The Anpas ER Annual General Meeting at the Lamborghini Museum

More than 100 delegates from public assistance organizations across all provinces of Emilia-Romagna participated.

Anpas Emilia-Romagna has once again chosen an extraordinary location for its annual Budget Meeting and the second edition of the Presidents’ Conference, which took place today: the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum in Funo di Argelato. Once again, the organization that brings together 108 public assistance groups from all provinces of Emilia-Romagna and approximately 20,000 volunteers has chosen a location that symbolizes excellence “made in ER” for this extremely important annual event, which looked at the state of the art of Anpas, discussing a moment in which the role of the third sector is increasingly important in guaranteeing the quality of the regional healthcare system.

The discussion featured special guests such as Senator Vincenza Rando, representing Libera, an association of which she is national president; Niccolò Mancini, president of Anpas nazionale; and Michele Dotti, “educator” and director of Ecofuturo Magazine, who moderated the event.

Iacopo Fiorentini, President of Anpas Emilia-Romagna, presented the financial statements: “A few figures are enough,” he said, “to give an idea of the scale of our commitment: in one year, we clocked up 3.1 million hours of service in Emilia-Romagna, with 900,000 interventions, which means that in this first hour of the meeting, more than 100 interventions have already taken place somewhere. We travel more than 10 million kilometers every year in our vehicles, more than 250 times around the earth. We manage to be there to lend a hand when needed: not only in emergencies, but also providing ordinary services, social services, civil protection, assistance at events, and much more. We should feel very proud. We are a movement in great motion. And we look to the future with confidence, focusing on young people today, accompanying them and helping them grow.”

“We are truly a vibrant movement, as days like these demonstrate, a movement that thrives on the number of volunteers and the vitality of its projects,” added Niccolò Mancini. “This regional committee has resolutely pursued the goal of becoming an increasingly united and synergistic movement: staying and working together gives us the opportunity to provide strong and increasingly necessary responses to those who need our assistance. A sense of unity and a broad vision for a supportive society that is close to the people, which we always need.”
Ginevra Lamborghini also did the honors: “It is a great pleasure to have you here in this setting that speaks of history, creativity, and passion: passion is precisely what we have in common. Today, it is essential to know how to pass on the value of volunteering, of reaching out to others and breaking down the walls of ego. I have great respect for your work; you succeed in setting a concrete example and shining a light even in moments that may seem dark.”

Senator Vincenza Rando, who also spoke as a representative of the Libera Association, stated that: “Through its work, Anpas conveys a culture of participation and a profound sense of volunteerism: being there for others. These are the highest values that Anpas teaches, a culture of peace and courage, managing to give a sense of hope: those in need see you coming and think, ‘there is someone who cares about us.’” Self-centeredness and utilitarianism are evils of our time; you go beyond these limits. We can only be grateful to you.

The Mayor of Argelato, Claudia Muzic, expressed her gratitude for hosting the Anpas Emilia-Romagna event in her municipality, while the President of the Union of Municipalities of Reno Galliera, Stefano Zanni, highlighted the professionalism of Anpas volunteers and the importance of Civil Protection groups in areas that have had to deal with climate crises such as flooding in recent years.

Alberto Alberani, spokesperson for the Emilia-Romagna Third Sector Forum, explained that “34 networks are members of the forum, representing 1.5 million people, and in Emilia-Romagna we can count on a very high level of participation and capacity for action. Now, thanks to a special call for proposals, we will be launching a series of courses open to all our organizations on shared administration as an element of innovation and cohesion in local welfare systems in a few months’ time. I invite you all to spread the word about this opportunity, which will be available from October onwards.”

The second part of the day was devoted to the Presidents’ Conference: the leaders of the public assistance organizations present divided into groups to discuss issues such as adapting the training of managers to changing times, the evolution of the Coordinating Committee, and improving communication and the image of ANPAS. The day also yielded important suggestions for the future of the Association.