The Silvio Laccetti Foundation decided in its January 2020 planning meeting to focus attention on the environmental problems of Venice. Originally, their plans called for Garibaldi Award winners to volunteer to raise awareness on their college campuses by showing a film and circulating petitions to ‘help save Venice’ from the behemoth cruise ships which were invading their canals and lagoon https://italiantribune.com/new-projects-for-laccetti-foundation/
Shortly after this meeting, the Covid 19 pandemic developed. All plans were put on hold.
It wasn’t until the fall of 2020 that the plans were revitalized. The first step in this revival was granting the first Charlie Kontos Environmental Activist Award to Connor Cunningham of Glen Rock High School. He immediately became interested in the Venice project.
Recipient chosen for Charlie Kontos Environmental Activist Award
Fortunately, at the same time, groups in Italy began environmental initiatives that intersected with our own interests.
In December, 2020, Connor participated in a high level zoom conference at which he was tasked with creating a student version of the Davos Convention (which sought to preserve historic cultural centers from over-development) and a student Action Plan for saving Venice by raising awareness of its problems.
Based on these successes, Dr. Laccetti suggested the novel idea of having a trans-Atlantic zoom conference for high school students about environmental and economic problems of Venice. The Office of Education of the New York Consulate, headed by Annavaleria Guazzieri quickly joined the effort. She lined up participants in Italy, including 2 high schools and the University of Ca’ Foscari, while Dr. Laccetti recruited two high schools in NJ, Lyndhurst, and Point Pleasant Boro and associates of his Foundation.
https://www.wetheitalians.com/default/us-italy-environmental-education-program-begins
The 90 minute zoomcast was an incredible success, the first trans-Atlantic webcast of its kind ever competed.All participants clamored for more such programs and they will be forthcoming.
High school students converse with Italian peers | Star News Group
In the aftermath of the international conference, Dr. Laccetti penned an editorial as a punctuation mark for the event.
The Foundation is proud to have had a leading role in pioneering a new form of interactive high school education in a global setting.
There’s more to come. Much more!