The Mens-a festival returns with 12 events in Emilian universities: philosophers, jurists and archbishops meet to testify to peace.
Now in its eleventh edition, the Mens-a cultural festival (the name refers to both the word “mind” and the term “mensa”, a sort of meal for the soul and intellect). This is a series of events organized by the Universities of Emilia Romagna, committed to collaborating with each other, providing teachers and inviting professors and experts from different backgrounds (and skills).
This year there will be twelve appointments and will see jurists, philosophers, poets and even three archbishops debate a highly topical topic: witness peace. In turn, the Emilian universities will host the conferences. It starts on September 17th Bolognawith the reading Words of peace – from Chaplin to Rodari, curated by the actor and theater director Matteo Belli. This will be followed by appointments in Parma, on 24 September, Reggio Emilia, on 25, Ferrara on 1 October, Forlì on 8, Ravenna on 9, until the conclusion in Modena, at the Academy of Sciences, on 17 October. Before closing, Modena will host five more “chats” on 2, 7, 14, 15 and 16 October. The program, in detail, is available on the website www.mens-a.it.
The voices of dialogue and testimonies in universities
As mentioned, three archbishops confirmed their participation: Erio Castellucci, archbishop of Modena, Giancarlo Perego, archbishop of Ferrara, Vincenzo Paglia, archbishop and councilor of the Community of Sant’Egidio. The writer and screenwriter Edith Bruck (who escaped the Nazi concentration camps) will speak in Parma about memory and peace. The historian of Christianity Alberto Melloni will discuss the theme of peace in Reggio Emilia today, eight hundred years after the death of Saint Francis. Pietro Polito, director of the Piero Gobetti Study Center and the Norberto Bobbio Archive, will hold his lesson on war and peace in Norberto Bobbio in Modena on 14 October. “A thought and action based on vision, not division, capable of becoming a common discourse to bear witness to peace is fundamental,” he says. Beatrice Balsamopsychoanalyst and philosopher, director and creator of the Festival.
here is the detailed program:
