages to Giulio Regeni, so that his memory remains part of our university.”
Federico Mattarelli and Bruno Morett Figueiredo, the student representatives, spoke next, followed by Professor Domenico De Masi, who gave the keynote lecture, entitled “A Simple Revolution.”
“The great paradox of today comes from the fact that every year the overall wealth of the planet increases, but in every country the gap between rich and poor is increasing proportionally. This leads to social disintegration. Our post-industrial society lacks reference models and there seem to be no solutions, because it has based its power on the supposed infinite availability of natural resources; on the supposed infinite growth of GDP; on the commodification of the land, material and immaterial products, human relationships and culture; and on mass consumerism, creating devastating effects at a global level,” said the renowned sociologist.
“We have however reached a unique moment, because humanity is midstream, halfway between the declining industrial society and the advancing post-industrial one. Neo-liberalism has transformed every activity into competition and has denatured conviviality in a constant series of contests to differentiate winners and losers,” he continued. “That’s why we need to move from a competitive society to a gift society. In other words, whoever has more, gives it to others: We must learn not to plunder, but to give. Solidarity is inherent to human nature, while competitivity creates stress.”
De Masi then expounded on his proposal to move from competition to giving, leaving the audience with much to reflect on. “This can be summed up in 12 points: giving social democracy, so as not to die of liberalism; giving technology to reduce toil; giving slowness to eliminate stress; giving approximation to humanize the world of precision; giving meaning to things to weaken consumerism; giving creative idleness to overturn alienation; giving work to avoid depression; giving indignation to defeat oppression; giving vision so as not to stumble around in the dark; giving happiness so as not to fade away into melancholy; giving beauty so as not to die of burning thirst; and giving foolishness, so as not to drown in banality.”
The morning’s event was brought to a close by Carlo Petrini, the president of UNISG. “My hope is that Dean Piercarlo Grimaldi can conclude his Pollenzo adventure with Gastronomic Sciences becoming an official degree class, despite the political turbulence at the moment. This is an important arrival point. There is no sense of ‘goodbye,’ but a ‘see you later.’ This is a journey that continues, that sees the change of generations.”
Making a link with De Masi’s lecture and the concept of giving and volunteering, Petrini talked about happiness and sharing, addressing the Pollenzo students: “The distinctive element of your happiness will be when you do something for someone who has less than you, when you commit yourselves to giving a bit of time to changing things. The common good today consists of good practices and volunteering.”
Petrini concluded with an appeal: “Pollenzo must become more inclusive and must extend itself in the world. We are working for UNISG to become a diffuse university: bring your knowledge to your countries and spread our teaching. There will never be change without education.”