8 May, World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day: initiatives in Italy

By Cristiano Antonino On May 8, 2023

To mark 8 May, the Italian Red Cross has organised events and initiatives throughout Italy that will last until 14 May

8 May is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day

The date falls on the anniversary of the birth of founder Henry Dunant, the father of modern humanitarianism.

And this year too, the Italian Red Cross, both at national level and through its territorial Committees throughout Italy, is fielding initiatives, events and appointments, as well as a communication campaign, signed by the creative agency WLA, to celebrate what is a real celebration of all Volunteers, in a week dedicated to the Association, from 8 to 14 May.

“This year’s anniversary comes at the end of a long period of extraordinary commitment and hard work that saw us in the field from the very first moments of the health emergency and that also put us to the test with the Turkish-Syrian earthquake and the conflict in Ukraine.

Situations that overlapped and mingled with the daily work of every volunteer at the service of his or her community with the sole objective of alleviating human suffering,” says Rosario Valastro, President of the CRI in a letter sent to the Volunteers.

The communication campaign ‘And then we met’ was born – the CRI emphasises – from that feeling of deep bewilderment that is swept away when, all of a sudden, someone comes along who looks us in the eye with a hug and tells us that ‘a solution can be found’.

“With the 2023 campaign,” Valastro continues, “we want to celebrate that very spark that rekindles hope; we want to tell the story of those who have had the strength to believe again that they can rebuild their lives, even from scratch, letting themselves be accompanied by the work and words of our Volunteers”.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE MANY ACTIVITIES OF THE ITALIAN RED CROSS? VISIT THE BOOTH IN EMERGENCY EXPO

There are more than 150,000 CRI Volunteers involved in activities and projects to support people and communities

In 2022 the National Response Centre of the Italian Red Cross took care of almost 100 thousand requests for help, the “Officine della Salute” (Health Workshops) project supported almost 3,800 people and guaranteed more than 5,500 free medical examinations, including 4,107 specialist ones, to the most fragile people.

In addition, more than 58,000 psycho-social support services were provided and more than 32,000 people were reached within the scope of social integration initiatives, with orientation, work inclusion, activities for ex-convicts and socialisation.

A number of national events will characterise the entire CRI week, such as the International Humanitarian Law Competitions, which are aimed at high school students and will take place on 13 and 14 May in Rome, and the now customary partnership with ANCI, which will give maximum visibility to the celebrations.

The Red Cross flag will in fact be displayed, also on ANCI’s initiative, outside municipal buildings and other institutions, just as some of the cities’ monuments will be lit up in red on the evening of 8-9 May.

And, on 8 May, Palazzo Chigi will also be illuminated in red.

The event has had numerous partnerships, such as the patronage of RAI and the Media Partnership of TGR, and like last year, renewed collaboration with: Lega Serie A, Grandi Stazioni Retail GSR, Atac as mobility partner, IGPDecaux and Alexa, which will dedicate its Good Morning to the CRI on the Day of 8 May.