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REMEMBERING MATVEJEVIĆ WITH IBRAHIM SPAHIĆ
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19 October 2025
President Michele Capasso, accompanied by Pia Molinari, retraced with Ibrahim Spahić the places frequented by his close friends Predrag Matvejević, Izet Sarajlić and Abdulah Sidran.
The first copy of the Bosnian edition of Matvejević's ‘Mediterranean Breviary’ was found in the library of the Bosnian Institute.
Immediately afterwards, in the classic artisan coffee shop.
THE MEDITERRANEAN PEACE AWARD GOES TO THE CITY OF SARAJEVO
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18 October 2025
During a solemn ceremony held at Sarajevo City Hall (the Vijećnica), the Mediterranean Peace Prize was awarded to the city of Sarajevo.
The prestigious award was announced to the Bosnian Ambassador to Italy, Amira Arifović Harms, on 6 June 2025 in Naples.
The ceremony was attended by ambassadors and representatives from the political and religious worlds of various countries, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations and High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations, Miguel Àngel Moratinos, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, Dimitri Avramopoulos, former European Commissioner and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, and others.
The award was accepted by the Mayor of Sarajevo, Samir Avdić.
MEETING WITH JASMINA BEŠLAGIĆ
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18 October 2025
Secretary General Michele Capasso and Pia Molinari met with Jasmina Bešlagić, board member of the Bosniacki Institut in Sarajevo, which houses one of the largest libraries in the city.
On this occasion, several copies of the book "War Journals. Bosnia" in multiple languages were donated to the library.
MEETING WITH IBRAHIM SPAHIĆ
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18 October 2025
Secretary-General Michele Capasso and Pia Molinari met with Ibrahim Spahić, a dear friend and founding member of Fondazione Mediterraneo.
On this occasion, various possibilities for collaboration were examined for the artistic and cultural events planned in Sarajevo for 2026 and curated by Spahić, who accompanied the guests on a visit to various exhibitions and displays. The visit concluded with a stop at an old coffee shop where coffee is produced by hand according to ancient tradition.
MEETING WITH MUNIRA AND THE MOTHERS OF SREBRENICA
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17 October 2025
Secretary-General Michele Capasso and Pia Molinari, accompanied by Amela Zec Filipović, met with President Munira Subašić and other mothers at the Sarajevo headquarters of the Association of Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa.
It was a moving meeting during which each mother was given a copy of the book "War Journals. Bosnia", which contains, in its final pages, the names of the 8,372 victims of the Srebrenica genocide of 11 July 1995.
Kada, one of the mothers present, recounted her pain at the loss of six children and her husband, whose names were identified and highlighted in yellow in the pages of the book she had just received. She immediately began to describe who her children and husband were, what they did and how they were murdered. At the end, she said:
"I am sure that God exists, but our people are sick with evil. There is no remedy for my pain. But I am not ashamed. I walk with my head held high".
And so, for a few heart-wrenching hours, a communion of pain and hope was strengthened.
On this occasion, it was decided to launch the ‘MAIKE’ programme, which will bring together the Mothers of Srebrenica with Serbian mothers whose sons committed crimes and then died: a shared pain for a future together, in peace.
MEDITERRANEAN PACT: ONE SEA, ONE PACT, ONE FUTURE, ONE SHARED AMBITION FOR THE REGION
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16 October 2025
The “United States of the World” and the “Fondazione Mediterraneo” – committed to the Mediterranean for 40 years with over 11,000 events organised – support in principle this initiative by the European Commission and the High Representative, which today presented an ambitious new strategy to strengthen the EU's relations with its partners in the southern Mediterranean. Building on our historical and cultural ties, the Mediterranean Pact will focus on areas of mutual interest where we share challenges and aspirations.
The Mediterranean Pact will strengthen cooperation and economic ties between the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and beyond. It will contribute to building a connected, prosperous, resilient and secure common Mediterranean area.
The pact is based on the principles of co-ownership, co-creation and joint responsibility. It takes a practical approach, focusing on concrete initiatives that will bring added value to people and economies on all shores of the Mediterranean. The aim is to create mutual benefits, from clean energy production to unlocking private investment. This will be achieved by mobilising regional projects that create opportunities for citizens and businesses, with a particular focus on young people, women and small businesses.
In addition, the pact also offers an opportunity to further advance our cooperation on security, preparedness and migration management. Areas of common interest such as maritime security, the resilience of our critical infrastructure and foreign interference are among the actions identified to strengthen regional cooperation on peace and security.
