Maison de la Paix || Casa Universale delle Culture (EN)

 

CASA UNIVERSALE DELLE CULTURE

The Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture is a place strongly representative, in which will convey the knowledge of the different identities and cultures, structuring permanently initiatives aimed at the spreading of peace, necessary for the shared development.

The Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture (MdP) is a project conceived by Michele Capasso, approved by many Countries and international organizations. It is an architecture that keeps the memory of many Peace activities which created history, often more than the wars, but it is – above all – a space "to build” Peace.

The architectonical complex has an important symbolic worth: it represents the Countries of the World engaged in the Peace process and the Countries victim of the conflicts.

Proposed by the Fondazione Mediterraneo with the Maison des Alliances – together with the main adherent organizations, such as the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the League of Arab States, the "Anna Lindh" Euro-Mediterranean Foundation and others, the MdP represents a referent point for all the ones who dedicate their lives to peace.

The symbol of the MdP is the "Totem for Peace", an artwork by the Italian sculptor Mario Molinari which the Fondazione Mediterraneo is promoting all around the world, creating the network of the "Cities for Peace".

The first seat of the MdP was inaugurated on the 14th of June 2010 (Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture) in the historical building of the Grand Hotel de Londres in Naples.

The action of the Maison de la Paix - Casa Universale delle Culture aims at improving the main activities of the "Universal Forum of Cultures" in: Barcelona (2004), Monterrey (2007), Valparaiso (2010) and Naples (2013).

The Maison de la Paix performs most of the initiatives jointly with the Maison de la Méditerranée.

 

The President of the Fondazione Mediterraneo Michele Capasso and Director General Pia Molinari spoke at the presentation event of the "Only One" campaign launched by the "Marevivo" Association and held on the school ship "Palinuro".
On this occasion, the joining ceremony of "Marevivo" to the United States of the World took place.
Present at the event were Marevivo's Director General Carmen Di Penta, Marevivo's Vice President and President of the Dorhn Foundation, Ferdinando Boero, and 54 young students from the "Francesco Morosini" Naval Military School who embarked on their "sea baptism" and will accompany the 87-member crew for the next four weeks.

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The international meeting on "Volunteering and the Challenges of Change in Europe" was held at the headquarters of the "United States of the World" and the "Fondazione Mediterraneo", with the participation of representatives of the main volunteer associations.
Coordinated by Senator Giuseppe Lumia - President of the Permanent Commission "Volunteering and Human Rights" of the United States of the World - the meeting produced several recommendations including that of achieving European coordination of volunteering with shared rules.
On this occasion, the "Padua European Capital of Volunteering" joined the United States of the World.

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The United States of the World and the Fondazione Mediterraneo collaborated with the "Maria Ausiliatrice Institute" of Naples for the 2023 edition of the "Concert for Peace for the Emergency in Ukraine and Syria".
Presented by Veronica Maya and Tonino Bernardelli, 80 young students of the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatorio "San Pietro a Majella di Napoli" conducted by Maestro Leonardo Quadrini performed in the courtyard of the Institute.
Secretary-General Michele Capasso and Director of the Museum of Peace Pia Molinari attended the event.
On this occasion, the "Standard Bearers of the United States of the World" were named.

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The "World Environment Day 2023", established by the United Nations 50 years ago, on 5 June 1973, was held at the headquarters of the United States of the World and the Fondazione Mediterraneo.
"Eliminate plastic pollution" is the slogan-appeal with three watchwords: recycle, reuse and reduce.
The message is clear: the world is choking on plastic and action must be taken now.
"Every year humanity produces about 430 million tonnes of plastic," said Secretary General Prof. Michele Capasso in his message, "half of which is designed to be used only once. Of these, less than 10% are recycled and it is estimated that 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas each year, almost as much as the weight of 2,200 Eiffel Towers all together: if action is not taken soon, annual plastic production could triple by 2060".
Plastic is everywhere: in soil, seas, rivers, lakes, air, food. While it benefits humanity, its impact on every living thing and habitat is increasingly devastating. Each person seems to consume more than 50,000 plastic particles per year (many more if inhalation is taken into account) and the damage to species and human health is (almost) irreversible. Plastic pollution in nature - explains the WWF - has exceeded the "planetary boundary", beyond which there is no longer any guarantee that ecosystems will provide favourable conditions for life.
This pollution could be reduced by 80 per cent by 2040 if countries and companies made profound policy and market changes using existing technologies.
The United States of the World shared and confirmed the report's data pointing to solutions based on the 3 R: reuse (would allow for a 30% cut in pollution over the next 17 years); recycling (for an additional 20% less and up to 50% by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and strengthening guidelines to improve recyclability); and repurposing (17% less by using alternative materials).
Two possible scenarios were modelled: the first, entitled "Too little, too late" reflects our current trajectory. According to this scheme, the questions to be urgently asked are: "What if societies continue at a similar pace, setting targets but not taking strong collective action? Will we cross irreversible points of no return, threatening the foundations of Earth's stable climate? Will driven inequality lead to worsening social tensions?"    
The second scenario, titled "Giant Step", assumes that societies will embark on a new path towards a sustainable world by 2050. But the questions to be asked are: "What if we radically reconfigure our economies, energy and food systems so that they work for both people and the planet? Can we avoid the worst impacts of climate change and increase the resilience of our societies to shocks? Can we end extreme poverty, ensuring a healthy diet and access to quality education and healthcare for all?"   
So: continue in the same direction as today or straighten the Planet's course? "There is no more time to lose," agree the scientists. Not least because this Earth "is the only one we have": that is why the United States of the World has chosen "EARTH AND PEACE" as its motto.

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The Tricolour waved at the headquarters of the United States of the World and the Fondazione Mediterraneo on the occasion "Italian Republic Day".
The city of Naples celebrated Republic Day with a ceremony in Piazza Plebiscito. Here, in the presence of the Prefect, Claudio Palomba, the Mayor, Gaetano Manfredi, the Secretary General of the United States of the World, Michele Capasso, and the highest civil, religious, and military authorities, the flag-raising ceremony took place.
The event was opened by the Children's Voices Choir of the San Carlo Theatre, which performed famous opera arias.
"We are extremely pleased with the presence of the children," said Prefect Palomba, "this is a celebration above all for them and it was built with this in mind. It is a difficult time for everyone, but we must work for cohesion and cooperation as the President of the Republic, Mattarella, said".
The interforce was deployed in the square and the prefect read out the Head of State's message. "Our city is a gold medal for military valour for the great resistance it put up against Nazi-Fascism," recalled Mayor Manfredi, "and I believe that today is a very beautiful day because it unites a city in great splendour with a city that is increasingly democratically committed.
At the close of the ceremony, the personnel of the Naples provincial fire brigade command, accompanied by the notes of the Hymn of Joy and the Hymn of Mameli performed by the Fanfare of the 10th Campania Carabinieri Regiment and the San Carlo white voices choir, lowered a large Italian flag onto the façade of the Prefecture.
"I very much share the Head of State's words. The great challenges we face are helping our young people to have a better future and reducing the inequalities that hurt our communities. These must be the great battles of all of us to save the Earth and ensure Peace," said Secretary General Capasso at the end of the Republic Day ceremony in Piazza Plebiscito during which the Prefect, Claudio Palomba, read out President Mattarella's message.
Present at the ceremony was Dr. Maria Pia Balducci Molinari, director of the Museum of Peace, where students from various regions were hosted throughout the day while videos and films on the Constitution and the history of the Italian Republic were broadcast on 107 video walls.

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