All Events and Initiatives || Year by Year

A delegation from the "United States of the World" and the "Fondazione Mediterraneo" accompanied Pope Leone XIV on his first Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon.
During the flight taking Pope Leo XIV to Ankara, the first stop on his first Apostolic Journey, there was great excitement among journalists who greeted the Pontiff and took selfies with him. The Pope visited the captain of the aircraft and received various gifts, including a baseball bat.
At 12.30 pm, Pope Leo XIV arrives in the Turkish capital. We await him in delegation at the Atatürk Mausoleum, where the Holy Father is welcomed by the Turkish authorities.
After a group photo with the delegation, Pope Leo XIV heads to the Misak-ı Millî Tower to sign the “Book of Honour”; he then pays a brief visit to the museum dedicated to Atatürk and the history of the Republic.
At 2:00 p.m., the Holy Father travels by car to the Presidential Palace where, upon arrival, he is escorted by the traditional Turkish cavalry to the main entrance gate: a gesture of great impact with dozens of horsemen symbolising Turkish hospitality and traditions; those at the front of the line carry the flags of Turkey and Vatican City.
The Pope is welcomed by President Erdoğan and together they proceed to the podium.
After the national anthems, 21 cannon shots, the honouring of the flags, the Guard of Honour, the presentation of the respective delegations and the official photo at the entrance to the Presidential Palace, the President and the Pope take the lift to the second floor of the Presidential Palace for a group photo with the Turkish delegation and the Vatican delegation. They then moved to the President's Office for a private meeting, the presentation of the family and a photo with the family.
Immediately afterwards, the text of President Erdoğan's address to the Pope was distributed, and we find many points that repeat what Erdoğan himself had said during his visit to Naples in 2005 at the headquarters of the “United States of the World” and in other subsequent meetings with us, as if time had not passed and the problems had remained crystallised in history.
At 3:45 p.m., the Pope arrives at the Nation's Library (National Library) where he meets with authorities, civil society, the diplomatic corps and representatives of international institutions, such as the “United States of the World”.
The meeting takes place in the central hall, dominated by a large blue globe: looking at it while the Pope delivers his speech, one gets the impression of a connection with our "House for Peace", even if only as an idea, since our project is much more complex and stands out for its adherence to the values of peace and protection of the planet, as described in the previous chapter 23. In the front row are Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, current Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches of the Holy See.

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In view of the summit to be held in Naples next March on the "United States of Europe" at the headquarters of the "United States of the World", a meeting coordinated by Massimo Pendenza was held at the University of Salerno.
After greetings from Rector Virgilio D'Antonio and Director of the Department of Political and Social Studies Maurizio Merico, speeches were given by Guido Montani, Francesco Clementi, Francesco Callegari, Francesca Romano D’Antuono and Mauro Casarotto.
The conclusions were entrusted to Senator Giuseppe Lumia, member of the United States of the World.

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Secretary-General Michele Capasso, Director Pia Molinari, the members of the Executive Council and the International Committee, the Council of Ambassadors, the heads of the branch offices and all the members of the United States of the World and the autonomous sections Fondazione Mediterraneo, Accademia del Mediterraneo and Kimyya express their heartfelt condolences on the death of Ornella Vanoni, member of the United States of the World and Fondazione Mediterraneo.
In their message, Michele Capasso, Pia and Jacopo Molinari state, among other things:
"A great artist has left us, but above all a kind and ironic friend, frank and sharp-witted: a unique and extraordinary woman.
When we dedicated the documentary film ‘BASTA POCO’ to her in 2018, she thanked us all for having portrayed the truest parts of her personality.
And now we are here to remember so many moments: the caresses on her beard (she said it brought her luck), her stays at home enjoying cherries and apricots from Vesuvius (her passion), her joy when we produced the documentary film 'Basta poco', her support for the Fondazione Mediterraneo and the Stati Uniti del Mondo, her stays at the Casa-Museo in Turin, her visits to the Museo della Pace and the sections dedicated to Mario Molinari and Pino Daniele, the birthdays, the dinners and so much more. Thank you, Ornella, for intertwining our lives. We will never forget you”.

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Secretary-General Michele Capasso, Director Pia Molinari, the members of the Executive Council and the International Committee, the Council of Ambassadors, the heads of the branch offices and all the members of the United States of the World and the autonomous sections of Fondazione Mediterraneo, Accademia del Mediterraneo and Kimyya express their heartfelt condolences on the death of the Honourable Claudio Azzolini, founding member and architect of the development of the United States of the World and Fondazione Mediterraneo.
In his message, Michele Capasso states, among other things:
"A brother has passed away! A friend! A gentleman! A GIANT of politics and institutions. It is impossible at this time to summarise almost four decades of friendship, complicity and sharing.
Like in a film, the many moments that have characterised our lives flash before our eyes, in particular the sharing of values and ideals that are worth spending our lives on.
If the FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO and the STATI UNITI DEL MONDO have been able to realise their mission, much of the credit and recognition goes to CLAUDIO AZZOLINI.
With method, passion, competence, clarity and conviction, he supported this joint project for dialogue and peace, contributing significantly to its affirmation at European and international level – when he took office as a Member of the European Parliament and Vice-President of the Council of Europe – and at national level as a Member of Parliament and head of various institutional bodies.

We entrust our first memories of Claudio to a collection of photos captured on our websites: from his meeting with President Scalfaro to the visits to our headquarters by many Italian and international personalities, from President Casini to Gianni Letta, from the presidents of European parliaments to heads of state and government who wanted to pay tribute to a commitment that, thanks to a 'consortium of passion and love' - of which Claudio was the main protagonist - produced concrete results. A round of applause for his life.

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The inauguration ceremony for a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide of 11 July 1995 was held at the United Nations headquarters.
Denis Bećirović, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, gave a speech in the presence of Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković at the inauguration of the “Flower of Srebrenica” memorial, located in the garden of the United Nations headquarters.
Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, emphasised the importance and symbolic significance of the memorial in her speech.
‘Our children were killed just because they had a different name, were called differently and were Muslims,’ said Munira Subašić, president of the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa, speaking to more than 100 people on a cold but sunny November afternoon in New York.
She has spent 30 years advocating for the more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed in the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica.
"We are still here: this flower means that we are still here and that there will be more and more of us", Ms Subašić said.
The marble flower has 11 white petals surrounding a green centre. The petals represent 11 July, the UN-designated International Day of Reflection and Remembrance of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. The white symbolises the innocence of the victims; the green recalls the shroud placed on Muslims at the moment of death, but also new growth and hope.
Despite the horrors of 1995, Ms Subašić said that the survivors “raised our children without revenge, without hatred”, calling the children the new generation.
Representing the new generation was her 12-year-old grandson Karim, who skipped school in Bosnia and Herzegovina today to attend the ceremony. In 1995, he lost his grandfather and great-uncle, as well as 70 other members of his family.
Secretary-General Michele Capasso sent a message emphasising the importance of the memorial and, in particular, the “Majke” (“Mothers”) programme, which will give voice to the pain of all mothers around the world, starting with the Mothers of Srebrenica.

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