SUMMIT OF MEDITERRANEAN PUBLIC RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS (EBU)
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16 October 2025
A delegation of media representatives from the 181 countries of the “United States of the World” and the “Fondazione Mediterraneo” participated in the EBU summit on the theme “The Mediterranean: a meeting place”. Representatives from public radio and television stations in 18 countries were present, including Vatican Radio. Ample space was given to the theme of promoting peace and intercultural dialogue, which was appreciated by President Michele Capasso, who has spent the last 40 years of his life working on this issue, calling for the full involvement of the media, particularly public radio and television, since 1985.
The Mediterranean Leadership Summit was a high-level meeting co-organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana, as part of the MED Dialogues. The Summit was opened by EBU Director General Noel Curran.
The chosen theme, “The Mediterranean: a meeting place”, reflects the region's fundamental vocation as a crossroads of civilisations. The Summit highlighted the importance of the media in promoting democratic values, intercultural exchange and peace-building.
The event was attended by representatives from 18 countries in the Mediterranean basin - from Europe, Africa and Asia - including Directors-General, Chief Executives and Presidents of the main public service broadcasters. Vatican Radio was also present, reflecting the broad and representative institutional and cultural participation in the Naples summit. The aim of the Summit is to strengthen cooperation between public service media in the Mediterranean area, share common strategies and contribute to the definition of priorities in a rapidly changing context.
MEDITERRANEAN AWARD SPECIAL EDITION "MEMORIAE" TO BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
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16 October 2025
The solemn ceremony for the "Mediterranean Award" special edition ‘Memoriae 2025’, awarded to Bosnia and Herzegovina, took place in the Presidential Palace of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The prestigious award was received by the member of the Presidency, Dr Denis Bećirović.
Present at the ceremony were:
- The Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations for the Alliance of Civilisations, Miguel Àngel Moratinos, leading his delegation.
- The Italian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarah Eti Castellani.
- The Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Italy, Amira Arifović Harms.
- Members of the Cabinet of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Ms. Arnhild Spence, United Nations Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina..
President Bećirović expressed his deep appreciation for Secretary General Capasso's work on behalf of his country, which is ‘well described in the book “War Journals. Bosnia”’.
SG Capasso donated a copy of the book "War Journals. Bosnia" and the flag with the badge of honour of the “United States of the World”.
THE TOTEM OF PEACE IN SREBRENICA IN MEMORY OF THE MOTHERS OF THE VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE
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16 October 2025
The "Totem of Peace" by sculptor Mario Molinari will be erected in Srebrenica in memory of the mothers of the victims of the genocide of 11 July 1995.
During a meeting with Munira Subašić and Hamdija Fejzić, the project that will lead to the creation of the monumental work at the entrance to the Memorial Park was examined.
PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK “WAR JOURNALS. BOSNIA”
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16 October 2025
The world premiere of Michele Capasso's book War journals. Bosnia, presented in Italian and English, took place in Sarajevo.
The book was presented by:
- Elma Hasimbegović
Director of the Museum of History of Bosnia and Herzegovina. - Miguel Àngel Moratinos
UN Secretary-General and High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations. - Amira Arifović Harms
Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Italy. - Munira Subašić
President of the ‘Mothers Srebrenica Enclaves’ movement. - Kanita Fočak
Architect and writer.
Politicians, representatives of international institutions, writers, journalists and protagonists of the 1992-1995 siege of Sarajevo attended the event.
Among them was the President of the House of Peoples, Kemal Ademović.
The “diary-book” is Michele Capasso's testimony and recounts his experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1964 to the present day, recounting episodes of friends, men and women, who came together in a great “chain of love” for acts of solidarity towards the victims of a fratricidal war that caused hundreds of thousands of innocent victims.
The book features Predrag Matvejević, writer and essayist, who shared with the author the most significant moments at the turn of the millennium, from 1988 to 2017. It is the story of unique human experiences at a historic moment when the Mediterranean, at the turn of the millennium, took on strategic importance for dialogue and peace: with Bosnia and Herzegovina the victim of a conflict symbolically represented by Sarajevo and Srebrenica, the town where the second genocide of the 20th century was perpetrated on 11 July 1995.
Fratricidal war, ethnic cleansing, urbicide, memoricide, genocide: against everything that was happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, in general, in the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans, Michele Capasso took action, investing all his personal resources and urging people not to give up, as evidenced by the stories told in this book, where everything can be rigorously verified in documents and images.