The beneficiaries of the UPI Sector’s public notice for Christmas activities in the territories of the 14 former districts of Reggio Calabria were received at Palazzo San Giorgio. The mayor welcomed the participants Giuseppe Falcomatàthe Councilor for Programming Carmelo Romeothe manager of the Upi sector Tommaso Cotronei.
«We are happy with this first taste of the Christmas holidays – the mayor clarified preliminarily – and also because in recent years we have not managed to create the Christmas atmosphere in the peripheral areas, in the most popular and populous areas of the city as we would have liked because, on the one on the one hand, the Municipality in its rebalancing plan could not foresee additional resources to be allocated to the Christmas holidays for the peripheral neighborhoods and, on the other, the few resources of the metropolitan city were used to decorate the commercial streets. This year, as it was for the Reggio summer, we tried to do something more, giving feedback to all the proposals, ideas and trying to support activism, civic and professional commitment, cultural effort and to do so by identifying important resources within the Christmas programming. Hence the idea of dividing the funds into the former 14 districts, excluding the historic centre, allocating 10 thousand euros per neighbourhood. We recorded a lot of participation, so much so that we tried to increase the budget but it wasn’t possible. Fifteen of 45 proposals were financed.”
«I was pleased to read your proposals and I wanted to thank you – the mayor then added – because I saw that the projects were studied in depth and that they took into account not only the strictly cultural aspect, but I found various activities with implications social, with attention to the most fragile and poorest families, like a Christmas for everyone, in all neighborhoods, also for all the people who cannot afford to celebrate it. We will make these proposals an integral part of the Christmas programming and we will be proud to participate in the events. Thanks to your contribution it can be Christmas everywhere, there will be no neighborhood in the city where its light will not shine.”
«Thank you for the commitment you have made in implementing the proposals – explained councilor Romeo – we are happy with the participation that was registered in the notice which was born because our idea was to liven up and regenerate the suburbs so that Christmas can be a moment of celebration for everyone and, above all, one that can bring wealth to all neighborhoods. Our goal was to animate the neighborhoods and create an indirect economy. Today we want to thank you because if you are here it means that your project proposals were the best in the districts. At the same time, however, we want to make you responsible because the final result will be in your hands: we will continue to support you and publicize the many events that will follow one another.” The next act will be the signing of the agreements in the next few hours with the obligations that will be mutually assumed.